The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-12
EIGHT GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA
No. 146-The Morga n-Johnston Collision
 Joseph F. Johnston, Governor
1S74-19O1

portunity He addressed an elaborate letter. in the nature of an argument, to Hon. Sam Will John, a lawyer of Bir- mingham, and he, too, once his neighbor in Selma. The Age-Herald published this letter and attached so remarkable weight to the contents from such source that
 special train was engaged and 50 news ,, boys put aboard with thousands of copies of that paper for distribution on the streets Montgomery. The purpose of the letter to Colonel John was the con tention that the extra session could not constitutionally recall the enabling act. We have already seen that d mass meet ing of protest against the anticipated action of the legislature in sympathy with
 the governor was addressed by Senator
 Morgan at the old Montgomery theatre
 on the evening of the day, May 29, 1899,
 on which the legislature convened, in bit
 ter denunciation of the call for the ses-
 sion and of the purpose contained in
 the call. That meeting was addressed in
 the same tone also by Senator Pettus, by
 Col w. H. Denson and others.
 In brief session of three four days
 the extra session revoked the enabling
 act
 Governor Johnston was now assailed
 to the limit of the language of abuse by
 most of the prominent political leaders,
 who had been nominated by the regular
 party machinery for seats in the expected and now postponed constitutional conven- ton. He published certain resentful
 papers, all augmentation, none trans
 cending in line of official dignity. The
 daily press was practically united in in- furiated denunciation of him. Thus on
 Sunday morning. October s, 1899, he pub
 lished a full page Address to the Peo-
 pie of Alabama"
 This remarkable paper was an histor
 ical review of his then three years the
 executive head of the state government The first specification of duty performed was in the case of Tax Collector Lott of Mobile. State Examiner of Public Accounts Reeves had reported Lott's s shortage The amount was made good. The grand jury reported the collector S official bond insecure and upon this as
 pect of the case the governor was chal- lenged to contest very bitter Lott was
 popular man. He had been allowed by
 the voters of Mobile kind of quit claim upon his office by repeated re-elec- tions to it. The governor demanded a sufficient bond. But why should the gov- crnor interfere in the local affairs of Mo
 bile? No note of discontent had arisen
 there. The taxpayers were content. The governor assaied right and left fore
 and aft, violently. He yielded not an
 iota. Lott was brought to trial, con-
 victed and by the evidence proven to be
 defaulter to Si0.000, accumulated defaults through a long series of years A sheriff was impeached and driven from office by the energy of the governor It was on
 the governors interference that the com missioner's court of the great county of
 Jefferson, elected by the people, was ex-
 amined by the state and us result the
 court was at once abolished and it's duties made to devolve upon board of revenue appointed by the governor
 The governor came into office December l, 1Ss6 Since April, ls97 corps Of three state examiners had taken the place of one under the previous order of things.
 From that time forward county off, cials had wonderfully improved their habits of conducting financial affairs. At least one county newspaper, where all We're dependent on the patronage of county officers, denounced the publication Of the examiners reports us brutal and uncalled for.
 In the matter of tax assessments. there had been substantial reform. For the year
 1899 the county of Jefferson mad ncrea sed
 her assessment in a sum exceeding s5. .O00- coo.
 Under the operation of the back tax law, Johnston's invention, there would
 be an estimated raise in assessable val
 ues for 1899 of approximately $10,OOO, 900.
 The Johnston administration had brought
 down the one item transmitting of school funds from 5000 a year to $500 or less.
 The three years cost of transmitting to
 New York temporary loans to the state up to 1897. had been $3,10S H. Since 1897
 there had been no such expense. Of tho governors contingent fund for three years, Johnston had expended $1124S l2
 as against expenditures of s19, 322. 60 in the three years next preceding him. AS to the legislative recall of the en- abiing act, the action of the dcmocratic party machinery had made that course imperative. The enabling act was a call upon the whole people of the state to as- |seinbe by their deputies in convention. The party organization took hold of the act
 and transformed 1t into the measure of that fragment of the people that belonged to the democratic organization. When Johnston was elected governor in 1896. a majority of the voters elected him. but not all. very respectable minority voted for that distinguished citizen, a na-
 tive of the state. Capt. Albert Goodwin No man who voted for Goodwin in 1896 could hope to be elected under the en- ab;ing act to seat in the sovereign con- ventfon. or to have any influence therc if elected because the democratic state committee had nullf1ed the act by resery- ing seats In the convention to the dem ocratic faction only.
 As to the Nicaragua canal. Alabama
 stood foremost in anticipated benefits l from that great work But the day of the orator on the question had passed : the spade and pick must hereafter be de- pended on The country needed "a canal full of water, not wi1io''
 As to the coin that should be the mon etary media of American commerce. the governor had even contended for the con- additionally appointed gold and silver 'The balance of trade,' he wrote shas
 been in our favor and the influx of money 1 has been sufficient to give us better prices for some articles, but the supply of gold is shown to be moro clearly sn- sufficient to maintain the general level of Values than ever before"
 l The standardization press published the lengthy address with labored de- nunciation of the author of it,
 JOHN WITHERSPOON DUBOSE.