The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-05

LIZ w ald iAVtiiC tioA dts lift Vdi .
old, began his college education early
when he was enrolled as q regularly
matriculated student of the New York
University in its course on school gar
dens. He filled out his own application
blank, signed his name and then was
questioned by Henry Griscom Parsons,
who is the instructor in that course.
81 found that while he was attending
kindergarten in Georgia he was solving
intricate problems in arithmetic, even
in algebra said Mr. Parsons. HE is a
prodigy that has found his way TO one
of the large centres of learning"
ance in the treasury of S1,S14, ,453.37.
During the four years which Mr..
Conner was governor the total receipts
during his term of office were $20,-
233, 3,S54.53 cents. When Mr.. Conner left
the office of governor there was an
annual excess of disbursements over
receipts of s360,953.50. He found the
state treasury full to oyerflowing; he
not only emptied it, but left the state
in debt, and yet a few have the nerve
to brazenly assert that Mr.. Conner was
business governor.
Was Conner a Business Governor?
Prior to the administration of Gov
ernor Conner all contractors hirin g
convicts were required under section
4447 of the code of 1896 to settle all
accounts they owed the state within 10
days after receiving monthly notices
from the president of the convict
board through the state auditor, who
in turn certified the amount, so paid,
into the state treasury. The convict
board therefore under the law handled
no moneys resulting from convict
labor.
"On February 2S 1907. Governor
Conner approved bill which provided
that contractors hiring convicts should
make monthly payments to the presi-
dent of the convict board, who was re-
quired to make only quarterly settle.
ments with the auditor
THE original bill carried pro-
vision for a small bond in the puny
sum of $4,000; although the convict
board handles over s1,000,000 annually,
vet this feature of the bill was prompt
ly stricken out by an amendment by
the house committe on revision of laws,
10 WHICH the Dill WAS TeIer1eu W0Gn
first introduced.
What came over the business spirit
of Governor Conner that caused him to
approve a bill so glaringly defective
and unbusiness-l like, no mortal will
ever know.
why he did not return the bill to
the legislature with an amendment
by the governor, as provided for by
the constitution, demanding that a
he fixrn1 far
of a million dollars for the president
of the convict board, even though he
favored the unbusiness- like quarterly
settlement, none can tell
He returned to the legislature
dozens of other bills that were not
even loaded with business amend
ments which he proposed, but he was
signally neglected and grossly forget
full of the states interests when he
permitted the advocates of the fatal
bill amending section 4447 of the code
to hypnotize his business mind while
he signed it,. His approval of the bill
in the form in which 1t was present
ed to him is incontestable evidence that
he favored its provisions
Would 1t have been possible, un-
less the law had been changed reouir-
ing settlements to be made through
the president of the convict board in
stead of the state auditor, for Theo-
dore Lacy. the absconding chief clerk
of the convict board. to have defaulted
In the sum of over 100000, 100000 of
which he drew from a bank just prior
to taking French leave of the state?
Assuredly not
would not the peoples money have
been safer in the state treasury than
in the banks? OF course. Then why
was the money collected from the hire
of conv1cts, amounting to hundreds of
thousands of dollars quarterly, kept In
the banks?
And yet few had the monumental
audacity to assert that Conner was a
business governor,
Local Option Issue
1T is most deplorable that the pro-
hibition question has been injected
into the gubernatorial campaign. |
thought the people settled that issue
in the last election. | most unequiv-
ocally favor local option. Unless the
people of any community favor pro-
hibition, the liquor laws will be nulli-
fled by the grand juries and abrogated
by the petit juries and therefore be-
come farce The guilt or innocence
of defendant arraigned before a court
for the violation of the liquor laws is
seldom determined. The jury tries the
issue; If the jury favors the sale of
how guilty, is usually discharged; If
the jury opposes the sale of liquor, the
defendant is usually convicted it mat
ters not how completely his innocence
may have been established
Statewide prohibition Is absolute
ly hostile to democratic principles be-
cause it annihilates the right of local
self government.
"Alabainians who Intended the Con-
federate reunion recently at Chatta
nooga were doubtless surprised to see
whisky being sold in open barrooms in
every section of that city. We had
read in the papers that Tennessee was
under the operation of state wide pro-
hibition law, and yet liquor was being
sold with the full knowledge of the
governor, who attended the reunion :
the sheriff of the county, the mayor of
Chattanooga. and the police officers.
When asked why it was not stopped
the mayor replied that by common con-
sent 1t had been agreed that whisky
should be sold in Chattanooga, Knox
Vile. Nashville and Memphis
THE right to suspend or modify a
law is vested only in the legislature.
a disrespect of one law brings all into
disrepute and a state of intolerable
anarchy results.
Wilson and Local Option
II addressed communication to
send me copy of his letter TO Rev
Newark. N. j.. in which his views on