The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-28
MIR. LUSK'- TRADE.

! ing day of this sitting of the Legis- lature The Advertiser had an editorial arraignment of the administration of Gov Conner. for having utterly failed to reduce indirect taxation. and for having greatly increased direct tax ation. It appealed to the Legislature to assert its independence of the ex- ecutive and not to remain an automa- ton in his hands.
 This article attracted general at- tention over the State and called forth considerable favorable comment. We were satisfied that all this was very disaereeable to officials as vain and domineerins as GOV. Conner and his legislative leaders. and we have been l expecting that tirade against The Advertiser from some authoritative source would be heard on the floor Of one of the houses. The Legislature has lately been getting out of the con- trol of the administration, and this development has naturally angered the powers that be.
 on Friday night the tirade came Tn the Senate, and from the lips of the recognized administration leader, MT. Lusk. He has been throughout the session a veritable "me too" to Gov. Conner, not only by choice, but by nature. in narrowness of view and bit- terness of temperament In the first sitting of the Legislature, when he was leading a majority to victories under the lash of the magic word, lad minfstration, he was intolerant and overbearins. Now that he is finding himself shorn of power and is experi- encing the bitterness of defeat, it is not surprising that he initiates the blindness of the rage of a rattIesnake. He made such a pitiable exhibition of himself that numbers of friends of tho administration. in and out of the Leg fslature. were condemning him yester- day in no uncertain terms.
 MT. Lusk in his tirade arraigned his opponents in the Senate as co-operat- ing with The Advertiser, which gave him an excuse to show his teeth at this paper. His criticisms of this pa- per substantially, were two fold. First. that its editors had "grazed on the Democratic pastures more than editors of any other journal" and had then committed treason against the Democratic Party by bolting free sil- yer in 1sss. Second, that this paper has out some bonds owned, the Lord knows where"
 Both of these are old charges that were worn threadbare years back. Tho Advertiser has answered them ire quently and so satisfactorily that it's circulation has more than doubled since they were first made. The people of the State have year by year givel this paper substantial votes of confi- dence, which is much more than Mir. Lusk can say of his appeal to the p.,- pie of the Seventh Congressional dis ] trict. Suffice 1t to say, the wisdom of the course of this paper in 1896. has long ago been justified by political developments. Free -silverism is a dead issue and the Democracy has abandon ed it. As to The Advertisers bonds, they can not be in any improper place. or MT. Lusk would not have confessed his ignorance on the sub ate the old charge that they were in the hands Of railroads. a charge that The Advertiser exploded in last years campaign, when Mir Conner made it. and for which there Is no more foun- dation now than then.
 In declaring the editors of The Advertiser have grazed more in Demo- cratic pastures than other editors, Mir Lusk reveals & sort of envy of anyone that gets more green stuff than he has been able to- He was charged the other evening by a fellow Senator with hay ing recently grazed to the extent of s6 day beyond the constitutional bounds ) The Code Committee. of which he was a , member sat 61 days during the recess for which he received s6l0. If he col lected s6 per day more than the consti tutional allowance he received $36S , more than he was entitled to. Further. more, it was intimated on the floor O, the Senate that he was off attendine to his law practice about ten days oi the period the Code Committee was a work. Now if these statements bs true. isn't he a pretty sort of fellow to be t-lticising The Advertiser fol l grazing too much in Democratic pas. lures? Isn't he overly fond of greer ' stuff himself?
 It Is an old saying that whom tn, gods would destroy. they first mak,
 mad. It looks to us as if the senator from Marshall was a fresh example O. : the truth of this He and the extrava h gant administration. of which he is th,
 mouts :eoe and the beneficiary, are
 fast weakening their grip on public s confidence. They have promised th
 people bread and have given then