The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1920-01-03
LEGISLATURE CON-
VENES NEXT WEEK
Hot Contest for Speakership Of
House Between Conner,
Owen and Anderson.

4
The event Of outstanding impors
i tance to occur in Mississippi in the
immediate future Ii the e0nvening
next Tuesday In the State capitol Of
the 1920 session of the Legislature,
says the Magnolia Gazette.
/ Unless all precedents are broken,
however, the session will mark time
until the Inauguration of the new
/ governor, which will occur on jan
/ uary 10th. Usually, nothing of inn
/ portance in the way Of legislation is
undertaken until the new administra-
tion is installed, and the incoming
governors message Is received.
The Senate is already organized by
constitutional provision insofar as
its presiding officer Is concerned, and
Lieutenant Governor Russell will call
that body to order and administer
the oath Of Office to the senator's
elect. The Senate will. then proceed
with the election of its secretary, SER
geant at arms and door-keepers, and
tion in a short while.
The House, however, has no pre-
siding officer, and the contest for
the Speakership makes that branch
o. the Legislature the center Of in
terest on the opening day.
There are three candidates for
/ speaker this time-at least, three
who have made their aspirations pub
lie, and have ben actively soliciting
the votes on. epresentatiyes-elect
These are: Hon. M. S. Conner, of Gov
| ington; Hon. S. Joe Owen of Union;
and Hon. George Anderson, OF War
rem,
Conner was elected Speaker Of the
House in the beginning of the 1916
session, and his performance of the
ardu0us duties Of that very impor-
tant position won the commendation
OF the House and the public gener-
ally. In one particular, he broke
record in Mississippi. During the en-
| tire four years tenure of the Speker's
chair-presiding over three legisla-
tive sessi0ns-not once was his decis-
ion appealed from. Conner was the
administration candidate in 1916,
and his election was due to that fact
more than any other, since at that
time he was without legislative ex-
perience and hardly known beyond
the limits Of his own county. In the
1918 session Of the Legislature, how
ever, the political ties which attach
ed him to Governor Bilbo were bro
ken, and for the last two years Con-
ner has been classed with the anti
Bilbo faction. When Bilbo was a
candidate for Congress in the sum-
mer of 1918, Conner, It Is said, ex-
erted himself to bring about his de-
feat, and there was a lively inter-
change of salty kilograms between
the two when the result of the pri-
mary became known.
Being against Bilbo, Conner was
also against Russell, and, it is said,
after the first primary last summer
which left Russell and Johnston in
the runoff, the Speaker gave his sup
port to the Delta candidate.
Thus, If the outgoing governor and
the incoming governor together can
control majority of the votes in the
House Of Representatives, Conner
will not again be the presiding off,
Ger of that body. So far, however,
no definite lineup of the House has
been obtained, and by the Bilbo-Rus-
sell faction and the opposite crowd
dt1hc q udJOI1ly 10 cldllnSu.
S. Joe Gwen, of Union, is said to
be the administration candidate for
Speaker. He was member of the
19O8-10 sessions of the Legislature,
and in 1910 was one of the 'Immor-
tai Seventy-two'% who voted in the
secret Caucus" for Vardaman. He
was for Vardaman and Bilbo in the
heated campaign of 1911, and sup
ported Russell for Governor in the
last campaign.
Judge George Anderson, of Vicks-
burg, the third candidate for the
Speakership. is believed to be anti
Bilbo-R Russell What strength he will
poll in the House on the first ballot
will be drawn, most probably from
the Delta counties, although Corners
support of Oscar Johnston may give
him share Of votes coming from
that section of the state.
As the Gazette sees it. the race
will be between Conner and Owen.
--ss4k --------