Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-02-15
nURPHY'S SPEECH
Made at Little Rock in RESPONSE to
Governors rlessage


Murphy's address at the Capital theat-
er, Little Rock, Thursday night, on
Gov. Davis message to the legislature:
Friends, Ladies, Gentlemen, Repre-
sentatives and Senators and Fellow
Arkansans:
Il appreciate your presence here. 1t
is not my intention to deal in invective
and denunciation, but to deal with i'm
portant issues. Our state is in crisis,
and we have not the man for governor
who can lead us out OF it. Recently it
has been the pleasure of the governor
to deliver message to the legislature,
in which he has made against other
state officers and officials libelous
charges and insinuations which are un-
betting the high Office which he holds.
He has slandered and abused. If those
officers OF the people should listen,
should remain silent under those
charges, being untrue, they should de-
serve IL OAA
the legislature. If they are true they
ought to be impeached. On the other
hand, if the governor does not speak
the truth, if his insiunations and
charges are false, justice and right
cry out for his impeachment" (Cheers)
''None should be satisfied with any
thing else. His actions have shown
him unfit to administer the laws of
this state, to hold that authority which
gives him the right to aid in the forma-
tion and administration OF its statutes.
Either he or the members of the peni-
tentiary board must be impeached."
Col. Murphy then discussed what
constitutes legal ground for impeach-
ment. He continued:
"Under our constitution man may
be impeached for crime of gross mis-
demeanor in Office, and l say that
whenever he has shown himself un.
<worthy of the confidence OF the people
md the office which he holds, has be-
smirched it with his actions, he has
proved himself worthy Of impeach-
ment. (Cheers.)
Il shall now take up those subjects
relating to the penitentiary affairs.
"About twelve months ago the gov
ernor was making a very determined
effort to get the board to buy the
Beakley place. This place had been
cultivated by the state under contract
with convict labor, and the governor
had visited the convict camp while at
torney general and had written most
commendatory letter in regard to that
camp. In his message he states that
the whole country overflowed and that
at times of high water you could float
RATS entirely across it. The majority
of the board did not see fit to buy this
place and the scheme as he calls it,
was abandoned
"The fact is that at that time there
were at least twelve propositions for
the sale of farms to the state before
the board, and they ranged all the way
from Lake Village to Fulton, and in
cluded in them were the Beakley, and
the Hayward, or the Altheimer place.
At meeting of the board on the 18th
of August the governor submitted
resolution recommending examination
of the Redleaf Taylor Bros, Simmons,
Altheimer and Beakley places. On the
18th of August the board went down
to examine the farm near Lake Viii
lage, their intention being to go there
and spend one day looking at it, and
after spending the night to return next
day, stopping along the way to exam
inc others. Well, they went there acd
after spending the day, the governor
called together what he was pleased to
term his cabinet (cheers) and afte:
an informal meeting it was decided to
abandon the tour
General Murphy thought that deep
disgust prompted the most of the cab
met to vote for the abandonment. He,
however, stayed there and went all ov-
er this place, and two others, returning
to Little Rock the third day. At the
next meeting OF the board the govern
or introduced a resolution limiting the