The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-09
Some Speculation as to
 Capitol Changes.

[ " dilSNuCE aTHy Ol men ana women who will be selected by Brax-
 ton Bragg Conner, of Birmingham. the
 man who will take up the reins of of- flee on January Is, to serve the State four years as Governor,
 It Is no mistake to say that the Governor will select all. or. most, of [ the States. employees. It is true enough that the lay provides the manner of
 their selection and, that the positions are giveu to various subordinate ofil- ciais. But the. power nf a Governor IS potent in politics. He Is more than the leader of the civic government He Is the leader of great political party
 and he Is the commander in chief If three regiments of infantry, a squadron or cavalry and a battalion of artillery. His influence with the men who are at the heads of the various departments oI the State is far reaching and, hav-
 Ing. political. debts to pay. both for his own preferment and the preferment of
 the heads of departments who are his cabinet so to speak. he Is looked upon
 as the man to go to when a clerkshlp Is wanted. If you have ben especially
 active politically in his behelf and poses the qualifications for the po-
 sition you seek-this being the main noint-you are likely to get the place
 If man is not ahead or you. MT. Conner is said to be giving this SA ~AAipAOy AAiCHk eration. His eye has doubtless swept
 the field of office-seekers with a view to putting good men into the service. One who knows Mir. Conner does not.
 doubt that he will get the right kind
 of men. He has the reputation of
 knowing men and he has been an em- ployer of many men throughout his
 life. The right selections of men to help him in his various business en-
 tcrprises has ben one ot the factors
 tn building up fortune for him The names of some of the men who will hold office under the Conner ad-
 ministration are known. Others are not In fact MT. Conner and his friends have been unusually silent as to what will be done by the incoming admin istration.
 All of the faces in the Governors' of- flee after January fl. will be new faces. Hon. J. Kirk ackson. Private JSecretary to Governor Jelks will re~ tire. Already he is the member of a prosperous real estate firm of Mont Eomery. With the new year. he will devote all of his time tv this business It looks now as if W. E. Fort, young lawyer of Birmingham will succeed Mir Jackson. Chappell Cory, who was with Governor Johnston, has bun mentioned but Mir. Cory has just set such talk at rest by announcing that he Is no
 
 Some time ago 1t was aid that w. R. Shafer, City Attorney of Selma, and former member of the House of Rep resentatives from Dallas county. might be appointed Private Secretary to Gov. ernor Conner. One does not hear much of Mir. shafer in that connection nOwa days.
 So it seems that Mir Fort is to get the plum. He was one of Mir. Corners chief lieutenants during the remarka- ble campaign of the Birmingham man and later served as vice-Chairmau of the State Democratic Campaign Com notice.
 since the salary of the Governors Private Secretary was raised to $2.40O year. it Is regarded as one of the good offices at the state Capitol.
 Capitol rumor has it that Miss Mamie offutt VII retire from the Gov erncr's ofiee when Governor Jelks leaves. And this will not be good news to the thousands of men in Alabama who have business with the executive office. Miss offutt combines extraordI- nary business capacity with the wo- manly graces of a gentleEoman. She has been in the Governors office six years. When. W. J. Conniff resigned as Secretary several months l ago Miss Offutt was appointed to that 1 position
 One does not get it from Miss Offutt | that she is to retire from the Cover | nor's office She Is too much of a dip | lomat to discuss her aIairs or the af- l fairs of the executive office, but it is | said that she will accept a good posi- l lion elsewhere. If Miss Offutt desired | To FOmain with Governor Conner every | man and woman in the State house | would ask Governor elect Conner to keep her in her old place. But Miss onutt is loyal fact!e mist. She knows ] Lhat the outgoing administration sup ported pr. Cunningham. She supported | Or. Cunningham. Like a true-blue poll tician she has prepared to take her 
 No one doubts that Mr. Conner will | appoint w. D. Nesbltt oE Birmingham o be President of the Railroad Com mission. Indeed Mir Conner has said as much. MT. Nesbitt groomed AIT. Conner aS earned #.
 The new Railroad Commission will lot be organized until March l. At hat time Messrs. Henderson and Har- is will take their seats by the side # President Nesbitt, who will have become Mir. Corners successor And hen wifi be settled the question that las been asked by interested persons: VIII Virgil Griffin be continued as Sec etary to the Railroad Commission7
 Mir. Griffin has been with the Com mission several years. He Is a popular itizen of Montgomery and an officer ,f the First Presbyterian Church. Few nen in the State have more informa- ion as to the work of the Railroad than Mir. Griffin. He has lot indicated that he expects to remain with the Commission and the Commis- ioners-elect are reticent on the sub ect
 Rumor has it that J. Craig Smith, tate Treasurer. who will be succeeded " Walter D. Seed of Tuscaloosa, is to 'e appointed President of the State Convict Bureau to succeed Dr. Shirley Bragg of Montgomery. It is said, Iowever. that pr. Bragg could be re- ppointed to the office if he wanted 1t. Certainly he has made a fine record in he office.
 MT. Smith is Q son-in-law of Mir. 'omer. but no one would undertake o accuse Mr Conner of nepotism, no natter what office he gives MT smith, he people have time and again shown heir confidence in MT, smith. Indeed. n recent years he has been mentioned I S one of the vigorous minded young len of the State. who possesses the , quipment of which Governors are ' lade.
 The new Convict Board may make hanges in it's large force of employees | nd again it may not. This depart lent employs men all over the state. Thief interest lies in the office force nd the wardens at Wetumpka, Speig { CTS and other prisons. Chief Clerk 1 Y. F. Beard of Troy may retire, but 1t probable Robert Tait, the general ] ookkeeper will remain in the Capitol . flee of the Bureau. MT. Tait comes , rom Wilcox County hut he has been 1