The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-08
LIE INJECTED
 INTO CAMPA AIGN Governor Smith Will Face an
 Angry Opponent
BROWN WILL SAY THINGS
Suspension of Commissioner Brown From Office By Governor Smith Is Causing Talk and Reasons
 Are Not Yet Known.

Atlanta, March 7.-(Special. )-Following the definite announcement of his candi- daey for governor, which is expected from former Railroad Commissioner Jo- seph M. Brown next week, it is highly probable that Governor Smiths reasons for suspending him from the railroad commission six weeks before the expira- ton of his term of office will be made public.
 Governor Smith exercised his right un- der the law to withhold his reason for suspending Commissioner Brown, from the publicr and stated he would give it to the legislature at its coming session. Consequently outside of Governor Smith, MT. Brown and probably @ few of the intimate friends of each nobody knows absolutely why the governor took such a summary step.
 But should MT. Brown enter the race against Governor Smith this reason for his suspension would then assume po- ltical importance, and it could not well be withheld from the public. In fact it comes pretty straight that if MT. Brown announces, the governor will set forth
 
 sion of the commissioner.
 There has been a good deal of spec ulation as to the cause of MT. Browns suspension It may be stated positively that that officials suspension was not in pursuit of any campaign promise or threat which Governor Smith made on the stump, as many throughout the state still no doubt believe.
 The suspension is said to have followed a letter which Commissioner Brown wrote to the governor following the adjourn ment of the legislature last summer, the contents of which so angered the gov ernor that he almost immediately ordered the commissioner out of his office.
 What the contents of that letter were have been surmised, but are not definite ly known. Report has it that it called attention to a scurrilous publication in @ western paper.
 At all events enough is known to just- fy the view that the matter was one of a personal and political nature, and that the action of the governor was not based upon anything that Mir. Brown had done in dealing with public matters as railroad commissioner.
 It IS Sald tlat when MT. Brown gets into the race the publication of the gov ernors statement regarding the matter will be nothing short of sensational.
 Altogether some highly exciting times are promised in what at first blush had promised to be an yyear politically. The question whether the Confederate veterans of Georgia shall be paid their pensions quarterly, as provided under the new law, or there shall be a return 10 the old system of payment annually in a lump sum, has assumed importance as a campaign issue.
 From all over the state are coming pro- tests against the quarterly payment plan, which the administration asked and se- cured of the legislature for the purpose CT enabling it to meet somewhat more promptly the payment of the salaries Of the school teachers of the state, in re- spect to which the state has always been many months behind.
 The matter has reached the stage now at which legislative candidates in prac- tically every county in Georgia are being asked to come out squarely with state ment of their position on this question. There are between 15.00O and 16,000 pen sioners in Georgia, and the old soldier vote amounts to something.