Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1906-12-07

GALVESTON NEWS ON
BA|LEYS REJOINDER
THE NEWS SAYS BAILEYs REPLY
Is SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE HIS
DEFEAT.

Senator Bailey's reply to Attorney
General Dayidson's letter is published
in the morning papers today, but is
too lengthy for reproduction in the
columns Of the Herald today. Editor
tally, the News says:
When Attorney General Davidson,
in his official capacity, called for doc
uments of the Waters Pierce Oil COM
pany purporting to involve Senator
Bailey, the News realized that this
proceeding was upon an entirely diff
ferent basis from the former crit-
cisms Of Mr.. Bailey, which had been
made by citizens in private life. How
ever, in its desire to be fair, in pursu-
ance of its policy to prejudice no
mans case, and because 1t seemed that
all the facts pertaining to Senator
Bailey's relations to the Waters Pierce
OIL company might be developed in
the judicial proceedings at Austin, the
News refrained at that time from ex-
pressing an opinion in the matter.
The attorney general called upon
said oil company to produce certain
specified vouchers and records. The
purpose of this demand, according to
the States pleadings and the attorney
generals subsequent statement, was
to establish the facts that the former
Ftr,tor~ r,foro, ngt ..r,,or,- haJ ,,4
been dissolved and that it is dominat-
ed by the Standard Oil company. Ger
tain OF these alleged vouchers pur-
ported to show that Il. G. Pierce had
drawn money from the Waters Pierce
Oil company to reimburse himself f0E,,
payments claimed to have been made
to ]. W. Bailey upon account of Tex
as cases. and for loans made by
Pierce to Bailey. Certain of these
vouchers, according to the notice of
the attorney general, appeared to
havt been audited by the auditor Of
the Standard OIL company.
20 gls-z this notice IL the attar-
ney general. Senator Bailey gave out
statement at Washington in which
he declared that If there were any
vouchers purporting to show that he
had received money from the Waters
Pierce Oil company, such vouchers
were forged. It seemed to the News
that Mr.. Bailey's Texas friends had
not accurately informed him Of the
proceedings at Austin. No issue had
been Joined as between Senator Bailey
and the attorney general. One had
written about one thing and the other
about a different thing. Again the
News waited, in order that the issue
might be Joined. In the meantime
Attorney General Davidson wrote an
open letter asking Senator Bailey for
what service or purpose he had re-
ceived the amounts alleged to have
been drawn by Pierce from the Waters
Pierce Oil company.
The case against the company had
been continued, and the chance of an
early judicial inquiry lost At this
point the News felt inclined to say
that there should be a legislative in
vestigation; that the time for ex parte
statements had passed. Nevertheless,
1t has waited to hear Senator Bailey's
retoinder. This statement from Sen
ator Bailey appears elsewhere. 1t
speaks for itself. In so far as Senator
Bailey's eligibility is concerned, the |
News does not now deem an investi- |
CATION necessary. The countercharges
made by him This impeachments of |
witnesses and critics. have not been
material as concerns the charges !
against himself The vital question |
all along has been as to what he did. 4
And now many matters referred to
are OF no consequence in so far as they
relate to his conduct. He may be
judged by his own statement. 1t is
this statement which convinces the
News that no investigation is neces-
sary, because II furnishes the rea-
sons for which the legislature should
not re-elect Senator Bailey.
The News is extremely reluctant to
reach such a conclusion in the case of
a man of Senator Bailey's brilliant at
and It is not unmlndful of
the displeasure 1t will incur in some
quarters by making this declaration.
it does not shirk its .
duty as public journal II does not |
consider Senator Bailey's explanation
and is convinced that his
influence and usefulness have been so
sadly impaired by the charges against {
him and by his own responses and ex-
plantations that the Democracy OF
Texas should unite upon some other s
nan for the high place he now holds.