The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-12
PRIVATE CITIZEN
 AFTER "A YEARS
Gen. L. V. Clarke's Statement
 About Defeat
THINKS IT DIsCOURTESY
ment-Graves Claims He Can Be Removed Only For Cause.
 History of Contest
By HUGH w. ROBERTS

By HUGH w. ROBERTS 1 Montgomery. January u.-(Special.)-
 For the first time in 24 years Gen. Louis V. Clarke of Birmingham is a private
 citizen of the state.
 This morning Governor Conner nominat-
 ed Bibb Graves as brigadier general to
 succeed General Clarke. and the confirm
 ation by the senate of that nomination
 has created mild sensation-of which | there may be another chapter following
 the inauguration of Governor-elect O'Neal. | The point at issue was whether or not | the term of General Clarke had expired.
 The senate journal shows that General | Clarke was appointed In 1905 for a term
 of four years. The contention of Conner
 and Graves was that the senate journal
 served. General Clarke states, however,
 that according to the date of his com
 mission his term would not have expired
 prior to February or April of the present | year.
 Fight In Senate
 l The fight for the confirmation of Graves | by the senate was led by Senator Screws
 of Montgomery. Senator Morrow of Jeff | ferson opposed the confirmation on the l floor, and argued for the appointment
 of a committee to investigate the respec- tive claims of the gentlemen chiefly con- | cerned. But the argument was brought | to bear that General Graves Is a mem- Der of the National Military board, the l. .l.
 ton of appropriations for the National Guard: that in case General Graves did
 not receive the appointment and leave
 tonight for the session of the board he
 would lose his position on the board, and that, as a result, the National Guard
 would suffer great loss. With this ar gument Senator Screws won his fight, and General Graves is the brigadier gen eral of Alabama. Another result, as
 stated above, is the fact that for the
 first time in 24 years General Clarke is private citizen
 General Ciarke's Statement
 General Clarke. before returning to Birmingham, made a short statement for The Age Herald.
 "As a matter of fact" stated he, T do not especially care that l have been removed from the command of the state troops. The only reason that came to Montgomery and made an eff fort to prevent the action which has occurred is because l considered the intention of the administration a dis courtesy to me. In the beginning of the administration of Governor Conner I had letter from him in which he stated that as long as he was gov ernor I would be the general Since the reception of that letter I have paid | little attention to the reports and ru-
 mors which have reached me. l un- derstand that General Graves has made
 an active campaign for the position.
 and that the majority of senators were already pledged to support him. Some
 time ago I wrote the governor that 1
 had heard of the activity of General
 Graves, and he informed me that at | that time he had heard nothing to warrant the circulation of the report. | I understand that only three weeks | ago the governor was given to under
 stand by Graves that my term had ex- pired and that 1 was in possession of
 the commission simply because it was necessary for the incumbent to hold
 office until his successor had been
 elected and qualified. The governor | informed General Graves to notify me
 of what was about to occur. General
 Graves wrote me a letter. I did not | receive it."
 General Clarke stated that for the
 first time in the history of the military | in this state the outgoing governor had appointed the brigadier general. O'Neal May Act
 | General Graves, following his appoint
 ment, called on Governor-elect ONeal, | informing him that he intended to be as faithful to his new commander-in- -chef
 as he had been to his old.
 Concerning the rumor that Governor elect O'Neal, following his inauguration,
 might remove General Graves, that gen. | tleman stated that as his office was con | stitutional one, he could not be removed
 save for cause. The governor-elect has made no statement concerning his inten-
 tions in this regard. But 1t Is known that
 he thinks the appointment of the new | brigadier was a prerogative of his own. | It is understood that had he made the | appointment, General Clarke would have succeeded himself, and 1t Is furthermore
 understood that whil. General Clarke was not making fight for the position, he was in a receptive mood.
 | Military men in Montgomery at the 1 present time have expressed considerable | amusement concerning the claim of Gen. l eral Graves and his co-workers that un- | less he participated in the deliberations of the military board, Alabama will suffer the JOSS O1 ltS pOTtlOH oi PciHoPS d iioS
 ton of its portion of the annual appro- | priation General Clarke. General Ligon
 and Captain Scully of Birmingham state
 that the appropriation is prorated ac- | cording to the numerical strength of the | military of each state and that Alabama | would have received every cent of its share even were the board not to receive
 the valuable services of General Graves. | CIarkes Brilliant Record
 General Clarke is the most striking fig-
 ure ever connected with the National Guard of Alabama. Even while stu dent at the University of Alabama he
 was inclined to military as the proverbial duck turns to water. He commanded
 that famous corps of cadets which In
 competition in New Orleans outdrilled de- | tachments from West Point and the reg
 ular army He was the captain of the | famous Zouaves, which wrote several of | the most brilliant chapters in Alabama | military His promotion was consistent | until he attained the rank of brigadier | general in command of the troops of Ala | bama.
 | He stated before his departure that he did not care to issue an interview which might appear critical or harsh, or lead 1 to a controversy.
 But the appointment of Graves and his | confirmation by the senate have created
 a sensation here, and as stated it is ex-
 nected that there will be another chapter before the matter Is permanently termin- ated.