The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1911-10-28
SPECIAL SESSION OE LEGISLATURE.
Governor Wants That $IO.5OO Allowed
Money win Also be Needed
to Pay Soldiers.

10 spite of an adverse public
sentiment throughout the State,
Gov Noel has again defied the peo.
pile of Mississippi by calling the
Legislature to assemble in special
session primarily for the purpose
OF presenting certain bond holders
with S10.500 which they have not
learned, and to which the supreme
court has said they are not entitled.
The Gazette has expressed itself
on the right and wrong involved in
the bond controversy so freely and
fully that it is not necessary to
resIate the position it has taken.
Let It suffice. then. for us to say
that when the question first came
up when State Treasurer Edwards
first declined to pay the January
coupons on the ground that they
represented unearned Interest-we
had no hesitation in expressing our
belief that .he sale of these bonds
with accrued interest was sale
below par, expressly forbidden by
legislative enactment. The unani-
nous decision of the Supreme Court
Iupholding and justifying Treasurer
Edwards in his contentious, posi-
lively confirmed the opinion we mad
already formed.
Notwithstanding the judicial de-
termination of what the law is,
however. and solely to make good
ibis unauthorized and unwarranted
promises to the bond purchasers,
Gov. Noel has determined to put
the State to enormous expense for
the ostensible purpose of protect
ing the good name and credit of
Mississippi and removing what he
is pleased to term a cloud from the
financial integrity of the common
wealth.
According to Gov. Noel, the fail
Eure of Treasurer Edwards to pay
the January coupons amounts to a
Reputation of the States solemn
obligation. He would have the
world believe that if Mississippi
does not pay certain bond holders
$40. 500 which the supreme court
has said does not belong to them.
we shall be eternalIy dishonored
and our bonds in the future will be
rendered wholly unstable.
We think not. If the supreme
court decision means anything at
all it means that Gov Noel and
the State Auditor by selling these
bonds with accrued interest acted
without authority Of law and no.
nogy is to blame but themselves.
ln the event they failed to sell the
bonds to the highest bidder for
public sale, then the Gov
lei IL tae SsNte Treasurer and the
6tA e Auditor were to sell them at
private sale for price NOT
LESS THAN PAR. +" That was
the entire length and breadth of
their authority. and when they
sold the bonds with accrued interest
they violated the law and exceeded
their legal authority just as much |
as had they sold them at fifty cents
or the dollar.
How can the State be bound by
the Illegal acts of its servants?
May not the rule which prevails
always IN transactions between in
dividuaIs be invoked when the state
is party? Is a man bound hand
and foot by the acts of his agent
when that agent goes beyond his
Instructions and does something he
ought not to do. and was in fact
positively forbidden to do!
All of this talk about Impair
ment of the states credit re-
pudiation of the states solemn OBJ
legations "a stain upon her
financial integrity" AL of it is
sheer rot and the siIliest kind Of
baIder dash.
1t is a matter of very grave
doubt as to whether the legislature.
which meets next Wednesday will
accede to the Governors request to
help him out of the hole into which
he has fallen. While the admins
tration-or rather the State PoIiti-
cal Machine was in power when
the legislature was in session last |
year. it is by no means certain that
it will be able to carry through its
program this time. The Machine
was smashed to smithereens last
August. and the doings of the last
legislature in at least one notable
instance repudiated by the people |
in manner which the boasted |
majority 10 the secret caucus is not |
likely to have forgotten this early |
at least.
Then, too, some of the leaders
are gone. A number Of these va |
Gated their legislative tenures to
accept more lucrative positions as |
an obvious reward for their dis
tinguished services in the secret
caucus pf 1910 Chief among these |
was Senator Anderson, who retired |
70 take seat on the supreme bench
Another was Senator j. r. Mellow |
ell, Of Kinds. who went to the |
attorney generals Office as. first |
assistant, Senator b. x. Mahon,
who got his'ny when Gov. Noel
made him judge Of circuit court
district il North Mississippi; Rep
resentatipe Bennett, who got the |
job Of district attorney Of the Sixth |
District Senator EnqIe. who was
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