Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-08-07
A SANDER REFUTED.

ul1teS. w nat PROOF mas ne! IneTe mas
never been a whitecap outrage in a
Populist county in this State. There
has never been Populist charged by
a grand jury with whitecapping. On
the contrary, where the order Is strong
est. the Democratic majority is the
greatest and every man who has ever
yet been convicted by the courts, votes
the ticket straight" This isn't all. The
first whitecaps convicted in Mississip
pi we're indicted by grand jury com
posed in a great measure of Populists.
This being the record. the fellow who
charges whitecapism upon the Peoples
party of this State is too ignorant to
know what he is talking about or too
malicious to get close to the truth
Peoples Messenger.
What the Messenger states is timely
and we'll borne out by the facts. In
this county and Marion the whitecap
demonstrations and troubles have been
the most pronounced of any in the
State. When the indicted whitecaps
were in the county Jail at Brookhaven
awaiting their trial, the editor of THE
LEADER interviewed them in the Jail
yard in body and was promptly as
sured that each and every one of them
had never supported any other than
the Democratic party. 1t is well-known
that majority ofthe grand jury which
indicted these men, did not support
the Democratic party and vote the
ticket" at the last election.
In Marion county DR.. Goss, the re
puted organizer of the whitecaps in
that county, and who, it seems, only
escaped indictment at the last term of
court because the witnesses against
him we're hiding out, says he was only
Democratic clubs, and has
never professed to be anything but a
Democrat.
The real truth of the matter about
whitecapism is about this. 1t is what
used to be known as ku-kluxism and
bull-dozing. under a different name,
with this material distinction, that ku-
klux and bull-dozers were Democratic
party organizations; whereas white
caps are a non-partisan organization
which embraces men of various party
BY the way, we note that Hon. y. G.
of Brookhaven, while attend
ing the late District Democratic Exec
utive Committee meeting at Jackson,
is quoted by the Evening News of that
city as follows:
Mr.. McNair said the whitecap ele-
ment, which as rule composed the
third party, have registered we'll, and
are organizing, and the Democracy
were confronted with peculiar condi-
tions, and that primary election in
Lincoln was impractical.
Mr.. McNair is not some insignificant,
mud Singer, such as is
to by the Messenger. He is a
of the Democratic district eX-
al district, and chairman of what is
left of the Democratic executive com
mttce of Lincoln county. That man
of his reputation and position should
have made such deliyerance as he is
here credited with is, in view of the
facts, most remarkable. Under the
rigid provisions of the new Constitu-
ton it is badge of good citizenship
for man to be able to register at all;
lot hnh
doubly accredited representative of the
dominant party in this State stigma
thing citizens as criminals and out
laws for simply exercising their just
constitutional rights and doing what is
not only their privilege, but their duty
as freemen and good citizens. Could
partisan arrogance and intolerance rise
to sublimer heights? Such language
is the more surprising and ungracious,
coming from Mr.. McNair, because he
and his kinsmen in this county have
been exceptionally honored in the
past by many of the very men who are
thus discredited and stigmatized.
THE LEADER believes in truth and
fair play. If Mr.. McNair and other
Democratic leaders can prove by rea-
son and legitimate arguments that the
Populists' principles and measures are
wrong, and that the Democratic party,
which up to this time has been faith
less to its most important pledges, is
right, let them do so; but it is time to
call halt ON political Islander and the
hanging of Democratic and all the 9TH
er dirty linen of the country on the
Populist fence. Clear your own party
skirts of responsibility for crime and
gentlemen. Beginning
with the Clarion Ledger, there are not
a dozen Democratic papers in Missis-
sippi at this time which do not justify
or even inoite to mob law for one or
more offenses, and to this extent, at
least, are fostering the very spirit of
lawlessness of which Mr. McNair and
others would apparently have the
public believe the Populists enjoy an
exclusive monopoly.
If the political situation in Lincoln
Is peculiar it is because so many
honest men and good citizens are be-
disguised with the Democrat
&c party on account of its false pledges
and saloon affiliations; and it is this
4 Il.