Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1911-06-09

attorneys are supporting you. Most OF
my professional life l have served rail-
roads as an attorney, and l have never
had one in the whole time seek to influ-
ence my vote or position on any public
question, nor did ever lobby for one.
you? l ave seen you around the Legls-
lature as a paid lobbyist for a merger
bill, which you succeeded in getting
passed and which was afterwards de-
clared unconstitutional by the supreme
coure, and as Governor you suggested
legislation in favor of a railroad, and
afterwards signed the bill, and the SUI
preme court declared it so unconstitu-
tiOnal as to need no comment. When did
you SO a~ntagonize corporations as to
make them your enemies and make you
the champion of the rights of the poor
man? Did you not vote against an in
come tax and i'll favor of ~exempting
banks from municipal taxes? This does
not look like you were the enemy of the
rich or the champion of the Door.
About That Free Pass.
"Some time ago l noticed in your
paper, in giving a history of the Gulf
& Ship Island railroad pass No. 864, you
stated that l brought the pass to Jack
son and that it was a piece of dirty
politics. Now, let me explain my con-
n%ection with that pass. 1 was in the
office of the general counsel of the Gulf
& Ship Island railroad on a social visit
during the senatorial caucus. In talk
such a pass there, and it was shown
me. I thought 1 recognized your hand
writing on tit was accompanied by the
conductors certificate that you had rid
den on it and signed it. 1 asked the
general counsel, Judge James H. Neville,
to lend it to me. 1 wanted to show it to
a friend whom I confess l thought it
would influence. He was then voting
for you in the caucus. When I showed
uIIA pass L was SOL1cW HdC SUI " ASCO
when he said he did not doubt you had
used that and many other free passes,
and that you were guilty of all the
charges preferred against you, and that
half of your official derelictions had not
been told, but he thought his constitu-
ents were for you, and he would vote
their wishes, but if it were his personal
vote he would not hin of casting it
for you. He voted for you to the last.
1 just metnion this that you may know
the opinion that one, at least, of your
supporters had of you. After that l
made no further use of the pass. It was
borrowed from me by Mr.. Crump. That
is the last I have seen of it until I
saw the fac-simile of it published in a
newspaper. I confess 1 tried to use the
was dirty politics, because 1 really be-
lieved the pass was genuine. Riding on
a free pass in Mississippi by the Gov
ernOr was nothing more han a violation
of the law by a man who had sworn tt
obey the law, and whose duty it was to
enforce it. [ saw nothing wrong in my
efforts to prevent the calamity [ thought
his election would mean, especially in
view of the fact that he claimed to nave
made a faultless Governor, and to lave
made no mistakes.
Later l saw where you had proposed
i'll your paper to print a fac-simile of
the pass if it was produced and you
had ridden on it. [ heard nothing more
of it, and as the fac-simile was not pro-
duced in your paper, [ supposed the
pass was lost. l guess you must lave
thought so, too, as you came out over
your own signature and said: I want to
brand as UNANIMOUSLY untrue that l lave
ever accepted from the Gulf & Ship
Island railroad, or any other railroad in
Mississippi, or elsewhere, a free pass
WHILE I was Governor That was put
ting it strong and positive. Then the
fac-simile of the pass was printed in the
Jackson News, and you denounced the
signature as a forgery and demanded to
see the pass. Then you were informed
that the pass was in the Edwards House
safe in jackson, and you could see it at
any time. [ am informed that you nave
never called to look at it, and that at
last accounts you were still ~denouncing
it as a forgery, and although the plate
of the fac simile of the pass was ten
dered you, free of charge, 1 think, it has
never appeared in your paper.
First $500 Offer.
Now, major, l feel so bad about my
connection with this pass, if it is a for
gerry, that I want to do some penance
and make a public apology to you, but
there has been SO much backing and fill
ing about it that l do not know exactly
xrhoro uo ~ Of. &horofo~o 1900