The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-14
TWO OTHER DEAD ONES

WraIn.
 TWO OTHER DEAD ONES
 ''In pursuing this course Mir Lusk sim ply followed in the footsteps of the other prominent Alabamans whose leadership he slavishly obeyed, and whose political ohsequies are matters of recent state history. Like Mr. Lusk, they made the mistake of supposing that abuse of O'Neal pointed to the road of political success; they were not content until they forced me into the fighting, and l am sure that even their warmest partisans will admit that I contributed materially to their undoing. Their political demise should convince even MT. Lusk that campaign buttressed by islander and abuse would not win success from the voters of Alabama.
 MT. Lusk undertakes to contrast the expenditures of my aomini with those of my predecessor. He says the Conner administration expended in four years $20 223,S ,S54. .53, whereas during my term the total expenditures were $25,97S- 925. .66. Mir Lusk fails to tell the public, however, that the total receipts during the Conner administration were only SlS,- 712, 746 and that the total excess of dis bursements over receipts for his four-year term amounted to S1,526. .1OS.5 .53.
 FAILED IN DUTY
 ''These figures, taken from the aud itor's report, show that during each year of the Conner administration there was deficit of $3S1. .527 IS. Mir Lusk was a member of the legislature during MT. Corners tern-a state Senator-and It IS strange that this undaunted foe of ex- travagance never raised his voice in pro- test, but cheerfully voted every expendi- ture his chief suggested. Although he must have known that MT. Conner was eXpending each year nearly $450,000 in eX- cess of the receipts he was silent, and his subservience to the commands of his lord and master found his reward in his appointment ass railroad commissioner. A follower and appointee of B. B. Conner, the public will ready understand that from such q source l could only expect bitter antagonism, unredeemed by even the Semblance of fairness.
 "WORLD DO MOVE"
 Ut is true, as MT. Lusk states. that if the expenditures during my administra- ton had not exceeded those of Governor Johnson's and Governor Jelks, and the receipts had remained as they are, there would have been no deficit. Every intelli- gent citizen in Alabama, and even MT. Lusk should know that during the past 10 or 15 years there mas been an enor- nous increase in the field of govern mental activity. This increase in all gov ernmental expenditures, both state and federal, has kept pace with the widening of the sphere of governmental activity
 with increased revenues. the growth of wealth and population. If the United States government expended no more to- day than it did during the administration of Harrison and Mckinley, there would be an enormous surplus in the federal treasury. If we paid today the same salaries we paid during the administra- lions of Governor Johnston and Gov ernor Jelks, if we had no increase in the 1 inmates of our eleemosynary institutions, no increase in the attendance and ex- l penditures for the common schools and l higher institutions or learning, if We abolished the court of apepals, the high | way department, the banking department,
 the health department. the office of jail and prison inspector, decreased the num- Der of state examiners, abolished the Mount Meigs reformatory, the reform l school at East Lake, and various other department of the state government, which an advancing civilization demand | ed and yet were able to collect the same | revenues as we have collected in the past
 four years, there would be no deficit.
 HIS ARGUMENT
 l "This, then, is the argument on which | MT. Lusk so laboriously builds his attack | on my administration-an argument, If it can be dignifed by such term, which 1 is an insult to the intelligence of the citizens of Alabama, and unworthy even ! of so bitter partisan as Mir. Lusk. l But MT. Lusk attributes the present deficit to certain expenditures made dur 1 ing my administration, a table of which ] he laboriously sets out They consist of items for the purchase and mainten- ance of the governors mansion, the pay | of ind So1i0ifnrS ployes of the supreme and court of ap- | peals, special counsel fees, temporary | clerks, examination of public accounts and expenditures for public printing. ask MT. Lusk in all fairness if I could have refused the payment of special l judges and solicitors, or temporary clerks and employees of the supreme court, of 1 examiners of public accounts and the payment of public printing, when au- 1 thority for such payment was found in I the code of 1907 which MT. LuslS himself assisted in preparing? If MT. Lusk con 1 sidered the employmenc and payment of 1 the salaries of special judges, solicitors, l employees of the supreme court, tempo l rary clerks, examiners of public accounts and public printing as useless and waste ! ful extravagance, why did he as code com 1 missioner incorporate them in the code of Alabama of 1907? Why as member of 1 the legislature in 1907 and again in 1915, did he not use HIS power OI ieauersHip | to strike from our statute books these provisions which he now denounces as /. vicious and unnecessary and wasteful ex- penditures' of the public moneyss
 'I did employ special counsel. acting under a law on the statute books of Ala bama and as a result of their employ ment I increased the revenues of the i state more than $l50.c00: but the most I fragrant instance of waat MT. Lusk terms .wasteful extravagancc and unwarrant-
 ed use of public funds. was the payment