The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-25
THE ADvrRrrsrn,s MOTIVES.

THE ADVERTISERS MOTIVES.
 Some days ago The Montgomery Journal had an article attempting to account for the attitude of the. Birmingham papers and The Advertiser towards Secretary Of State Hefiin's attack on Judge Jones. The following was the reference to The Advertiser;
 Now comes a bold, and ever bald. as- sertion that The Advertiser Is not wholly influenced in its defense of Judge Jones and severe strictures on MT. Hefitn by purely unselfish and patriotic motives; that the editor of The Advertiser-a good man. too. by the way, for the position win in due season be appointed clerk of the United States Court over which Judge Jones presides. This clerkship is a very lucrative position, Is one of honor as well as profit. and is very desirable. Already charge, thus impunging the high and pure motive of The Advertiser in It's assaults upon him, and they defend their position by saying that The Advertiser first im- pugned the motive of MT. Hefin.
 This, they say, is the real milk in The Advertisers cocoanut, and moves that paper to such strenuosity in It's attacks on Heiiin and praise of Judge Jones.
 The Advertiser did not deem 1t neces- sary at the time to reply to this fling at the Editor of this paper for several req lie has long been familiar with the atti- tude of The Journal towards The Adver- tiser and Is ready to take that papers utterances on that line with very large allowance of salt.
 Yesterday. however, a large part of this article was copied by The Birmingham Age-Herald with this introduction:
 In a telegram to friends in Birmingham J. Tom Hefiin, Secretary of State. has the following to say.
 ''The editorial in yesterday evening s date for Governor, actuating the express sions of the Birmingham press in dis senting to my Luverne speech, has my hearty -
 The last word in The Age-Heralds ar- ticle was so blurred in the several copies seen at this ofice that it could not be de- termined whether is was approval or l "disapproval" The headlines over the article were "Hefiin Doesn't Approve The Journals Editorial"
 | If, the headlines are correct, then the | word in his telegram must have beer | ''disapproval" If such was the case | then the inference is warranted that MT Hefiin approves that part of The Journals article making insinuations as to Int l Advertisers motives. That may not bt the fact but he has not taken any steps ! Am a seems to have done so far as the Bir' mingham papers motives are concerned In the light of this situation. The Ad' vertlser has decided to make proper state ments on the subject. to put an end al once to the possibility that any friend of The Advertiser or of Judge Jonei l might believe such nonsense.
 In the first place. the Editor-in-Chief oi this paper. Major w. w. Screws, ha' been out of the State since July 4th, ana is now on the Pacific Coast. He has beer moving constantly. and very probably ha' not seen Hefiin's speech or The Adver 1, tisers comments on it. He certainly has not communicated with his associate O. The Advertiser in any way whatever or l the subject.
 In the second place he has never sough the position of Clerk at Judge Jones' 1 hands. nor do we believe he has any in tention of ever doing so. His associate and his friends have often in the pas two years heard him say that he neve
 expected to seek pubic office again. I
 is an open secret among his friends tha
 he declined to allow his name used thre
 years agl In connection with the Mont gamery postofice. when he had som
 reason to be ieve that he could have beel
 appo nted. He is thoroughly satisfied i with his duties as Editor of The Adver
 tiser, is comfortable in his income iron 1t, and has no desire to affect in any wa,
 his entire independence of utterance o
 public matters by any sort of politica
 ob isatlon.
 In the third place. Judge Jones ha
 never made any intimation of any de
 sire to appoint Major Screws to the posi-
 ton in ques ion.
 The Advertiser has been a de
 voted friend of Judge Jones fo
 years. This is because 1t ha
 the utmost confidence in the mans char
 acter and the greatest admiration for hi
 ability No man in the State Is his su
 perior. in our judgment. in the combina
 ton of brains, courage, honesty and dc
 votion to duty. This is the sole reaso
 why it has defended him against the un just and puerile attack of Mir. Hefn. There is no need of looking further fo
 a reason. for there Is none other MT
 Hefiin only makes himself or "his friends
 the more ridiculous in attempting to ac
 count for The Advertisers criticism .
 him in so absurd a way.
 But if MT. Hefin or his friends" hay gone into the task of accounting for tn motives of every State paper that con demns his bad break at Luverne, they wi
 have big job on hand. The large ma
 jority of Alabama papers, which hay
 spoken, weeklies. as well as dailies, ar criticising him severely. It is evident tha the question can't be begged that way. LET HIM SUBSIDE,