The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-02-04

break for MT. Rowland, starting around the right end of the long table, but his progress was barred by Governor Noel, who sat at the end of the table. Gov ernor Vardaman then turned and started for the other end of the table.
 MT Rowland was standing all the time and when Governor Vardaman made his hostile movement reached over on the table and picked up a heavy glass paper weight drew back his arm as if ready to let it fly, and told the ex-governor to Come on, I'm ready for you"
 By this time Governor Noel had gotten down to the other end of the table and with the assistance of MT. Powers sue ceeded in preserving, or rather, in restor- ing peace. Governor Noel told them that was no time or place for trouble.
 Governor Vardaman requested Mrs. Lockwoou to retire from the room but she declined to do so and the matter was dropped. the resolution being defeated.
 Quiet having been restored Mir. Row land offered the following resolution:
 Whereas, The legislature of the state of Mississippi, at the session of 1909, passed a joint resolution providing for the collection of a fund for the purchase of silver service for the battleship Mis- sissppi, which appears in the laws of 1908, as chapter 292. s. J. R. No. 66, in the following words, to-wit:
 Therefore, Be it Resolved That Gov. E. F. Noel ex-Gov. James K. Vardaman, Hon. Dunbar Rowland and Hon. J. N. Powers be requested to undertake the raising. by public subscription, of not less than $7500 to be added to the funds already collected for the purpose of se lectng, purchasing and presenting sl yer service to the battleship Mississippi and
 Whereas. There has been collected by said committee the sum of s6039. which is on deposit in the Merchants bank of Jackson, bearing interest and subject to the order of the committee, and ! "Whereas, There has teen collected the sum of s1704.S0 for the purchase of the silver service, which is in private hands. which has not been added to the fund in bank. and which is not drawing i'm terest, and
 ''Whereas, Ex-Gov James K. Varda- man, the custodian of said fund of s17o4 80, has refused and still refuses to add the money in his hands to that which is in bank under the control of the silver serv- ice committee. therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the question as to the proper and legal custody and disposition of said fund of $1704S0 be submitted to the attorney general of the state of Mis-
 
 Messrs. Noel, Rowland and Powers voted in favor of the adoption of this resolution Governor Vardaman declined to vote at all.
 The commission then adjourned, subject to call, and it is understood that there will be no further session till Attorney General Stirling shall have rendered his opinion on the proposition submitted.
 Ex-Governor Vardaman was seen after the meeting of the committee had ad- journed and made the following state ment:
 ''Phe purpose of Messrs. Noel and Row land would not have been so patent if they had taken this action when the com mission first met some days ago. If they had succeeded in landing the contract for the Philadelphia concern nothing further would have been said about depositing the money to the credit of the commission but the persistent effort on the part of MT. Powers and myself to secure the con- tract for a Mississippi firm seems to have left the course pursued by these distin- guished gentlemen this morning the only one open.
 Now I have $17O4 80. which my staff collected and the people of Mississippi contributed. It was placed in my hands as trust, and l am going to keep it as such until I have an opportunity to pay it to the firm or person who may fur nish the silver service. It will be re- membered that nearly one-half of the money collected up to dato was collected during my adminstration-I think about $3SO0, and it was collected without any commission or expense, either It was also collected long before the legislatur passed a resolution which the attorney general has been asked to construe. Rara not what construction the attorney