The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-14

which he was member, made fast and
 unhoiy alliance with favor seeking cor
 porations, and the selfish special interests.
 Not a line was written in the revenue
 bill which was not favorable to these in
 terests The dominant faction refused to
 pass a workman's compensation law, to
 remove the convicts from the mines, to
 reform our judicial and educational de-
 partments, which had so earnestly urged
 in my message. During all their term
 they did not write single line of progress
 sive legislation on the statute books or
 Alabama MT. Lusk now says that the
 governor should reconvene the legislature
 in special session. This the governor de-
 clares he will not do and in that declara-
 tion he has the approval of over 90 per cent of the people of Alabama. Even so warm a partisan as the Birmingham Ledger has declared that the best service | that MT. LusS and the majority faction l can render the state is to promptly ten der their resignations; that special ses- sion of the legislature may be necessary but that in view of the record they have
 made even the bitterest enemy of the governor could not expect him to recon vene them in session.
 Taking office under pledge to economy i and retrenchment. Mr. Lusk. you and your faction, not only reduced the reve- nues, but shamefully betrayed the inter eSIS or the peOplc. 1Ou SldNlSiliN OpSy cU | the orders of a secret political junta, and sought to humiliate the governor of the state by deprivng him of his power of appointment; you presented to him a | consolidated court bill so honey-combed with extravaganza and partisan politics | that the governor was compelled to cast | it into the rubbish heap. You appointed 1 a probing committee and after spectacu- lar iunketing over the state at the public | expense, the only law which they suc- | ceeded in passing was one increasing the
 salary of the governors secretary,
 HAS BECOME BY-WORD
 | ''No Mir. Lusk, the record which you
 and your faction made has become a by
 word and hissing in Alabama. Reading | your speech, one would suppose you were | the only honest man left in the state, You remind me of the story of the old deacon who declared all his neighbors | were corrupt and were on the road to eternal damnation. When one who heard | his bitter denunciation asked him: Uncle l John, won't any in this community l be saved" the old deacon promptly re- olied: Yes, Me and my wife, my son 1, John and his wife. we four and no more. ! ''I have now answered each and every l criticism which you leveled at me or my administration. I shall not engage with 1 you in a controversy over the bond issue. 1 If bond issue is necessary, the fault is yours and the faction of which you were | a member. The necessity eo~ a bond issue | could have been avoided if you had given | the state a decent revenue bill and re-
 deemed your pledges for economy and retrenchment. If you had followed the suggestions contained in the messages of Governor Henderson and myself YOU could
 have enacted revenue bill which would 1 have made a bond issue unnecessary. | You and your faction, however, surren- 1 dered the taxing power to the favor
 seeking corporations and you cannot by pointing to any of your votes avoid the
 responsibility which you assumed as one | of the leaders of the majority faction. "EMMET O'NEAL."