The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-17
POLITICAL GOSSIP OF
 WEEK IN MONTGOMERY
BY HERvEY w. LAIRD.

for the honor. There has been no express ! sion that I recall by MT. Conner, on the subject, and if one might be allowed to
 hazard guess it would be quite reason l able to suppose that he would not be en- thusiastic for a man who Is fighting his
 pet issue so valiantly.
 Letters have been received in the state
 telling that Washington hears that 8 double bal rreled combination is being made to get the senator out, composed of the anti-railroad sentiment and the friends of the President. Careful inquiry discloses no one who is willing to say he will be against the senator in the future and one or two friends of the President inti- mate that it is foolish to think that the
 head of the nation will go so far as to try to discredit a man with his own peo- ple Numbers, on the other hand, have said openly that they are for Morgan as long as he cares to have the place. They
 do not think. however, that his controver- sies over acts of republicans and dispens- | ing office plans in the state has added anything to his strength.
 JeIks' Good Work.
 | Governor William D. Jelks has done nothing more popular or calculated to be of greater benefit to the state than his
 movement for immigration and his efforts to have the state represented at domestic
 
 will go down in history as one of the most brilliant administrations of the state. There has come up such. demand for labor and help that something has to be done, and the governor has put his hand to the blow to work out the plans. It Is bad that he has no money to pay for service that is needed. It is worse that state is so far short in Its own interests as to fail to supply funds for such service. But without money the work is to be done-that is without state money Industrial men and farmers will be asked to provide funds until the leg islature meets, and then 1t is hoped by all that such help as Is needed will be ! forthcoming.
 The governor has had scores of lettors from men who are interested and need help. They are from all parts of the state. Saw mills cannot run with lumber | at the highest price ever known, and hun dreds of farms are lying out because there | can be had no labor to work them. It has become a menace to the better in terests of the commonwealth. and so great Is the need there Is bound to be l some way devised to meet 1t.
 Protect Ignorant.
 | It is recognized that the time has come when Alabama must come to the aid of | its Ignorant people and protect them
  | their ignorance. The evils of certain l lines of insurance effort has been dis 1, cussed often and it is hoped that they | will be abated as a result of an attack | made and making by the state insurance | commissioner. There is another class that is Just as bad in many respects es- pecially as they cover their tracks so well that they cannot be reached. These are the debenture schemes that are pre- valent. Last week an old negro woman came into the office of the insurance com- missioner and showed him a policy on which she had been promised loan She had been paying s6 a month for a long time and had gone far by the period when she was promised loan at a low rate of interest. Examination of the instrument revealed that it had a pro- vision that she was to get the money when her turn came. She did not un- derstand this. but was led to believe that certain time she would be accommo- dated. Commissioner McDavid says schemes like this, many of which go out of business before they ever pay more than a few preferred holders, are com ing to his attention every day. He wants 1 the help of the good people to put lot of them in jail for the present and some | good laws to reach them at the next | session of the legislature.
 Object of Prayer.
 | The friends of one of the state officers, 1 as popular and possibly as good as most of them at the capitol, are wondering what Is the meaning of special effort | that is being made to improve his re- | 1io,ous condition Some one is evidently