In reply refer to JANUARY 21, 1937. To the Honorable Sub-Committee of the Committee on Education and Labor, Senate Resolution 266: Through the press my attention has been directed to statements referring to the Alabama National Guard and purporting to have been made before your Committee in hearings on January 14 and January 15, 1937, and particularly to the published statement of Yelverton Cowherd to the effect that "Fifteen of the seventeen National Guard officers of the Birmingham district were on the pay roll of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company.' My interest in this matter arises from the fact that such statements, given wide publicity, might have the tendency to place the National Guard in an unfavorable light with the public and injuriously affect the reputation for fairness and impar tiality in the performance of its duties which it has for many years built up in the State of Alabama. I am now, and have been since 1930, Brigadier General of the National Guard and Naval Militia of the State of Alabama, and its ranking officer. The facts are as follows: Since 1930 the National Guard of Alabama has been ordered to protect the propperties of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company in only one year, that is, the year 1934. The circumstances occasioning this service were as follows: 1. The ore miners of the T. C. I. & R. R. Company quit work and the company's ore mines were shut down. Immediately following the strike several men were wounded and more than one killed in a conflict between county officers and union miners. Several non-union miners were beaten and several homes were dynamited. The sheriff of the county requested the Governor of the State to order the National Guard into service to preserve order and the Governor of the State ordered me to investigate the situation and report to him with recommendations. I made an investigation and recommended to the Governor that the National Guard be ordered into service, and the Guard was placed on duty under my command. This service continued for a total period of about three months and about five hundred officers and men were utilized. At that time there were living in Jefferson County, Alabama, which is commonly known as the Birmingham district, sixty commissioned officers of the National Guard and Naval Militia of the State of Alabama. Of these, seven were employees of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company. They were as follows: Major Benjamin M. Smith 1st Lieutenant James L. Wall 1st Lieutenant Gordon H. Keller 2nd Lieutenant Robert W. Green Of these seven, two were employed on strike duty. They were Major Benjamin M. Smith 1st Lieutenant John M. Wilkins. Major Smith left the employ of the T. C. I. & R. R. Company about two years ago. During the strike he commanded troops on only one occasion. An emergency arose one night when he was the only officer available. The next day he was relieved and placed on administrative duties, such as handling of supplies, transportation, reports, etc. Lieutenant Wilkins was used for a portion of the time in command of troops at a camp located several miles from the ore mines, and for the balance of the time his duties were administrative. In 1936 there were and at the present time there are sixty-six commissioned officers of the National Guard and Naval Militia living in Jefferson County. Of these, seven are employees of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, and they are as follows: Captain Herbert H. Brush 1st Lieutenant John M. Wilkins 1st Lieutenant James L. Wall 1st Lieutenant Gordon H. Keller 2nd Lieutenant Robert W. Green 2nd Lieutenant Percy C. Still. 2. In 1934 five separate camps were established for the National Guard. Orders were issued prohibiting any National Guardsman from fraternizing with deputy sheriffs, employees or officers of the T. C. I. and R. R. Company or employees or officers of the Union. Only military persons were permitted to enter the Guard camps except on business. During the entire period of service and since, the National Guard was and is under the sole and exclusive control of the Governor of Alabama and its officers. No reports were made to nor instructions given the Guard by any officer or employee of the T. C. I. and R. R. Company or by the Sheriff of Jefferson County. The T. C. I. & R. R. Company did not pay the National Guard for its service. The State of Alabama paid the entire pay roll. The entire service was concluded, so far as I know, without any criticism on the part of the Union or the corporation as to the conduct of the officers and men during this period. On the contrary, both the Union officials and the corporation officials, as well as the Governor of Alabama, commended the Guard on its efficiency, effectiveness and impartiality in performing this duty. It is my opinion that the people of Alabama regard the National Guard as a fair, impartial force. The statements made to your Committee tend to create a contrary impression, if |