Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1907-10-17


with false charges and promises, he
deceived tho people Of Kentucky into
electing him governor. In that cam
/ paign he slanderOusly charged the
! Democratic administration Of the state
/ with fraud and corruption, and prom
| ised 90 the people that II elected gov
ernOr and his party placed in power
when they could get look at the
1 books" they would show up this fraud
and corruption. For ever four years
he and his party had control Of the
state government and Of the public
records, and / repeat that they have
never TO this day reported the dlscov-
err Of a single act Of fraud or oOrrup-
tion upon the part OF previous Demo-
\ cratic Administrations
PitIful and Childish.
But how does the distinguished eK.
governor, Whea ooafrsnted with this
answer to hts charges ia that oan-
paign, seek to escape IT. IN hts
speech he says, in 1895, WiaeA me
Republicans went into OtIiOe, there
was not enough naonev IN The treasury
to pay an expert bookkeeper to look
at the books on secpWnt Of Democratic
Indebtedness" This Is 80 pfifsa and
childish that no Intelligent citizen will
let him or with gach an ezcase He
had under AIS ewn appointment
state inspector and examiner, drawing
$1,000 a year aRd expenses. with the
right to employ assistants. whose duty
Il was, under the direction of the gov
ernor, to make such Investigations OF
the books. Why doesn't Governor
Bradley own up hke a man and con-
| TESS to the truth that they did make
| this investigation into the books and
utterly failed to fad anything wrong?
| His reference to the Tate matter is OF
no credit tn him or to his party. be-
cause that defaloatiOn was discovered
and exposed by a Democratic admin
istration. and Tate's bOndsmen forced
| to make good the loss to the state by
Democratic officials before Bradley
came into office. The promises which
he and his party made in that cam
paign were equally as false and insin-
CCIt as were Ju6 CHhTB6h
Every intelligent citizen in Ken
lucky knows that the administration
of the state under Bradley and Tay-
lor, from January. 1896. to February,
1900, was full Of Encouragement. dis
aster and crime. 1t came into power
under false pretenses and it went out
of power in carnival OF Iawlessness
and assassination. Mr.. Wilson, tho
Republican candidate for governor,
whose chief spokesman Governor
Bradley is, must stand upon that rec
ord OF his party, and cannot expect
to deceive the people again In this
campaign as they dtd in 1896. The
attempt Of Governor Bradley IN this
speech to account for the grfeVous
Encouragement Of cur finances duriRs
their administration Is so weak and SO
poor that 1t deserves hardly any men
ton at an. In his printed speech
there are three long columns taken
ND with a tumbled mass Of agWrea. so
arranged as to confuse rather than
to illuminate the subject. An expert
accountant coHld nOt reach any Ia,
telligent conclusion from sUcai an ar
rangement, and 1t Is clear that Gov
ePnor Bradley himself Was lost In the
statistical maze OF his own figures.
He cannot repBdiate his responsibility
for Taylor and TRYfOr's administra-
tiOn. No man was more responsible
for Taylor's temporary power than
Bradley was; he was chief counsel
and adviser while Taylor was acting
governor. He was in Frankfort ali
the time and was TayiOr's leading at
torney in the contest cases. His OWE
administration was bad enough. but
he and his party cannot escape the
added evil OF Taylor's administration.
Even II we should grant his request
to hold them responsible only to the
end of his administration la January
1900. the comparison with Democratic !
administration would be altogether in
our favor
Charge Falls to the Ground.
He states that while Taylor was
governor there was dual government
in the state. and that the Democrats as
well as the Republicans were eKpend-
ing the states money. That is not
true. I was sworn in az governor on
February 3rd, The other Democratic
officials were not sworn IN until Feb
ruary goth, and It was long after that
before we paid out cent of the state
money. So mis- charge that we were
responsible for any OF the reckless
expenditures under Taylor falls to the
ground. Il Is mt supported By the
records or facts. and nobody knows
better than Governor Bradley the
truth about It. He knows. too, that
the Democratic administration after.
ward had TO pay Off the greater part
of the expenses for TayioT's lawless
soldiery as well as their debts In
CURED during that disastrous admin
istration. According to his figures
the state was In debt above IT'S assets
when he assumed Office, $1,421, 498.