The Columbus weekly dispatch., 1907-06-13

IN decision nOIOlnS CndL company
. to millions of dollars OF just taxes,
which the plain people of the eoun-
try had heretofore paid for the rail-
road company, the hostility of the
The Herald and many other State
papers condemned the bad faith of
! this decision, as to the taxes of 1886
j 1892 inclusive, taking for our text
the dissenting opinion of Justice
Woods. We criticised the judges and
| the revenue agent, with some sever
ity. AS to McLaurin, then governor
| he was never thought of in this con-
nection. Why should he have been?
| What is meant by his lawful author
! ity'' to influence the courts decision
in a great law suit? What can he
mean by such assertion? Presumably
our courts are independent and un-
trammeled in reaching their conclu
sions. Here we are told that McLau-
rim, the governor, vested with the
power of appointment and re-appoint-
ment, used the authority of his Of
fice' to show them what was "a fair
and impartial decision" Who was
this authority FUSED" upon. and how?
What can Chief Justice Whitfield, the
sole incumbent of the cid court, who
wrote and delivered this decision,
think of such an aspersion? The
story is just another falsehood, blind
ed by the intent of degrading the
Herald, Senator McLaurin has wit
lessly slandered the supreme court
judges.
The claim of the governor for any
share of the credit in this decision is
no less impudent than it is calumin-
Gus. So far from being entitled to
credit for the recovery of tthe mill
lions of just taxes he was employed
by the railroad, as we have been in
formed and believe, to lobby in favor
of bill in the legislative session of
1900 to compromise the amount OF
the States claim, as decreed in this
! fair and impartial decision" We
will give the name of our informant
upon this matter, if Senator McLau
rim will cite us to his authority for
stating that the Herald is owned or
controlled by the railroads. We have
been further told that had Revenue
Agent Adams been guided as urged
by Senator McLaurin, the plain peo
ple'' of the State would have been
juggled out of all but a million dol
lars nf the Same this statement
is not true, we will accept correction
from Mr.. Adams as that part of it
in which his name is used.
We quote further from Senator
McLaurin's attack upon the Herald:
There is this extract in the Her
McLaurin brothers had a feast as
long as they kept the keys, and when
the business was turned over to Lon
gino and Edgar Wilson, the situation
showed no improvement for the
State This vile and Shiny accusa-
ton is its own refutation. No honest
man who knows me can be made to
believe that during the time | was
governor / ever misappropriated a
dollar of the States money. / never
handled any of the public money ex-
cept when l counted it in the State
treasury, as | was required to do by
law. No brother of mine handled any
of the public money except Walter
McLaurin the year he was warden,
and every dollar he received as war
foS r, I'LL fn9 f1r n
turned into the hands of the State
treasurer, ex-officio treasurer of the
penitentiary. No honest man believes
that he ever misappropriated dollar
of the States funds, and no truthful
man will ever make any such insfn-
uation.''
This extract appeared in this pa
per, with several columns of items
from State exchanges, credited to the
Southern Sentinel. Calling it the
.tHerald's article will be recognized
as pretty far fetched. But as We are
credited with it, and as it is used in
an interview designed to bring the
editor of the Herald under the ban of
all honest men, we will not shirk the
onus so falsely imposed. OF the SEN
ator's deceased brother, we regret to
speak. But when his grave is used
as a shelter for a cowardly defama-
ton, we are warranted in showing
that this extract did him no wrong.
To do this we will say no more than
that after his death a Delta planter
and lessee of convicts exhibited TO Us
! letters from certain lawyer calling
for payment of thousand dollars
due the estate of the late warden, for
services claimed in securing convicts