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MORE LIGHT ON THE ARKANSAS TANGLE Details of the testimony offered at Uie hearing of the suit of the Hot Springs racing promoters to establish by court action the stit iis of the Sawyer racing commission bill at Little Rock earlier in tho week are at baud As previously reported Gov George W Hays appeared and under oath stated that he did not sign the famous Sawyer racing bill He even went further and stated that it was never his intention to sign the bill in the event legislatureIn it passed the legislature In this statement the governor was flatly con ¬ tradicted bv Capt R R Rice of Varner lxv K Beldiug of Hot Springs Frank Kitchens of Helena Representative Sam Itorex of Dnrdauelle Speaker Sawyer of Hot Springs and others All the wit ¬ nesses against the governor testified that he promised to sign the measure if it passed the legislature legislatureAccording According to the witnesses all kinds of trades were made with the governor to pass and defeat legislation then pending according to the wishes of the governor Mr Beldiug testified that Gov ¬ ernor Hays stated to him that unless lie and his associates helped to defeat tho primary election bill prepared by a committee selected by the Democratic state convention he would certainly voto the racing bill billSpeaker Speaker Sawyer declared that he Cajit Rice F F Kitchens Mr Belding and Judge Rolfe were in the governors ollice when he signed the bill that the governor accepted congratulations and every incmlKr of the party left the governors ollice under the impression that the bill hnd been approved lie declared that after Governor Hays had givrn the bill to his private secretary With Instructions to have it reported he heard Governor Hays call to some IHISOII and tell him to tell Mr Stewart to bring the bill ick to his ollire He said that Air Stewart was gone but a few minutes before he returned and handed the bill to Governor Hays HaysCaptain Captain Rice declared that through his efforts and the efforts of members of tho 11 t Springs delegation a squabble between Speaker Sawyer and Governor Hays had been straightened out and that Governor Hays led him to believe tiiat if a reconciliation was effected lie would sign the bill He declared that the governor told him that lie could veto the bill but that for reasons he did not want to He also said that Governor Hays he fore signing the bill had declared that he felt under obligations to Frank Kitchens anil would appoint him a commissioner commissionerThe The governor also stated that George R Belding anil Captain Rice were to be the other commis ¬ sioners and Senator Harris of Clarendon the secre ¬ tary the witness stated Captain Rice said the governor had told him ou several occassions that he would sign the bill and witli that object in view he and his friends assisted iu the passage of bills desired by the governor and fought the measures the governor wanted killed ii the legis ¬ lature latureGovernor Governor Hays was on the witness stand twice Ho said in substance substanceThe The Sawyer racing bill came to my oflico alKitit 430 p iu March 2 The bill was placed ou my desk and the next morning when I crime to my ollice my attention was called to it Several prrsons had come to me to prevail upon me to sign tlu bill but I had at all times told them that I would not do so While the bill was in the Senate I had toldi Mr Bradsher and Jim Surridge while in the ollice of Pace Davis that I could not sign the bill I had told them I would rather my right arm should fall from my side than sign that bill Ou the date the bill was sent to my ollice I had a rough draft of my veto message prepared Later I had Mr Burusidc place the draft of the message In a box in my ollice to keep it there until Mon ¬ day morning On Monday it was given to me and I instructed Mr MoeS an attache to prepare my veto message messagelie lie returned my veto message to me that morn ¬ ing and while Mr Surridge and Mr Bradsher were iu the otllcc I read the message to them and in ¬ structed Mr Bradsher to notify friends of the bill that I had vetoed it itLater Later in the day and while only Judge Rolfe and Mr Bradsher were in my ollice I signed my name to tho bill Mr Bradsher was silting just back of me and Judge Rolfe at the end of the table The bill Jiad several pages which I rolled back and on the last page was the word ap ¬ proved which had been written by the enrolling clerk I presume The first writing that I did was when I wrote the word Mis before approved At 4 p in on March S I came back and wrote and vetoed Then I signed my name to the bill Judge Rolfe and Mr iBradsher wore the only persons in the otlice at that time Later on several gentlemen came into the ollice in the pirtv being Messrs Belding Cooper Sawyer Rice and 1 be ¬ lieve Colonel Little They insisted that I had ajiproved the law and I told them I did not see how they had such an impression Beldiug placed his hands on my shoulders and pleaded with ma to approve tho bill and I took my pen and ran it twice through the word dis but I left vetoed on the bill I handed it to Mr Stewart and told him to report it 1 did that to got those gentle ¬ men to retire from the ollice so that I might have a chance to write my veto message They con ¬ gratulated me and left the ollice After they had left I told Mr Bradshcr to Hud them and tell them that I did not approve the bill and did not want them to retire under that impression I then re ¬ wrote the word dis and took the bill out to my home as the House had recessed recessedGovernor Governor Hays was crossexamined by United States Senator James P Clarke When asked by Senator Clarke If he had told friends that lie would make Senator Harris secretary of the commission Governor Hays Jellied that be had made any such promises Senator Clarke then asked Governor Hays if he had told friends that he would confirm the bill if certain tilings which he desired should transpire Governor Ilays replied tint he had told Mr Belding that he thought it might be possible that he could work himself up to the point where h would sign the bill billW W II Martin of Hot Springs in presenting his side of the case read numerous authorities sustain ¬ ing his contention that the Sawyer racing bill was a law notwithstanding Gov Havs vetoed it after first signing it He was followed by T E Me haffy iuul former Congressman Charles C Reid who took the opposite view of the case They contended that the intentions of the governor should prevail ami as the governor had testified that it was never his intention to sign the bill it goes as a matter of course that the measure did not have the approval of the governor The argument was closed by Uniter States Senator James 1 Clarke who also presented authorities sustaining the claim of the Hot Springs people that the bill is a law Senator Clarke said saidGov Gov Iljiys says that a still small voice spoke to him when he vetoed the race horse bill but he doesnt say whether he heard the still small vole before he gave the bill to his r rcrctnry to report it or afterward The constitution of the Iulted States says that the mere signing of the bill makes it a law Gov Hays signed the bill which is evidence that lie intended it should become a law Illio con ¬ stitution is not concerned with still small or large voices it only requires just what iv Havs did that he allix his signature The fact that Gov Hays scratched out the prefix Mis to deceive his frJLemls has no Iwaring upon the case That such practices are indulged In by Gov Hays has no bear ¬ ing tijion the case lie proved his intention of ap ¬ proving the bill when he signed it When he ran his pen through Mis he didnt run it through his signa ¬ ture because he knew that the constitution doesnt require anything on a bill other than his signature
