The log cabin Democrat., 1911-04-01
SfNATORCOY|NCTON EXPLAINS POSITION ON 4-WIRE FENCE LAW
WRITES ATKINS r A P F. k HE SUPPORTED BILL AT REPRE-
 SENTATlVES' REQUEST.

Senator A. W. Covington, in the fol- lowing letter to the Atkins Chronicle, explains his position on the four-wire fence law applying to Pope and Faulkner counties:
 ''I notice many citizens of Pope county are censuring me for the pas sage of the four-wire fence law apply ing to that county, and this is no doubt due to the fact that they do not understand my connection with the passage of the bill This bill originat- ed in the house, Davis of Lafayette being it's author, or rather it's foster father by request of your Represent ative, Mr. Duvall. By request 1 call ed the bill up in the senate and stated at the time that 1 did not know wheth- CT the people of Pope county were in favor of it, but l supposed her Rep resentatives knew the wishes of the people, otherwise the bill would not have passed the house. Just why MT. Duvall had Mr. Davis introduce the bill is a matter for him to explain. Mr. Hudson says he opposed the pas sage of the bill in the house, but just why he was unable to defeat the pas sage of a bill applying to his own county, intfoduced by a representative living 150 miles away from him, l cannot understand, and I want it en- phatically understood that 1 am in no w9- responsible for the action of eith- CT of the representatives of Pope county and certainly not responsible for the fact that Duvall seems to be more influential in the house than Hudson. No one can say that l have ever been found on both sides of a proposition, and I am always willing to assume responsibility for my acts, and the impression that now prevails throughout Pope county that I am the author of the bill is false and the par ties criticising me are in error All though Hudson claims he was oppos- ed to the bill, yet 1 never heard of it until last night he told me in the Ma rion hotel of his opposition to the measure and l beg to say in this con- nection that 1 never received line of protest from Pope county and no cit izen of the county ever uttered a word against the bill to me. l think I had right to presume that your representatives knew what they were doing, and if Hudson was opposed to the measure it was but a short dist ance from the house of representa- tives to the senate chamber, and he would have lost but few minutes of his valuable time in the house by visit ing the senate chamber and advising me of the true conditions in his county.
 'I notice the Courier Democrat pub lished some communications from va rious sections of the county, in which the writers severely criticised me and called the measure the 'Covington bill," and some of them expressed re- gret that I was not defeated by the Republican candidate, but they will no doubt change their minds when they ascertain the truth. l see it is contended by some that the passage of the bill is a result of my desire tc gratify my feelings against Pope county for her action against me 1T the general election, but this conten tion is without foundation, for the returns show that have S26 true anC loyal friends in Pope county and the interest of these I would not sacrifice under any circumstance. While 1 be