The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1912-09-27

oHS' W Aunu, liOC lioui thC CiuuoA1iC
ment of prison officials, and the raids
of favored pardon attorneys"
Gov. Hooper shows how McMillin
and Patterson abused the pardon
privilege. Under the four years OF
McMillin's administration 1856 par.
dons were granted to convicts in the
penitentiary; in Patterson two
terms the number was SCI while
during Hooper's first term twenty
two such pardonshave been granted.
McMillin pardoned forty-seven muir
ders, Patterson pardoned 200 lrur-
ders and Hooper has pardoned four
murderers.
During his two terms McMillin
served as governor he issued 224
pardons to jail prisoners of which
forty-four were to bootleggers and
ninety-seven were to pistol toters.
Paterson issued 751 jail pardons Of
which 207 were to bootleggers and
2S6 were to pistol packers. Hooper
has issued II pardons, four liquor
sellers and four to pistol packers.
Patterson issued 210 combinations
and McMillin forty-five while Hooper
has granted sixteen. Hooper has
however, granted forty-eight paroles
or conditional pardons under a law
that has been upon the statute books
for more than a hall century but
a law under which not a single pa
role was granted by Patterson or
McMillin. Patterson's grand total
for pardons and Communication was
1922 while Hooper's is only 103, in
Guiding the paroles or conditional
pardons
Gov. Hooper shows how Dibrell
has had the salaries of all of his
clerks increased, although that off,
cial has the audacity to criticise the
extravaganza" Of Hooper's admin
istration. Dibrell's chief clerk now
gets $4,000 as compared with $2500
in 1909; his other clerks, with one
exception a proportionate raise.
Replying to the charge that Hoop
er's own salary was raised by the
appropriation bill the Governor
says:
Some of the regulars" fraternity,
who seem to be ambitious to shine
with peculiar effulgence in the An
anias Club, have said that my salary
was raised by the Legislature. There
is not one syllable Of truth in. this
assertion, as my salary and every
appropriation for my office are just
the same as those of my predeces-
sor. The appropriation for the re-
pairs and furnishing of the Execu-
tive Mansion was increased $3.50,
but everything bought with this
money belongs to the state, and
there will be several hundred dol
lars unexpended. This appropria-
ton is made to and expended by the
Superintendent of the Capitol, and
not by the Governor.
"As to the matter of junketing
committees, the amount expended
for this purpose by the last Legis-
lature and severed of its predeces-
sors for many years back, was out
rageously extravagant. I take pride
in the fact that l am the first Gov
ernor Of the state who eyer antagon-
lied the Legislature in this custom,
although 1t had been in vogue for
twenty-five years or more. / attack
ed this practice in two different mes
sages to the Legislature, and urged
the enactment of a law providing a
permanent and business-like system
for the investigation of public insti-
tutions and the auditing Of official
books and accounts. While these
recommendations bore no imme-
date fruit at the hands Of a war
ring Legislature, they have resulted
in a plank in both the Republican
and regular Democratic platforms
demanding the creation OF an audi
tor for official and institutional &C
counts"
Gov Hooper paid his respects to
the charge that he had suspended
the payments on the sinking fund.
He showed that the resolution to
.srsnend these paYments was intro