The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-09-26

| selfish and undivided attention to my pub
| lie duties when they require attention. and
! shall continue to give -as / have given
ny time to private business when my time
Is not required by my public duties |
have never had client IN my life who
has attempted to influence my official ac-
ton, and the men who employ me about
their important affairs have too much con-
i fdence In my integrity to suppose for one
moment that they could control or influ-
/ enee me as senator. of course l know
| there are men Of low character and intel
/ leet who would slaVtshly do the bidding OF
| any men or corporation who might EN-
| ploy their services, and pay them fee,
but such men seldom obtain Important
employment as lawyers and such men
can never secure election as a senator
from the state of Texas The upright and
| hlgh-minded lawyer gives to his clients
| the best Of his cgal learning and ability,
| but no more than thu, and he would drive
from his presense any client who pre-
sumed to think that In retaining him as
a lawyer he had secured the right to conf
mand him In respect 10 any matter outside
of the legal controversy.
"Since the foundation of this republic
| the greatest senator whose regulations as
| lawyers could command clients, have
practiced their profession with propricty
and without criticism. Some great lawyers
have not practlced law while In the pub
lie service because they have been men OF
Independent means and did not feel under
the necessity OF providing for their family,
and their old age, by pursuing still their
profession; but the wisest and the best
of them have not thought 1t improper or
unpatriotlo to attend to their privae bus,-
ness In their own time.
Houston Good Government Club.
II have carefully read the circular Is
sued by the Good Government club Of
Houston, and 1 was impressed when read
ing it with the striking similarity between
II and the Cosmopolitan magazine article.
In fact 1t appears to be special effort
to justify that scurrilous and Infamous
attack upon me- It would seem that when
men set themselves up as examples OF
good government and living they would
be scrupulously careful to tell the truth
and to do no injustice in any way, but
have seldom seen a formal document
which contained more gross misrepresen-
tations than are in the circular. In the
first place extracts from 1t were tele-
graphed over the country with a false
statement of the membership of the club.
In the communication sent from Houston
to the st. Louis Republic and printed in
that paper of September q, the organiza-
ton is described as the Harris County
Good Government club of which Ii. f.
Ring is the president, with 1000 member
ship
"Of course it might be that the state
ment as to the membership of that club
was a falsehood by the ST. Louis re-
porter, but exactly the same mis-
statement appeared in the New York
American, where those who understand
how such articles are circulated have
right to believe that the men who are
responsible for the publication are also
responsible for that falsehood. After stat
ing the membership of the club as
thousand in the ST. Louis Republic of
Friday, it was stated in the Dallas News
the next day at so, and in Sundays News
a very accurate and talented staff cores
pondent declares that the officers of that
organization declined to give either the
number or the names of its members.
My own judgment Is that its MEM
bership is very small, because l do not
believe there are many people in Hous-
ton who would become parties to the false
hoods which it is attempted to dissent
nate.
Dealings With Kirby.
1.-The first criticism against my bust
ness dealings is with reference to my
attorneyship for the Hon. John II. Kirby
and the Kirby Lumber company which
is, in substance, merely a reflection from
the same article in the Cosmopolitan
Magazine The Cosmopolitan article did
not, however, as l now recall it. in
clude the statement now made for the
first time in this circular, that l helped
Mr.. Kirby sell an East Texas railroad
to the Santa Fe system
This Is an addition and 1t seems strange !
such an addition should have been made |
by any man at Houston, because of all |
the Houston people who know anything
about Mr. Kirby's affairs know that the |
railroad which he built and sold to the |
Santa Fe system was built and sold years
before had any business relations what |
ever with Mr.. Kirby. So far from having
helped Mr.. Kirby sell anything to the |
Santa Fe system no employment of mine !
has ever brought me in contact with the |
officers of that railroad. | do not even !
know the president of 1t, and I have |
never discussed a business proposition
of any kind with any officer, agent or at |
torney of It.
THE next statement is that Mr.. Kirby
instead of going himself to Hartman |
or Ryan. or to any other great railroad |
operator employed me to do so. That is
a falsehood, pure and simple l never |
saw Mr.. Hartman In my life and |
nave never discussed a business PROPOSE |
ton with Mr.. Ryan. I did not go to |
Mr.. Hartman and Mr.. Ryan To sell Mr.. |
kirby's property; nor did / go to any
other Wall street financier
Fasehoods Too Numerous.
1T is, however unnecessary to occupy
space in pointing out the various false |
hoods of this circular, because the at
tack is based entirely upon my speech
delivered in the Senate on the 9th of
June, AS that speech was printed in full
by some and in extended synopsis by all
of the daily papers in Texas thirty DAYS
before the democratic primaries and the
voters OF this state were fully advised
of what hadNsaid and done when thew
renominated me- 1t would seem a waste
of time to enter into an argument with
these creatures on that point Not only
was that speech before the voters when
they nominated me at their primaries,
but it was before the delegates to the
state convention. who repeated the peo
pies endorsement, and to contend that It
disqualified me for a seat in the Senate
is to insult the patriotism, intelligence
and integrity of the voters of Texas
There is, however, one other part of