The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1886-09-23
Two NomInatlors, With a Lesson
And an encouragement.

Cnl. liOokPT ONeE MA bdIhSudlt
in the 9TH district. when understood,
are significant. The ability of the
two defeated candidates is univcr-
sally conceded. Whence their de-
feat?
In the case Of Mai. Van Eaton,
who was defeated by a fraction Of
a vote, there were two causes. First,
he voted against the Blair Educa-
tional bill, which his people favored.
Second, he offended the moral SEN
timent of a great body of his con
stituency by his doubtful attitude
on the whisky question. After pre-
siding over a State Prohibition Con.
vention, he distinctly repudiated all
Prohibition sentiment Then it will
he remembered by many, himself
especially, that he made before the
Miss. Baptist Association, last fell
at Woodvillc, n speech that placed
him in the minds Of all who heard
him in the ranks of Anti-Prohibi-
iionists. A more unfortunate speech
we never heard. 1t set the moral
sentiment of the people strongly
against him. Amite county was
well represented in that body, and
it lost him his old county and that
lost him his re-nominotion.
In the the case of Mai. Barksdale
there was a different state Of affairs.
He has been an able, industrious.
and pains taking representative His
friends believed that he would
certainly be re-nominatcd He had
defeated Col. Hooker four years ago
by large majority. The opening
of this campaign was propitious fol
him. But on the "home stretch
he was overwhelmingly defeated
Why? Allowing duly for some un
fortunate appointments the eXplana
ton is easy. Things went well for
him until Kinds, his own county
gave Col. Hooker an overwhelming
majority and placed her eight votes
in the Convention against the sit
ting candidate How was it done;
This way. Maj. Barksdale carried
jackson; Col. Hamilton and other
/ prominent whiskey men supporting
him. Word was sent out that he
had carried it by the jackson ring
and the county went against him.
The county had been worked in
that line for two weeks before, and
was prepared for the final stroke. Tc
make it worse, the report was circu
lated that Maj Barksdale voted Il
folded ticket, while Col. Hooker
son voted an open dry ticket, Col
H. not being in the county election
day. In short Maj. Barksdale was
defeated by the support OF a few
prominent whisky men of Jackson
We feel that he was not fairly esti-
mated nor justly treated. II he had
been Judged by himself it might
have been different, and would have
| been.
Now for the lesson. The way fol
man to lie defeated for office at
this date is TO become associated
with saloon politics in the minds OF
of the people. In Maj. Van Eaton's
case it was his own action that
compromised him; in Maj. Barks,
dale's it was his company. The
lesson in both cases is the same, and
it is plain. To come to our own
county, it means that the influence
of the Jackson whisky ring will ruin
any man who profits by it. Their
influence in all public affairs is at
an end, and the intelligent, moral
people of the county have decreed
it. Henceforth there is no better
reading for any candidate than the
dog story in the back of the old
blue back spelling book.
The encouragement is great.
Ten years ago the candidate had
to run with the boys" "set up the
drinks" and make friends with the
lawless. Now whoever would sue
cessfully compete for public honors
must look the other way. The best
people of the country have come to
the front to stay and set things
right. "He who runs may read"
especially if he runs for oflice.-Bap-
list Record.
Allowing due weight for what is
claimed by the Record in the above =,
the race for Congress in this district,
as far as the liquor question was
concerned, was an anomalous one.
1t is well known fact to all inform
ed persons that the whiskyitcs of
Lincoln county were for Hooker al
most to man, and though they
could never have got in sight of
success if they had not been aided
by part of the Prohibitionists, Col.
Hooker does owe his success in this
county mainly to them. Again,
Col. Hooker's first and most ardent
supporters in Copiah county were
the whisky ring, though the dry
men afterward focked to his sup
port and a few days after he was de-
clared Copiah's choice, carried the
county for Prohibition by the over
whelming majority of 1868 votes.
On the other hand, Madison, an
overwhelmingly wet county, was
unanimous for Barksdale, and JEFF