The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-21
LETTER ON CREDITS OF VITAL INTEREST Merritt Stresses Importance
 of Authorship SENT TO MOORING Mooring Refused to Show It to Com mittee and Search of Henderson's
 Files Failed to Produce
 Original
Who wrote the letter ?

| Who wrote the letter?
 In the opinion of Henry P Merritt.
 chairman of the legislatures investigat- ing committee. the answer to that ques- ton would produce the most interesting feature of the work of the committee up to the present time.
 The letter in question is that which Chairman Mooring of the state tax board declined to produce for the inspection of the committee. It is that letter which Judge Evans, associate member of the tax board, told the committed was signed by Charles Henderson, and concerned sol vent credits
 But did the governor write the letter? Copy Not Found MT. Merritt yesterday afternoon, in re- gard to this matter, made the following statement:
 When Chairman Mooring declined to produce the letter. we went to the gov ernor and asked him for copies of all letters which he had written to the state tax board. Very promptly and very cheerfully the governor complied. He
 gave us his entire file When we ex- amined the file. however, the copy of the letter regarding which Judge Evans had given testimony. was not to be found. We then sent ss committee to the gov ernor for the Purpose of telling hifn that the copy of tre letter we were most anxious to see was not contained in the file he had given us.
 "The governor instituted a search, and I,ax yin fnI1 tf- tee that it was in possession of all cor respondence which had passed between him and the tax commission" Letter in Existence There is no question but that such a letter was in existence. Judge Evans said that such letter had been re- ceived Mr. Mooring said as much even though he declined to give it to the com mittee.
 On the evening following the afternoon on which he had declined to do the bid ding of the committee. Chairman Moor ing came to Birmingham and made no se- cret of the fact that the letter then was on his person.
 Therefore, if the letter was not writ ten by the governor, by whom was it written? Chairman Merritt said yester- day afternoon that he did not believe the governor had written the letter although
 he knew that such a letter had been written and had been received in good
 faith by the chairman of the board. The Probable Contents No one save the officials of the tax board and the writer of the letter know positively of it's contents. From Judge Evans testimony. how ever, 1t is believed by the committee that in the letter signed, "Charles Hen derson, governor" the tax commission is advised to suspend the law making the collection of solvent credits the duty of the board; in other words, not to col
 lect taxes due prior to the passage by this legislature of an act invalidating the solvent credits statute. Had the tax board followed this ad- vice, the state would have lost large sum of money, it is said, and it is un- derstood, all tax collectors, tax assessors
 and the members of the tax board would have been subject to a charge of vio- lating their paths of office. MT. Merritt said yesterday that in all
 probability the facts regarding the letter
 would be made known in the near fu- ture.