The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-09-12
Injection of Religious Issue He Calls Desperate Act of a Discredited
 Politician
ASKS WARD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT
 CITY'S FINANCES
Says Ward Confesses After 25 Years Service "City and Himself Are
 Both Busted''

Both Busted" ] Dr. ~. 4. Barrett, candidate for pres 1 ident of the city commission to sue cecd George E. Ward, last night is- sued formal statement in which he says the people are going to decide the issue on the fitness of the cam | didates for the office and are not EO- ing to be misled by Nrr. Wards nt- l tempts to "boIster up his tottering campaign" by "bringfng in the Presi- ! dent of the United States. the pope Of Rome. Tom Watson and Martin | Eagan.v
 He asks the commission president a number of pointed questions regarding his conduct of the eity's affairs and closes by saying; T shall conduct my campaign as I shall conduct the office of president of the board of commits sioners, honestly, squarely and decently. and you may conduct yours in the man. her best suited to your peculiar views and appeal'
 FIRST FORMAL STATEMENT Dr. Barrett's statement, which is the first formal expression he has issued lsinee the campaign opened aside from the outline of his views on public ques- tions he has given in the various meet ings held in his interest, reads as fol- lows:
 George Ward, in the desperation which comes to a defeated and discredted poi- tician who has fattened for quarter of a century at the public crib, undertakes to inject religious issue into the cam paign.
 'In 382 inches of display advertising Cat $1. 40 an inch) signed or sponsored by him, he attempts to bring the Presi- dent of the United States, the pope of Rome, Tom Watson and Martin Eagan to bolster up his tottering campaign. Masonic order, to all religious denomi- nations-to saints and sinners alike.
 "Ie confesses he is not Catholic and boasts that he has never appointed a Catholic to office, and by the same token, never will. But he deprecates the fact that secret order which he claims to have discovered, breaches he declares. the same doctrine which he has prac- ticed for 25 years.
 JUDGED BY HIS RECORD T do not know, nor care, who wrote the articles Mr. Ward fathers. Neither am I concerned in who is paying for this costly propaganda It will have no effect on the campaign and will not in the least divert the public from the issue of MT. Wards competency He is going to stand squarely on his record as he made it, and he Is going to be Judged by that record.
 He speaks of the cost of public inn provemcnts in East Lake as compared to Birmingham and Ensley If 1t is his desire to conduct campaign of tnforma- tion, let him use some of his advertis- ing space to tell the people what he paid for street improvements when mayor of Birmingham, and what the city paid un- der the administration of EXum, Lane and Weatherly and continued to pay when MT. Weatherly was commissioner of public Improvements.
 DIFFERENCE IN CREDIT
 Let him explain to the people why it was that the city under the Exum ad- ministration borrowed money at 3s4 per cent interest, without collateral, while under his brilliant administration it had to pay per cent discount and hypothe- cate the taxes and ali other revenues Of the city as collateral.
 sTell us MT Ward, the rate of interest on the citys public improvement bonds and why you bound the city with long term contract with R. M. Grant & Co, New York bond brokers.
 DO you advertise the city's public im- provement bonds and sell them to the highest bidder?
 If you opposed the street tax so earnestly and consistently in 1907, why put it on the people in 1916 and 1917?
 Uniform the voters why under the genius of your guiding hand it was neces- sary for the city to levy a liquor tax, sanitary tax, a school tax and a street tax. and ali this after we had voted you million and quarter of dollars to be used for general purposes
 EXPENSE FOR AUTOMOBILE
 Why is it the city can afford to buy you a $200O automobile, hire you chauf- feur and pay more than $1oo month for it's gasoline, tires and upkeep and has not the money to fill a few holes in our streets?
 Explain why the city can spend over $2c00 for sparrow eggs and is not finan- ciaily able to employ single additional policeman.
 You spend approximately s20.OO0 or $25,000 a year for gasoline, tires and re- pairs to the city'S automobiles. and yet are too poverty stricken to continue the citys appropriation of $50 month to the Mercy Home.
 How do you stand, MT. Ward, on mu- nicipal ownership. the grade crossing peril, elimination of all fees in the public schools free textbooks, granting, exten- sion and enlargement of franchises. the tax levy. and all the other economic and polite problems confronting the city now and which have confronted it during your administration?
 Tell us in your paid advertising how you stood then how you stand now, what you hue done about 1t, and what yon propose.,to do
 Do not answer, as seems to have been your habit, Nv saving that you voted the same way Mir. wentherly did.t Do not continue to be "me. too George" hut exhibit the same boldness YOU evidence in vonr paid political advertisements in making your. appeal for the Protestant and the Catholic support.
 EAST LAKE BONDS
 Why don't you come out and state the facts about the East Lake public improvement bonds? You and your clerks have gone over the East Lake