The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-07

| ernor should have the naming of the | committees. They argue, further, do the friends of Mir. Gray, that the nam I ing of the committees by the Lieuten- 1 Governor would be assurance that | the policies of the dominant faction of the party would be carried out. l On the other hand, the friends of MT. Thomas say this sort of talk Is indu1ged | in to try to offset the assured will of the Senate that the President pro tenn | of the Senate should name the com mittees. They assert the friends of that side of the question have got the | fight whipped, and that the only thing | that can stave off the other sides de- | feat Is Q direct appeal to some of the Senators by MT. Conner.
 Their argument runs, too. along the | statement issued yesterday by Senator | Thomas, in which he. scores those who assert and insinuate he Is opposing the | administration of Governor elect Co., | mer. The Thomas men were inclined | to believe his forceful statement yes- terday killed all talk that his candi- racy was "a Grecian horse" to get in- side the citadel of power and queer the incoming administration. They argue that the statement showed conclusively Senator Thomas was not only bound by the Democratic platform, but bound as we'll by the public pledges he made and which were printed in the papers of his county.
 Some of his senatorial friends de- clared that all who were familiar with the proceedings of the last Senate re- | membered that Senator Thomas was one of the chosen leaders in the diffi- cult fight which carried through the, rate legislation in which Mir. Conner and his friends were so much inter- ested. They say those that were fami- liar with the proceedings of the last Senate will recall he was one of the floor leaders for the elective railroad commission bill, and that he was a prominent figure in the hot fight which marked the difficult passage of the bill through the Senate.
 Is AdministratIon interested.
 These friends of the Barbour senator would argue, that the attention to mis- represent him and show him as an op- por~nt to the policies which were en- dorsed Tn the late primary, could have but one effect that of rebound upon the men who aid them. sss y5 ses--s In the meanwhile, the question among the Senators Is Do those who say Mir. Conner wants the Lieutenant Governor to name the committees truly represent Mir. Comer?"
 Senators who came in yesterday and sought information on pending ques- [. <. Colbert. and Henry F. Reese of Dallas. With the Lieutenant Governor, and as- sisting him in his fight Saturday, were Senator John W. Overton, of Ran dolph. and Senator H. P. Merritt, of Macon.
 Senators Charles B. Teasley, of Mont gomery. Henry F. Reese, of Dallas, and Evans Hinson. of Lowndes. were recog- nized by the lobby crowds as friends and advisors of Senator Thomas. Sev- eral senators who have reached the city are known to be as yet uncommitted on the important proposition.
 The House members are not having much fun in these anto-session days. There is no contest on to interest the members of the lower house as yet. The Speakership fight has not yet formed. There are no workers to speak to the incoming members In the inter- est of Mir. Goodwin or in the interest of MT. Martin. Today the fight may take some form and be invested with some spirit But yesterday-well, 1t might as we'll have been six months off for the lack of interest 1t arous- ed.
 They haven't even got a fight for Clerk on in the House, to give the members something to talk about. Cyrus B. Brown. of Montgomery. ap- pears to have what one rural member of the House called clinch.'' that being a near approach to the commoner slang word of "cinch" There was talk some weeks back of Charles Mo Rae, of Jefferson County making the fight against MT. Brown. but Mir. Mo Rae has not yet appeared on the scene. and no work apparently. has been done for him.
 Fight for Assistant Clerk.
 The only fight that Is drawing a passing interest just now Is the fight for assistant clerk. The three candi- dates for this honor have been moving lively and they have drawn a number of their friends into it. The House member, when he gets where the pol iticians are assembled, hears more about this fight for Assistant Clerk than he hears about anything else. The con testants are William F. Herbert of De- mopolis. Assistant Clerk of the last House. Isadore Shapiro of Birmingham and Harry G. McNeer of Tuscaloosa.
 over in the Senate the secretarial fight is on between James A. Kyle of Jackson and William J. Conniff of Montgomery. Both sides were putting in few effective licks yesterday. The Senators who had arrived on the scene were seen by friends of both men. Mir. Kyle was Assistant Secretary of the last Senate MT. Connin Is a young real estate man of Montgomery and for two years was Recording Secretary in the office of Governor Jelks
 There are other minor contests go- ing on. all of which were outlined fin yesterdays Advertiser, but so far they have not figured in the interest of the gathering. It Is expected these minor contests will warm up tomorrow, and the assembled statesmen will have something to talk about.
 Tn the meanwhile. what about pro- posed legislation? Well. there is more proposed legislation than a maE can shake a stick at. If there Is a Sena- tor or Representative who has come to Montgomery without several already prepared bills neatly packed away in his grip, nobody knows him. If there is a Senator or a Representative who has come in without some two or three pet local measures, nobody has heard of him. As for railroad rate legisIa- tion-it's a mighty poor member who hasn't got two or three bills on that very question.
 But just now slight attention is be- ign paid to proposed Legislation. There will be time enough for that when the session has actually begun. The immediate business before the House Is the settlement of all organ ization contests.