The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1919-06-06
John Emptied the Bag and There
Lies the Blame.

full of game,
| don't know where he got il though
he got it just the same"
The politicians seem to be up in
the air because OF the manner in
which Longino found funds to build
the new capitol. Vardaman says
that he spent the revenue of the
State that should have been used
for expenses. Russell says that Writ
Adams got the money from the
railroads. Johnston says he got it
from the sale of State lands. Well,
at any rate, he didn't issue bonds
and he found the money to build
the State house and TO retire four
hundred millions oil State bonds
results, that is what is wanted now
rather than fine promises followed
with bond issues as has been the
case during the past few admins
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Messenger.
The "John" mentioned in the
first line of the above quoted
paragraph figuratively represents
candidate A. Fl. LonginO, whom
the Okolona Messenger has ex-
aggerated into the wonderful
gubernatorial financial wizard
of Mississippi. The Messenger
makes the astonishing statement
that Mr.. Longino found the
money TO build the State house
and retire FOUR HUNDRED
MILLIONS of State bonds"
while he was governor. The
fact is no FOUR HUNDRED
MILLIONS of State bonds were
retired during Mr.. Longino's adj
miniStration. Everybody knows
that the amount of State bonds
then retired was 100000 or just
one thousandth part of 100000
900. Everybody also knows that
this 100000 and the Sl.000,000
which paid for the State house
was found by Mr.. Longino in the
State treasury and was the money
recovered by Writ Adams in suits
for back taxes against the railroads
or later resulted from the sale of
State lands. The current crit
cism, expressed on every side.
condemns the sale of those State
lands at that time as a stupid
breach of financial judgment. as
their sale at a later date would
have paid the accrued interest,
retired the bonds and left hand
some balance to the credit of the
State.
AS a treasury emptier and for a
judgment lacking prophetic fl
nancial vision, Mr.. Longino's
administration as governor stands
without parallel. The wonder is
that anybody has the political
gall to feature it any other way.
What Mr.. Nardaman says about
it is right; what Mr.. Russell says
about il is right, and even what
Mr.. Johnston says about ii is
faCt-the statements of these
three gentlemen make up the
whole truth. but what is said by
the Okolona Messenger in the
above clipping is calculated to !
mislead, because it interprets as
laudable those acts in Mr.. Lon
gino's administration, which
when candidly stated, will con-
denim ii. The record of this fl
nancial wizard won't bear the
light of research nor criticism.
When subjected to the crucial
test of investigation and fact. it
diScloSeS the skeleton of a one
time governor who spent all the
money left in the treasury by his
and sold State lands
at a time that sacrificed thousands
of dollars of loss to the State To
sum the whole matter, the follow
ing paraphazed couplet of the
doggerel that stands
at the head of this article presents
he one salient feature of Mr..
Longino'S administration as Mis-
'isSippi's governor:
John found az the Gov'ner, a bag
full of game;
He emptied the bag and there lies {
the blame.