The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-03-13
BURNETT AND LUSK
 ENGAGE IN W0RDY WAR
Continued from First Paee)


 -->o-,,.-,->----~-----.-~>~ connection with the railroads as an attor- ney had ever influenced his votes ln con eresa. and said that no railroad represen- tatiye had ever approached him in regard to any measure before congress. AS Tor mileage, MT. Burnett intimated that the man was a fool who would return this money just because he had pass, and made sport of MT. Lusk's statement that he would walk to Washington rather than ride on a pass. MT. Burnett denied that he made $22.20 on his annual mileage be- tween his home and Washington. John ny Lusk is a great man to figure when he Is figuring against the other fellow but 1t would not do to shake a block of bank stock in his face,' he said, alluding to MT. Lusk's opposition to the state bank bill. Why" he continued, dur ing Johnny Lusk's stay of sixty days in the legislature he was paying the railroad three cents a mile fare and pocketing the remaining seven cents of the ten-cent mileage given him by the state. Make him disgorge his seven cents before you send him to congress, he cried, amid shouts of laughter "I am afraid Johns rules of honesty are made for the other fellow
 As to Private Secretary.
 Replying to the charge that he had di-, vided the salary of his private secretary between the secretary and Mrs. Burnett, MT. Burnett said he had done so merely as a convenience. as his wife could at- tend to his work in Washington while the private secretary looked after his busi- ness at home. He pointed out that sena- tor Pettus has his grandson as a private secretary and no one objects. The sub ject of private secretaries reminded Mir. Burnett of the Andrews letter and he scored Lusk for receiving private papers that had been stolen from the congress- man and given to his opponent to be circulated as campaign literature. He asked if the man who received papers under such conditions was better than the man who stole them.
 Giving free rein to his sarcasm MT. Bur nett proceeded to roast his opponent for his ''holier than thou" talk, saying that Napoleon Bonaparte Speers had as good a chance to be elected to congress as Lusk had, and he would proceed ''to puncture his little record" MT. Burnett said that like the girl who was being hugged by her sweetheart and on being caught by her grandmother pleaded that the hugging did not do her any harm but did the boy lot of good. Lusk would do him no harm and would merely have a nice time running for office he could never get He scored Lusk for guarding
 
 against the bank hill and said that the law was a protection instead of a men, ace to state institutions. Said he: John ny, pick the beam out of your own eye before raking around to pick flaws in oth- l ers.'
 MT. Burnett then gave an account of his connection with the bill to appropriate money from public lands for the schools and stated that in an amended form he had obtained 5000 acres of mineral lands for the public schols of his state. In re- gard to the appointment of cadets, MT. Burnett said that he had first given the preference to boys In the country and not residents of Gadsden, but they failed to pass the necessary examinations and for lack of time he was forced to make his appointments in Gadsden. He ridiculed Mr. Lusks plan to make appointments depend on competitive examinations. say ing that negroes, republicans. or anybody else would be free to take the examina- tions. He said he was going to chose cadets of democratic percentage and no one else.
 Confederate Monument Bill. Replying to MT. Lusks charge that he had voted against the bill to erect a con federate monument in Montgomery, MT. Burnett said. "Do justice to the living before you honor the dead" and said that at the time he voted against the bill the old confederates In the state were given barely BIO year as a pension and many were in needy circumstances Fol- lowing the example of his predecessor the congressman then launched forth in a panygyric on the ever popular confed- crate soldier and concluded with much applause after an hour of strenuous ora tory
 Tn his rejoinder of eight minutes MT. Lusk merely touched on the points all ready covered and disputed some of the points brought out by his opponent. Tonight the two candidates for congress