The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1915-06-18

college. Inc sdhr 40
Take the Insane Hospital al JACK.
SON that carries an appropriation OF
one hundred and ~eighty-three tnou-
sard dollars a year. Graft and waste
had become so common there that l
was told for six months to my lace
that you could not run such an lhStF
tuition without petty graft am
pleased to advise you that it has Deeh
renovated to the bottom, the hos'
chicken and dairy departments are
one hundred per cent better thah ever
before. And they have a great many
more patients than ever before.
We have not been playing nave
been trying to serve you. Sometimes
II Ia a little discouraging; when was
burning the midnight oil, and every
moment was burdened with care anu
sometimes with a sick wife IN the
bospital and a house full Of little girls
nj home. 1t Is not the ~pleasantest JoO
when a gang 20 about and put your
name down as a s%coundrel, At times
[ became discouraged,
We have had on the board oil rus
tees of the different departments a
number of BUSINESS men that iooK
after the business Of the different IN
= stitutions.
: In regard to the penitentiary depart
ment: It carries an appropriation OF
. two hundred and twenty-five thousand
t6 three hundred thousand dollars a
year. When | became Governor the
Honorable Joe Stennis. chairman Oh
the ways and means committee OF the
house, told me that he wanted to dis
cuss the resources and liabilities OF
, the State. He showed me a statement
showing the revenue and assets on
one side and the liabilities on the
other side. | found that Mississippi
was more than a million dollars in a
& hole when was elected governor. !
said, 81 don't see anything in regard
to the profit OF the penitentiary.' |
said the statement Of the board OF
q trustees showed a grand profit. He
% said yes, and that it was only the
e bookkeeping, they drew more than
o thirty thousand dollars out OF the
L. treasury than they put back. | sai-;
10 "If that is true there is something
O. radically wrong with the affairs OF
W that institution" Then a bill was in
o. troduced to add two new members
d. to the board of trustees, among them
As the encouragement. | remember
le that General McClurg was attorney
a general of the State and resigned |
d. asked him why he had resigned. He
In said that, as he was a member OF the
Us board of control Of the State peniten'
tiary, and they were handling millions
IL of dollars of the peoples money, and
40 that he could not give the proper time
ne to both offices. They might be putting
the property to the wrong causes, tc
le- the wrong places. for all he knew
and he resigned rather than remain
ne there, under the possibility of havinE
en- to sue himself as a member of tht
board for misapproprtating the money
,se | remembered that Senator Varda
to man, when he was governor Of thi
ny State, in 1904, sent a message appear
a ing to the legislature-appealing t
In it to take the encouragement off o
I'M the board. They overlooked it. Il
nd 1906, | remembered, he again Gale,
tlnt, attA,tt-t - u III pntntn1 az
ak from every angle that it vas a mis-
lar take for him to be on there. The
changed the law. | wanted to kno'
IA then why they wanted to put this off
,o1 Ger back on the board. ! decided
would watch and wait and see, | ca
tell you now why. They could Sc
H. ahead of them. They could see tina
49,, the time was coming when they wer
going to undertake to hold on, an
they did not want the State to b
armed to cope with them. They wan
ed the encouragement to be disqua
flied TO take steps to go against then
ute | could see the president of the boar
" trying to get the legislature to pas
i"h this bill week after week, and mont
ore oftar month n, tho ,os, aov 80 ~
ase term the Legislature passed the BIZ
INV on the last day Of the session 1t ws
in sent to me and | was urged to tut
it back to the legislature. | said
a my secretary that We will let it dry
the | have time from now until three da,
the In the next session to look into II.
said, "Put it in the safe" The pre-
the ident of the board and the lieutenar
In governor tried to get ms to sign Il
at l bill. | said, There is somethiI
cry wrong with this department. | sal
IN 81 want to look into it first, 1t m;
ana be that you will have to sue these mi
ND and their bondsmen.' | said, THE
the Is a leak somewhere. | don't wa
AMI to tie the State up until see whe
up It is going" The lieutenant-govern
In again urged me to sign the bill. | d
OF not know him as we'll then as | knc
nail him now. tCheering,)
r OF So. my fellow citizens, the ne
Oh thing he said was this: Governor,
anu you don't sign that bill you are goil
to get crossways with Charley Smii
tue and you know he is strong here
'ion said, go ahead and sign it." ! sat
aha When | was a candidate | told t
" people | was not going to wear t
pu' collar of any political gang or of a
"a one" | said | was not going to |
'es' long to vardaman, or John Sharp "
Hams, and that l was not going
> W swallow Sandy Bayou. That is t
We 49,. ,a,a - y. h.r. 4nu :,