National Affairs: A Governor Suspended

With 22 charges the State House of Representatives of Oklahoma passed a bill of impeachment against Governor J. C. Walton. The charges varied from placing his private chauffeur on the payroll of the Health Department to attempting to prevent a meeting of the legislature, and to accepting a bribe of $6,000 for approving a legislative bill. Except on one charge, that the Governor refused to permit the capital punishment laws to be carried out (he has pardoned and paroled almost 300 prisoners), the vote on every count was heavily against the Governor. On the capital punishment charge the vote was 51 to 42 against the Governor; on the other charges the Governor received from 7 to 25 votes.

As soon as the first charge was approved and transmitted to the State Senate, that body passed a resolution suspending Governor Walton and making the Lieutenant Governor official head of the State. Mr. Walton took the suspension question to court. The State Supreme Court ruled, 5 to 4, that he must stay suspended.