The Southern herald., 1911-05-12
"Let the Blessed Sunlight
Of Publicity Shine In"
The Mi.,i,.iDDi Senatorial C.mD,ign hvIps
The Mississippi Senatorial Campaign. byLP.s

upright, and that no vote in the eau
Gus nomination was procured BY any
improper means or corrupt influence
and that the election OF Senator Percy
Is free from fraud or corruption. And
regardless OF whether We have sup
ported Senator Percy in the recent con
test, or will support him in the ap
preaching primary, We record with
pleasure our confidence in his ehival
rous honor and personal and political
integrity, and our desire TO hold up his
hands in the performance Of his high
duties as a representative OF this great
commonwealth in the senate Of the
United States.
This resolution was introduced in the
house by one of your leaders, Mr..
Cayett see House Journal page l523l
This was nearly two months after
the senatorial election, and Immediately
after the bribery investigation, and still
you and your followers knew OF moth
ing rotten in the caucus, for there was
not a vote against this resolution. Ii
you, or your followers, knew Of fraud,
and still allowed this resolution to 60
uuchallcnged, such eowardice deserves
the contempt Of honest men.
FOurth-lt was right and proper that
the legislature should make search
ing investigation Of the moral and in
tellectual fitness Of each of the can
ddates. The blessed sunlight Of pub
hcity,' which you say that you so mpsh
love, was turned on, and must confess
that | was impressed with the cold
facts of record rejecting upon your
truthfulness and honesty as a man and
public official. For instance, lay down
the proposition, which is backed by the
high moral sense of all honest men,
That any man who will lay hands on a
sacred trust fund for private use is un-
worthy of public trust.
You went out of office of governor
without turning over to your successor
the battleship silver service fund, which
was unprecedented, and according to
our attorney-general-unlawful. After
you were pressed by the battleship com
mission, you did turn over the sum OF
$l,7O0, which you said was correct, but
to this good day you have never given
a list of the subscribers to that fund.
The names of subscribers and the
amounts, gotten by Mrs Lockwood, are
now on file in the archives of the state.
but the commission failed to get from
you this important data. (See their re.
port, Senate Journal 1910, page 1873.
Why should you withhold the list OF
subscribers to this fund.- The charge,
as you know, was publicly made, that
you had spent this money, and while it
was your privilege to hide behind the
secrecy of bank, yet it was expected
of you, as you claim to "have never
had political secret" and love the
blessed sunlight of publicity" to come
out and put your enemies to the bad,
by publishing bank statement show
ing that you had this fund properly on
deposit. Banks do not destroy records.
50 can you not even now let the
blessed sunlight OF publicity shine in,
by showing this statement.
5th. You went out of office and did
not turn over to your successor the
Spanish.American war fund, which was
also unprecedented. A committee was
appointed to see why you had not done
so-see senate journal 1908, page SO7. 1t
seems that this committee got on the
track OF this fund while you were out of
Jackson and from the Capital National
Bank they traced it to your private bank
the Mississippi Bank and Trust Co.
lsee page s10). The committee secured
statement from this bank showing that
you had drawn out all of this fund by
June the goth, where it had been placed
to your credit eight months previous tsee
page s11). Through the work of the
committee, you paid over $2,41s, nearly
four years, according to the bank state.
ment, after you had drawn out the en-
tire fund. The point is this: Where
we're you keeping this fund for nearly
four years! 1t was put in your private
bank, but if You had it properly on de-
posit at some other bank, you can come
is not afraid to cross lances with the
strong men in thn apnata in dafors. 80