The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-08-27
HENDERSON WRITES
SCATHING LETT E r
TO GENERAL MARTIN
Continued from Page One,


besides the expense of the state in main
tanning the militia az Girard and paying
the rental for the warehouse and for
the storage of the liquor.
After these expenses had peen IN
CURED, and paid and had learned from
other sources that the seizures had all
been made, notified you that no further
expenditures could be made until formal
authority was given you. In looking over
these various accounts, ascertained that
while an account had been rendered in
the first instance for So per day in the
payment of your special agent which ac-
count had been certified to by him and
you as being correct, you afterwards in
Guided in a subsequent account $40 per
day for services of the same special
agent, not only for services subsequently
rendered, but for the services which had
been paid for at the rate of IS per day.
SAYS AMOUNT INCREASED
81 also observe that in the accounts
which you are now asking to have ap-
proved by me that you are including pay
for your agents at $3.50 per day when
these same agents had been paid IS
per day when you were raiding the blind
tigers in Girard.
Under these circumstances, is it any
wonder, I, as the chief executive of the
state of Alabama, in whom is placed the
supreme executive authority by the con-
stitution and thereby charged with
general supervision of the business of
the state, should require of your office
that it make arrangements for these ex
penses before they were incurred, eSpeci-
ally SO as the act of the legislature to
which you refer, in my opinion requires
my approval of these expenditures?
Notwithstanding these facts, not de-
string to appear personal, 1 directed
general executive order to the heads of
the various executive departments stat
ing in effect that in future all expenses
which are subject to the approval of the
governor must receive written permis-
sion from the governor for such ex-
penses before they are contracted for.
"This does not apply to the personal
expenses of officials travelling within the
state on official business.
Subsequent to that time. you came to
me and stated to me that you desired to
employ special agents for the purpose
of getting evidence in the impeachment
proceedings against the sheriff of Russell
county. / told you in that conversation
that did not think it necessary to en-
ploy such agents as you already had
enough evidence to condemn any man,
and the testimony in the case as sub
mitted to the supreme court will disclose
the fact that the evidence upon which
the sheriff was impeached was almost en-
tirely the facts in your possession at that
time.
NO APPROVAL GIVEN
Notwithstanding these facts, and with
| out my approval or consent as governor,
! you proceeded to incur various expenses
| in connection with the prosecution of
| the impeachment case against the sheriff
| of Russell county, amounting in the as-
gregate to several hundred dollars. so
am informed, in addition to the claim Of
| Daily upon which you have instituted the
mandamus proceedings against me as
governor, and the agents which you sub
| sequently employed were the same which
you had formerly employed in the prose-
cution of the whisky cases and were in
possession of all the facts necessary to
| the Impeachment of the sheriff of Rus
| sell county.
ct disregarded that part of your let
| ter in which you seek to lecture me on
| the duties of my office because l re-
gard it as impertinent and am led to
paraphrase an epigram of the Presi-
dent of the United States that when
ever a man is elected to public office
he either swel1s or grows but be-
| lieving as I do that I am charged by
| the law with the duty of guarding the
| finances of the state and being con-
WINGED that it was never the lnten-
| ton of the legislative body to place in
the hands of the attorney general the
| unlimited and unrestrained power to
expend the revenues derived from the
| taxes levied upon the people without
| let or hindrance;. and being further
| convinced that it was the intention or
| the Legislative body to place check
| upon the expenses even of the at
| torney general can but reiterate what
1 have said in one of my former let
| tiers to you, that shall resist each act
| in this direction with all the power OF
| the executive. Respectfully,
CHARLES HENDERSON,
Governor"
Montgomery, August 26.-(Special)-Ow-
| ing to the absence of Governor Henderson
| from the city, no legal process has yet
| been obtained on him in the mandamus
proceedings filed against him yesterday
| by James r. DAILY, through the attorney
general, to force the executive to approve