The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-08
EIGHT GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA
1874-I901
No. 58-Party denominations on Test of Merit
Edward A. O'Nea Governor

The regular biennial state convention of
the democratic and conservative party
was called to order in the nall of the
house of representative by the chairman
of the party state committee. \. II. r..
Dawson of Dallas, on June I. 1854.
No sign of Patrons of ITusbandry or
Farmers Alliance faction discovered itself
among the full delegations from the
counties. On the streets or in the lob
bies, before the convention met, the trite
complaints were sometimes heard. The
governor had given too much attention
and too much money to the troops, and
too hasty in calling them to quell rits.
The penitentiary system, wrieh he found
in disgraceful practice, had been only to
degree reformed, the extra session, to
overcome the courts adverse decree upon
the act to reduce the rate of state taxa
tion, and which so many taxpayers had
demanded he had refused to call, the
veteos of bills which appropriated money
to the relief OF the university and other
schools, which many editors had at a
timely moment demanded, had not been
written. The abscondng state treasurer
had not been discovered and returned to
receive Justice at the offended law. BY
what rule of official authority had the
governor approved the act practically to
reduce the defaulter's official bond. from
the original s25OOo0 to perhaps 35 per cent
of that penal sum? Mr.. Merrill f.. Pratt
of the three sureties had settled his liza
bility by payment of $4,000 cash and four
notes for s12,o00 each, bearing 4 per cent
interest: Mr.. Daniel Crawford had paid
$780, and the third name, Mr. ]. J. Robin
son, had paid $1,000 The bond of the de-
faulter protected the state in an amount
greater than the amount of his default.
In addition, however, to the aggregate
sum collected from the sureties, Mrs. Vim
cent had Immediately returned $4,000 cash
which her fleeing husband had left with
her, and the chancellor had ordered sale
of the defaulter's private possessions by
which about $4,000 was paid To the state.
At that time, too, Attorney General
Tompxins had in the courts claim in the
name of the state to the amount of $780,
600 and upward against a carpetbagger
engaged in the brokerage business in
volved in vincents Wall street specula-
tions on public funds CThe supreme court
finally decided that Woolfe had received
$4,000 of state money from Vincent
knowing it to be state money when de-
livered to him)
Friends of the governor We're ready with
answers. AS to the matter of trouble with
the state treasurer, the peculation of the
defaulter had been proven to have been
in full blast for three years before
O'Neal took office ONeal had made a
most fortunate appointment in Mai. Fred
II. Smith, a cotton planter of Dallas coun-
ty, a Confederate veteran, to fill the va
cam place. Smith soon disclosed the cha
otto management of the department for
many years. 1t was found that some
things had been done in disregard of law
for SO long time that of late years no
che had thought of questioning their le-
gality. There were many Irregularities
which had been custom so long that no
one had doubted their propriety. The new
treasurer had, however, so reformed the
bookkeeping of his office that the hther-
10 unheard of thing, a daily balance of
cash on hand. was shown by the books
The statutes regula ting his office being
found insufficient, ne had voluntarily as
sumed personal risks in discharge of his
duties. as in paying interest on state
bonds held in New York.
Under the debt settlement lands of
the A. & c. r. r. We're placed in the
hands of trustees to be sold for the
benefit of the holders of the bonds of the
road that had been indorsed by the state
But the conditions were that 10 per cent
of the net sales should be paid to the
state. The trust began to run May /,
1876. Governor DNeal found that after
seven years the trustees had paid nothing
whatever into the state. although they
had been busily engaged selling the rail
read lands for the benefit of the bond
holders. The bondholders now disputed
their liability under the debt settle
ment." Attorney General Tompkins was
directed to file a bill In the chancery court
of Jefferson county to compel the trus-
tees to execute the trust. In six weeks
after the filing of the bill the trustees
paid the state $4,000.
The books of the finance departments
proved that If the governor had called the
legislature to reduce the tax rate to 5k
mills, as many taxpayers and newspa pers
demanded. the appropriations made by
law could not have been met except by
borrowed money.
The new office created by Governor
o Meals advice, the office of state
aminer of public accounts, had been SO
happily filled by his appointment Mr..
James w. Lapsley of Dallas, that about
$4,000 was recovered to the state. In ad-
dition to this tangible effect, the book
keeping of the state and county offices
had been improved upon.
Until 1882, when the first report of the
kind was made to Governor ONeal, none
from. any office of the pententiary had
ever told of the unremitting brutality of
the management Of the convicts confined
there or leased to contractors
The new agricultural department un-
der Commissioner Belts went into OPP
GRAFTON September L. 1888. the second
year of the ONeal administra ton, first
term, without funds. The law creating
1t required it to be self-suDporting. In
IL months operation the commissioner
collected from tags on fertilizers $23,-
S25.40.
Chief Justice Brick ell resigned. AS
sociate Justice Stone was appointed to
fill his place and David Clopton was
appointed to fill the vacancy thus made.
The bench remained famous. composed
of Stone, Clopton and Sommerville. as
it had been for years filed by Brick ell,
stone and Sommerville.
Delegates Thomas Seay, young but
active democratic leader of Hale county,
IVA chosen president of the nOmina in