This text was obtained via automated optical character recognition.
It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.

---

liberal named Wagner. Wagner had a string of degrees all in sociology, a hatred for Mississippi "red necks", and an uncanny ability to waste taxpayers' money, beginning with his salary, which he set at 32 thousand dollars per year, 7 thousand more than the governor earned!
The second of the governor's promises was a state-financed super shipyard, promoted by Litton Industries - a bonded indebtedness of 130 million for the state, to be paid by Litton in yearly notes or installments. It was all arranged; even down to who would purchase the bonds, one of the Jewish controlled banking houses in New York. Because my friend Tullius Brady was absent when the Litton Bill came up in the House, I was the only member to cast a dissenting vote. What spendthrift fools! Litton has been in trouble ever since and so has Mississippi. It was my contention that Mississippi had good weather year round, a favorable labor climate, and plenty of water, and if this plus a favorable tax structure was not enough to induce big business to come in, let them go elsewhere. The legislature, in my opinion, did not have the right to gamble with the people's money! But the political prostitutes aided by the liberals always win and will until the people awaken to the fiscal irresponsibility that now exists in government. The Litton bonds could have been sold as revenue financed bonds at the time. When I asked the governor why they weren't handled this way, his excuse was that revenue bonds would cost Litton a half percent more interest! "What about the taxpayers?" I asked. "They are the ones we should be concerned about, not Litton." But Governor Johnson put a mortgage on every home in Mississippi with 130 million dollars in full faith and credit bonds! There is absolutely nothing a political opportunist loves more than bond issues, even if the debt ceiling of the state has to be raised in order to float another one! Speaking in opposition to the Litton super-shipyard, I told the House that I believed the Litton Bill to be a three-way gamble. First of all, bigger firms than Litton had declared bankruptcy. Secondly, Communist Cuba, in time of war, could destroy the supershipyard with one placed missile. And thirdly, a hurricane could destroy the yard or cause untold damage. (In 1969, Camille did exactly that!). A young Mississippi Power Company executive
told my daughter Toni at a Jaycee banquet that he owed me an apology - he said that when I voted against the Litton Bill he thought I was the dumbest member of the legislature, but after he transferred to Jackson County he got an insight into what was really going on, after which he became convinced that I was the wisest member of that body politic.
I was unopposed in 1967, but attended many of the political rallies anyway. I wanted my constituents to know that I really appreciated thier support, and they liked me for it. As I remarked to the House during my first week there in 1964, "Every large group in Mississippi is represented by a paid lobbyist while the legislature is in session, with one exception, the taxpayers, who were already so overburdened with taxes, they could not afford a lobbyist." And I vowed that as long as I served in the House, I would lobby for them. And I did.
The Paul Johnson, Jr. administration was bad but that of John Bell Williams was worse, in my opinion. Here was a man who had served our state as a Congressman for twenty-two years in Washington, and had a conservative voting record, but became a liberal of the first order. A solid conservative vote made him governor of his native state. During his inaugural address he stated, "If Houston, Texas doesn't want that federal money, .Houston, Mississippi does and if Long Beach, California doesn't want it, Long Beach, Mississippi does and I aim to get it." True to his word, one of his first acts as governor was to appoint David Bowen, an avowed liberal to head an office solely dedicated to funnel federal funds into Mississippi. Bowen boasted that he would bring $400 million into the state if the legislature approved his budget. They did, never giving a thought to the fact that $400 million in federal funds would cost the taxpayers $80 million in matching funds! Bowen only reached about half his goal, thank God. We adopted Medicare and Medicaid in addition to subsidizing the mothers of illegitimate children. The one-man, one-vote system makes it possible for welfare to destroy prosperity! One day I met Governor Williams in the corridor and he asked me how he was liked in Harrison County. My answer was "Not so well." "Every conservative there voted for you but they were turned off by your liberal inaugural address." "They quoted
69