The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-09-26
BARBOUR COUNTY THE
STATES OFFICE GET1ER.

llieve that Barbour is the same ana
that she Is not cutting the politicaf
Ice she did in other days. LEY who
talk this are suffering from supersen-
4 outer world know just how much or a
winner the County Is.
| II these be decadent times for the
County what mua 1t nave had In 9TH
or days In these times SO out or
| joint Barbour only has the Governor
of the State, Hon. w. D. jerks; the
Congressman from the Third District.
Hon. H. D. Clayton; the Judge OF the
judicial Circuit. Hon. A. A. Evans.
and the Supernumerary Judge for Ala
bama. Hon. A. H. Aston. Now II the
claims that Mr.. Conner should be a
native son of Barbour be admitted
there seems to be no peg whatever on
which to hang the claim ,hat the
Countv's ancient glory is waning.
| Jefferson county Is not doing much
better now and everybody knows In
the past the big county has not done
so well.
| Barbour,s Three Governors.
| Barbour's three Governors. IL she in
sists upon appropriating the honor of
Mr.. Corners selection will when the
| list is finished, consist of first Ala
bama' War Governor, John Gill Shor-
ter, the new constitution Governor
William Dorsey Jelks, and the Rail-
road Rate Reform Governor Braxton
| Bragg Conner. Governor Shorter's
Jelks's term will extend from 1901
| to 1907, Governor Corners term will
| extend from 1907 to 1911.
| 1t Is a fact not generally known that
Governor Jelks has served longer as
Chief Executive than any man who
has ever filled the chair. from the days
/ of Bib on down. When he steps out
1 ne Nap L.. Tn 1A a
ed nearly six years. No other Cover
nor has served Alabama so long a
| time. No other Governor can so long
| fill the chair of tho Governor until the
present constitution Is changed The
| constitution puts the time limit OF four
years upon the States Chief Executive
and the record of length of service es-
tablished by Governor Jelks will be
/ only exceeded when a new constitu-
| tion is made.
/ Called to the chair originally by the
4 death of Governor Sanford, Governor
/ Jeiks served eighteen months of his
| term. He was given an election I'M
/ der the new constitution with the con-
| stitution's term of four years. In this
/ way the record was established.
i k0Ib From barbour.
/ From Shorter to Conner, the county
/ of Barbour has had some strong bid
| ders for the office of Chief Executive
/ who fell just short of the prize. Cap
| tain r. r. Kolb, who for a decade was
the stormy. petrol of Alabama politics,
| was from Barbour county. The IA
nous campaigns which he made for
Governor and which missed the goal
of success so narrowly have to this
good day their own effect upon the
politics of Alabama. Captain Kolb
boasts with some pride that he is
the Oldest person born in the city of
Eufaula. He was a farmer at Eufaula.
a watermelon raiser whose fruit was
State politics and became Commission
| ss Of Agriculture. In his candidacy
| for Governor he Influenced the politi-
cal conditions of the State as no de-
feated candidate for that office ever
has.
But Captain Kofb was by no means
the only man of Barbour who made a
strong but unsuccessful bid for the
chair of the Chief Executive. Men who
are yet middle aged remember the
strong figure of John NJ. McKelroy, an
able and dashing leader who struck for
the Governorship( but missed 1t;
/ His fine abilities rendered excellent
service to the State In the office OF
Superintendent of Education, but fate
baked his ambition to sit in the chair
of the Governor. He moved late In
hfs to Admission. where wise invest
nenta greatly increased his private
| fortune h06ore his death.
General CIaytOn's Race.
The name of General Henry D. Clay
ton will OCCUR to those familiar with
the political history of the state when
one talks of Barbour county and tbs
Governorship. He, too, fought for the
goal and missed 1t narrowly. A dis
tinguished Confederate soldier, he bs-
came a Circuit Judge. and strong
aspirant for Guhernatorial honors. He
later became President of the State
University ard died In that post OF
honor.
i Major Henry r. Shorter. who served
longer than any other one man as
/ President of the Alabama Railroad
Commission, and whose name is ident'
flied with the Commission, had the laud-
able ambition to 1t as successor of his
distinguished kinsman. But in this
fate was not propitious. He was &
| strong candidate for the honor, but tbs
Governorship' is captious and elusive
and he missed 1t. He was. however
identified with the political life of Ala
bama from early manhood to his death
For eighteen years one of the Ala
bama Senators, Hon. James l. Pugh
was from Eufaula. He was more than
a Senator, for he was a national fig
ure, equipped by nature and training to
sit and be the peer of any Senator faI
or near. He was a strong man, strong
with the strength of an intellectual
Thor. The fame he won in the Senate
of the United States as a lawyer. as 4
debater still endures. Ex-senator Pugt
is spending an easy and graceful ole
| age In Washington. His fine old ante
bellum home on the outskirts of Eu-
| faula has In his absence lost its for
mer beauty and is falling a, prey to de.
cay.
Senator Pugh's Active Life.
1t was a remarkable life he lived
poor boy riding the mail for a few
dollars a month, he lived to sit in the
highest law-making body of the worlt
and public sentiment gave him placS
anon gthe ablest and best in that pow.
erful body As far back as 1S49 he
was a candidate for Congress, unsuc-
cessful at first, but victorious at last
He was one of the Alabama Congress
men who walked out of the nationa
capitol when they heard that Alabams
had seeded from the Union. He be
came a Confederate private, but lef
the army to take the seat given him BY
his people in the Confederate Congress
And in due time when the war and 1t!
twin sister of misfortune. reconstruc
ton. had passed. the ex-mail rider wa!
sent to the Senate.
CONGRESSMAN Clayton of this day II
not the only Barbour County either
who has sat in the lower House. II
the DAYS before the war Hon. Eli
shorter went from Eufaula to Wash
Ington to represent his district and h
did 1t ably.
The list of Shorters who were dis