The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-16

| character gleefully published to the | state, in glaring headlines. that 20 wagon loads of garbage was taken | from under the mansion after l had retired from office. You have not cor , rected these falsehoods which appeared | in the press.
 Again it was stated that two or ! three of my personal telegrams had Leen charged to the state, but that when called to my attention the error was promptly corrected Yet the same | ress, influenced by the same motives, published in glaring headlines that the former governor of Alabama had charged his personal telegrams to the state
 T am advised that one of your com mittee carried to the press the inform ation that I had concealed a report in reference to the ad5utant generals of- l flee, but you did not do me the fair Tess to take the testimony and publish the entire report and letters of the War department or the nature of the report which had been submitted to me by the military board. The state | ment that I had suppressed any report was contradicted by the records. You | have received evidence or rather ru rnors that touched my private affairs and undertaken to show that I spec l Llated in cotton futures, which could
 
 tut only furnished an opportunity for 1 journalistic thugs to attack my char | acter.
 On Trial During Absence Tt is therefore evident that you did place me on trial in my absence and thereby denied me every legal right guar anteed by the constitution. The meanest criminal in Alabama before being tried ! has right to demand the nature and l lapt nf fl.A ,<vx | thereof, to be confronted by the wit nesses against him, the light to cross-ex- anime the witnesses offered, and to trial 1 by an impartial jury. And in undertaking to exercise all the functions of court or a grand jury. and undertaking to put my character on trial without confronting me with the witnesses against me, trying me l in my absence on hearsay testimony, on garbled statements, and on bald rumors. you are committing treyesty on law and 1 justice
 "A more fragrant disregard of every | constitutional safeguard was never before witnessed in Alabama or any other state of the union. Even the evidence and the hearsay rumors offered before you have been grossly and purpcsely garbled and misrepresented by an unfriendly press. In the Montgomery Journal only day or l two since Mr. l.. B. Farley was quoted | as saying that l had given my personal check for 5000 as interest. This state- ment he promptly denied, but the effect i of the falsehood remained. I shall un. dertake now to answer each insinuation that the press informs me has been brought through you to the attention of the people of Alabama.
 Cotton Transactions
 "In 1912 I did make a purchase of 10l bales of cotton through Dix brothers & Cn of NpU York II affarWn rd sod some cotton from S. H. r. Pell & Co. l paid in all the trades I made about Sl00O and although I made a profit on several thousand dollars, held my trades until the market declined and lost in the en. tire transaction about $500. The money which I lost was fees which I had col lected from my law ractice. If this com mittee has any further curiosity, will give them full authority to get state ment of this entire transaction from S.
 H. P. Pell & Co. and Dix Brothers & Co of New York, the only parties with whom I dealt. During the progress oi this deal, I sent a number of telegrama
 which instructed to be charged to my personal account. When Lacy made his false and infamous charge. I immediately demanded an investigation by the grand jury of Montgomery county.
 Tt was intimated by my personal ene-
 mles that had lost heavily in the cotton market and at the suggestion of the SO. licitor of Montgomery county l handed
 him statement of all my cotton trans
 actions and they were not returned. 4
 full statement can be easily procured from the brokers to whom have referred I have never gambled in my life. Ths : purchases made of cotton for future de livery were legal, valid, contracts, so re garded by the courts. and enforcibl' under the law. There is not Q cotton mil