The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1899-01-27
..,I,ouEnse.

GOVERNOR McLAURS MS speech last week In Meridian 10 answer TO
- charges made against his administration BY Hon. I. Murray Smisns
of Vicksburg, is one OF tie most remarkable We have ever read. Thefe
seemed to be only one object in view in his whole speech and that was to
try and prove to the people Of Mississippi that the Hon. Murray Smtn vas
as big a demagogue and Inscriptions politician and all around deceivins
fellow as he was. We will ad'nitthat MI. Smith drew up the indictment,
but 1t is the first time we have ever seen q prisoner, in order to save himself
charge the prosecuting attorney with doing worse. No, Ansoem, to-day
you are the party the people OF Mississippi are weighing I'm D paAahcea u
not Smith-his time will no doubt come later when he will have 70 give an
account OF his part In these transactions. So far you have been wanting
and the plteous vail that goldbugism is doing it will not raise your beam
one fractional part OF an inch. The question for you to answer, the PROOF
for you to make, is that the charges Of the press of the state as well as that
OF the people against you are unfounded and untrue. So far, in all his
speeches, he has pretended to answer them by drawing the people $ atten-
tion to godbugism; to the charges made by -? "of ms ea'lns
greens with "A knife;' or the newspaper attacks; but never yet has he came
out in a square, manly way and denied any explicit count OF N lnuct
ment, and. further, he never will.
The pledge he made the people of the state, :pror to his election, in the
case OF the murderers of Dinkins, in which he said: "That would, there
fore nciher grant the nardon nor consider the apulication,, y lis broken by
Fox pardon. The charge OF drunkenness, while holding the ONCE OF gov
ernor S true as the people of Jackson will testify The appointment OF
men for power and not ability cannot be denied when you review the list
that noble Misissippian, Major. r. W. Minsaps, of Jackson. The vetoing
of the legislature capital bill at Il cost to the taxpayers OF the state d s4o-
|O0, because he claims it was a put up job. The refusal to allow the state 10
bear the funeral expenses of one Of its noblest men when Just and right
The use of onclal power to punish a personal enemy in times O war when
the honor of the state was at stake and the country's flag to be upheld
against a foreign foe. These are some OF the charges he has got to answer
before he can ever again expect to be honered by the people OF old
Mississippi,
Politics is coming to a pretty pass when every man who runs for Office
must own a newspaper. And his pitful plea that he has none in the state
to uphold his administration and honor, is not saying much lr n buhe-
ton. Herald. Star, Dispatch and Enterprise, anof whom resent every attack,
whether risnt n wrong, that is made upon him. Still, since his Speech
by the News of Jackson, we SEE he has been using its columns to publish
good things of himself, which he could not trust others to write, and which
he failed to mention along with ore written by Lowry against him.
For our part we have opposed McLaurin because his acts have justified
1t. and from his speech at Metidian we see no argument to cause US tto|
change. We have long since been tired Of the cry Of godbug persecution he
has been making, for it is no issue in this campaign; again, he will find
Us TO tnu too hide a multitude Of sins. Misdssippans are tired Of hav-
ing their state held up to ridicule on account OF the acts OF some OF her Of
fcas, and everyone. whether a gold or silver bug, will, we hope us their
God given right of franchise in bringing it back to the honored position it,
occupied, when such men IS Davis, Lamar, Walthall, George and 9TH
era steered her course. "a @a
McLaurin had better give up now, for II Allen takes up the rest Of his
record that Smith left OF and he defends lit no better than In his last effort
at Meridian we will say to the people that 1900 win find a new shlnge out
In Brandon-"A. J. McIausiA, attorney atlaw,"