Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-06-16
PEOPLES Party IN COPIAH.
The Greatest white County OF Mississippi
Leads of GrandIy for Prohibition.
\ Monster Mass Meeting at Hazlehurst
Yesterday.

hf~Rti"iN'
Pursuant to previous call. the voters
of Copiah county favorable to the or
ganization of the Peoples party, assem-
blcd in mass convention at HaZlehurst
yesterday. 1t was a grand out-pouring
of the honest ycomanry, the bone and
sincw of that splendid county.
The meeting was called to order i'll
the court room mt 10 o'clock by j. B.
Middleton. and r. w. Matheny, the
popular sheriff of the county, was
chosen chairman. and Edward Cotton,
of Bcaurcgard. secretary. 1t was soon
found the court room would not hold
near all the people, and the meeting
adjourned to the grove i'll the court
house yard. One who made the count
said the crowd that filed out of the
court room numbered 700 men, and in
the court yard the crowd was increased
to fully 1000. \ goodly number of la
dies graccd the occasion by their
presence The men who composed
the meeting were, with perhaps here
and there an exception. the men who
have heretofore fought the battles of
the Democratic party and who have
been its chief reliance in times of
emergency, but they arc sick and tired
of fighting over dead issues and fan
ming the flames of sectional hate. while
the office holders and the favored
classes thrive. fatten and make merry
on the peoples earnings, and they are
going to unite with the reformerS of
the North aud West and have reckon
ing.
The Democratic bosses at Halle
hurst. who had been predicting that
the meeting would be failure, and
that the Peoples party in Copiah was
composed only of old Greenbackers,
Independents and Radicals, looked as
lonesome and badly "hacked" in the
presence of that gathering. as the few
deluded Alliance Democrats did who
attended the State Convention in
jackson last Wednesday.
Sheriff Matheny said that various
bull-dozing tactics had been resorted
to to deter him from action, such as
questioning the validity of his election,
getting his bondsmen to withdraw
from his bond. etc, but to his credit be
it said he has the courage of his con-
victiOns and stands firm. and the peo-
pie are at his back
On motion of S. F. Wiltshire, the
meeting was resolved into the Peoples
party of Copiah county.
On motion of J. w. Mathis, the chair
was directed to appoint committee to
draft resolutions of respect to the
memory of the great reformer and pa
triot, l.. l.. Polk. Committee II. j.
Millsaps, j. b. Middleton, w. M. Keith
ley, j. w. Day, j. A. Boss.
jeff ID. Miller, the eloquent young
Peoples party leader, was called upon
and made a patriotic and earnest adj
dress. EX-Representative Millsaps
was called upon and said that speech
making was not necessary; that the
people had been taught a long time by
Democratic leaders that they were be-
ing oppressed, that they believed it and
now propose to act for themselves B..
T. Hobbs was called for and did his
best in the brief time at his command
to show that neither old party is longer
worthy of confidence or support, and
closed with an earnest appeal to the
Peoples party men to make their par
ty a reform party indeed and in fact,
by declaring for that greatest of all
reforms, the suppression of the liquor
traffic.
On motion of S. F. Wiltshire, the
platform of the st. Louis Conference
was unanimously endorsed.
The following resolutions were
adopted:
By j. ID. Miller: Resolved, That we
the Peoples party of Copiah county.
do most heartily endorse the prohibi-
ton of the liquor traffic, and that this
| 'hO'lu NC Hittuc one Oh UHe prominent
planks in our platform in Mississippi.
By c. r. Taylor Resolved, That
Peoples party clubs be organized at
every precinct in Copiah county.
Resolved, That in all elections we
favor a free ballot and fair count.
By j. w. Mathis Resolved, That this
convention instruct its delegates to
State Convention and the Executive
Committee of the Peoples party of
! Copiah county to take action as early
as practical looking to the organization
of the party in this the 7th Congress
sional district for the purpose of NOM
mating candidate for Congressman
at the coming election.
All of the resolutions we're adopted
unanimously. After Mr.. Miller read
his Prohibition resolution, Chairman
Matheny took it and mounted table
where he could be distinctly heard
| by the vast crowd and read it again
and called for the vote. There was an
enthusiastic chorus of yeas, and when
the nays were called for, there was not
a dissenting voice Many of the men
who were once among the most uncom-
promising opponents Of Prohibition in
Copiah, were among its most ardent
supporters.