The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1899-04-05

prove ~ anu ~ liz 10 -
before he was indicted into once
be would not thereby be subject to
the constitutional prohibition OF
NOT increasing or diminishing the
nav of auy officer during his term OF
Office. The governor in his printed
speech said nothing about this, but
while he was delivering his speech
at Meridian Mr.. Miller 1t seems ask
ed him something about 1t. He pro-
pounded this question TO him
t.What about the question OF sal
aryr'
nAbout my salary being increas-
ed I do not ever remember speak
ing to Mr.. Smith about 1t. OF
course cannot carry everything IN
nv mind. but don't remember ever
speaking to him about the incresae
of my salary. I will say this: When
Gov. Stone-during Gov. stones
administration the governors sala-
nv was $4,000. 1t had been chang
ed in 1894 / believe to $500. Gov.
Stone recommended that the salary
be changed back to 1900. He rec
commended that in a special message
to the Legislature, during the time
he was governor in 1895, and before
I was inaugurated. II ! ever spoke
to Mr.. Smith about it I don't recall
it. That is all know about that. 1
cannot say whether I ever spoke to
him or not. 1 don't recollect ever
speaking to Mr.. Smith about it.
don't think that Mr.. Smith is the
man that I would have gone to II !
had wanted any body to do anything
of the kind. I do recollect this. I
recollect the senator from my own
district, Senator Price, after the bill
was offered spoke to me about the
bill being in the senate and spoke to
me about his having voted against
it, and that's the only senator | rec
ollect speaking about it, speaking
to me about it and he came to me
and spoke to me about it. If there
is anthying else l would like to
answer it."
If these series of evasions and
lapses OF memory can be dignified
into denial of my assertion that
the governor asked me to introduce
this bill and that introduced it by
special request of his, then l will
answer this denial. I recollect dis
tinctly stating both upon the floor
of the senate and to senators in pri-
vate conversation that this bill was
introduced by request OF the gov
ernor. have now in my pc ssessiOn
letter written by one OF the most
distinguished senators in that body,
| written on the 28th of January in
answer to mine of the 9th after /
had received the stenographic copy
of this speech and stating to him
that would like for him to give..me
his recollection about this bill. This
senator says:
II remember distinctly that you
made the statement to the senate
when you introduced the bill to in
crease the governors salary that he
asked you to do so and you gave
this as reason for it. You made
the same statement when the bill
came up for consideration in the
senate. know the reasons given
satisfied my Judgment that the bill
ought to pass and / so voted"
l have letter from another sena-
tor written on January 30th in
! which he says:
81 remember we'll the introduce
ton by you of senate bill No. 3 in
the senate of 1896 providing for an
increase in the governors salary
from So, 500 to 81, 900, and I under
stood it was introduced by you at
the instance of the governor. l do
not know whether that was the gen.
! eral understanding or not, nor do
remember how l received the infor-
| nation"
Another senator writes to me that
he does not remember whether SO
stated on the floor of the senate
that I introduced the bill upon re-
quest of the governor but he re-
members distinctly my telling him
so at the time that / introduced
the bill.
ISSUE OF VERACITY BETWEEN
THE GOVERNOR AND THE
LIEUT.. GOVERNOR
AND SPEAKER.
l charged in my Meridian speech
that at the extraordinary session
of 1897 which cost the state in
round numbers $4,000 and
which was an absolutely unneces.
sary expenditure, that the governor
sent IN a message, suggesting that
the Legislature adjourn and let him
have until the extra session in jan
uary 1898 to consider the capitol bill
and that he made this suggestion
upon the recommendation Of the
speaker and lieutenant governor.
then said, "at once an issue of YER
acity was raised between the presi-
dent of the senate and the speaker
of the house on the one side and the
governor on the other, both of them
openly and publicly and in the pres
ence of both bodies protesting that
they had not done any such thing"
Here lie the way the governor
meets this charge:
"No question of veracity between
Gov. Jones, Speaker McCool and
me. Gov. Jones in q card in the
papers said: ! do not quote the.ex-
act language as the card is not be-
fore me-that he had by oversight
done me an unintentional injustice. /"
He does not deny the statement
that the presiding officer of both
houses, from their seats denied
what the governor had stated in his
message and he does not read the
card OF Gov. Jones, and does not
pretend to have one from Sr,aalro,.