The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-02-20
Senator Defends His Record In the House and Senate
LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE
xr. Bankhead Says That If His Service Had Not Been Satisfactory His Commission Would Have Been
 Cancelled Long Ago
By wATrERsoN sTEALEy

By WATTERs0N sTEALEY
 washington, February 1s-( Especially )- Prefacing his remarks with statement that he would later state at length the issues involved in the contest over the Alabama senatorship, Senator BanlShead tonight consented to discuss with rep resentative of The Age-Herald the recent card of John B. Knox. "I only desire" j" said the senator, .'to correct part of the transformation contained in Mr. Knox 8 letter.
 sIt iE true," said he, ''I have had a long public service. hope 1t has been an hon. orable one, and if my service had not been satisfactory to those who honored and trusted me my commission would have been cancelled long since.
 MT. Knox states that I have had my hand in the public crib for 45 years. The fact is, from 1866 to 1SS1-15 years-except to attend one session of the legislature in the fall O. 1865 and one session of the state senate in 1876, I was at work on a farm in Lamar county earning living and supporting my family, so he has mis- taken the blow handles for the public crib. It was during these years that my boys were born, whom he has seen fit to drag into this controversy, and the foundation laid for their education iH little school nearby, taught by their grandmother, who helped me to make both ends meet. Dur ing these years I was helping to restore the loss sustained by the war, working on the farm, building mills and thereby ere ating wealth in which the community and society shared. t
 MT Konx also says that during my whole public service I have accomplished nothing by which the state has been bene- fted The people can answer that charge as they do not forget.
 ''IIc further says I am supporting MT. Mallory for governor. do not know now he discovered that. I believe the demo- crats of Als bama are capable of selecting their candidate for governor in a demo- cratic primary without any assistance or interference from me.
 '."Again MT. Knox says have taken no part in. the debates in either the House or Senate during my service, and therefore am no orator. leave that to the record and to the result. VI want to remind him of what one of the wisest and most beloved men Ala bama ever sent to the Senate said about the senatorial orators, the late lamented Senator D. w. Pettus After Senator Beveridge made his first ora toricaI effort In the Senate Senator Pettus arose and said: MT. President, the Master once had to select man to lead the children of Israel out of EgyT through the wilderness to Ca naan. He did not select an orator. (LAugh ter.) No, he selected man by the name of Moses Gaughter.) and he was suffering man, too, but Moses told his Master to his face that he could not do it because he was not an orator, and could not espeak to the people. Aand what was his re- ply? There is Aaron. He speaks we'll ..And they took Aaron along, not in command. That was not allowed; but they took him along as kind of dep uty, and when Moses, on his Masters order, went up into the mountains for The tables the orator left in charge had golden calf framed. (LAughter) And he put all the people down to worshipinE the golden calf. tLaugh- terJ More people worship the golden calf now than they did in these days, but while Aaron and his people were all down worshiping the golden calf the man of God appeared and he pulled out his sword and demanded to know who was on the Lords side. and the grator jumped up from his knees drew his sword. got on Moses side, and went to killing 1sraelites along with Moses. All these orators will do the same thing; fIaughter.) the last one of them. We saw an instance of 1t yes terday afternoon.
 ''So that was Senator Pettus' esti- mate of a senatorial orator.
 MT. Knox says that he is thinking of Calhoun and Webster as the right type of man to represent Alabama in the Senate of the United States, and 1t Is perfectly apparent he has cpne to the conclusion that he is the only man in Alabama with sufficient talents to fill their places in the Senate with perfect comfort and ease.
 ,'Mr. Knox has thought proper tr dr3g my boys into this controversy c&heluded the senator. T make 10 defense for them, as they are perfect ]y able to take care of themselves, and if MT. Knox does not believe 1t let him challenge either of them to a debate and be convinced.
 "Later I expect to state my posi- tion on all questions properly involved in the senatorial campaign"