The Prescott daily news., 1915-06-21
RELATIONS BETWEEN
 STATE OFFICIALS IS
 BECOMING STRAINED
Gov. Hays and Members Committee Deny Knowledge Thomas Afida- vit-Secretary of State Hod-
 ges Believes Statement.

Little Rock, June 21.-The affidavit mill and statement-maners at the state Icapltol are working ver-time, espec- Iially these hot days. Fortunately, the code duello is out of style, and the only weapons permitted are type-writ- ters and notary public seals and the newspapers. But that's enough, good ness knows, to keep things in con- stant stew since all the row started over the work of the Special Investi- gating Committee.
 Very few members of the state house family are escaping some sort of connection with the controversy, and each day brings out some new angle. Some, in fact many, unkind things are being said, indicating that various officials are more or less peeved at other state officials and other folks. Spy" traitor" ''liar," "corruption- |ist," absolute falsehood, ,"-these are some of the pet terms that are being banded back and forth in utter dis regard of the islander and criminal lia- bel laws. Every body is playing petty politics." to hear the other fel- low tell it, and out of all the mass of elimination and recrimination, re- buttal and sur-rebuttal, reioinder and |sur-rejoinder, the people, whose ser wants are engaging in the Kilkenny fight, must determine who is right and who is wrong
 No sooner is some new affidavit sprung, giving a new angle to the con- troversy, than denial and demurrer and counter-a affidavit begin to flood the press.
 Naturally, the relations between number of the state officers is becom- ing strained. Especially is this true of the governor and Secretary of State. Mr. Hodges is a candidate for Governor, and the friends of Gov. Hays expect him to enter the race in the near future-he has not denied that he may do so. It all came up over the Thomas affidavit, which Gov. Hays and the members of the Commit tee deny, but which MT. Hodges evi- dently believes. MT. Hodges does not mince words, and has let it be known that he has requested officers of the State Bankers Association and of the State Board of Accountancy to desig- nate disinterested auditors to make a thorough audit of his department.
 MT. Hodges has issued several statements in which he takes falls out of the governor and the members of the committee, while the Auditors of flee that of the Superintendent of Pub lie Instruction, and ever the Secre- tary of the Railroad Commission are playing parts in the bright light down toward the center of the stage.
 The Committee members say they are going on with their work and have hired three expert accountants, having fired" Mir. Thomas, or accept ed his resignation, or at least gotten rid of his services, they propose to check up the offices of the governor. attorney general and clerk of the Su- preme Court.
 Out of long vitriolic statement is sued by the Secretary of State, the following paragraph indicates that he proposes to have an audit on his own account, and that he does not approve the methods of the Special Committed He says:
 If these investigators had as much respect for the decisions of the Supreme Court as they pretend to have for the peoples interests, and as they do for the J. P. courts in which they practice law, they would have gone home the very day the court of final resort handed down it's positive opinion that the committee could not hold over the adjournment of the leg islature. There Is going to be immediately an honest audit of the Secretary of States office, but it will not be by stacked committee of political free -booters who want to remain on the states pension roll at the rate of SAP per day, and who have no legal authority, but are working under a proclamation illegally issued, and on money procured by the gover- nor and his. appointees (to be repaid,