The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-12-17

"~iN @St AOiDltiGEb GOI1LLltteQ. "
that number $50 were committed b
negroes. and 227 were committed b
aesroes on negroes. | want 10 in
press upon you this fact revealed 4
mat inYestigation-they were all yer
young negroes. They average les
than rs years OF age. and while the
did no state in all the letters, a grea
many OF them stated that the killing
occurred around crap games. Now al
article was published In Mcclure
Magazine in December, in which MI
Mcclure states that for the year 1870,
there was a homicide committed in thu
United States TO every 1888 people
Wen, when you conf1ne this TO tn,
white people Of Mississippi, puttinl
Mississippis white population at 700,
OVO, there were less than one homicide
to every 10000, and II you put tbs
white population at 1000, 900, thu
h0mlcide8 committed by white meI
OF the whole population, you will 1nC
that there was less than one homicide
to every $4,000 people. SO We are moi
80 bad, my countrymen, as has beer
reported to the world by our own PEG
pie, | have 50 often said upon the
stump to the people Of the State that
there Is not a more law-abiding, law
respecting, law.upholding and law.
loving people on Gods fOotstool than
you viii find among the white people
OF the State of Mississippi"
Gov Vardaman then entered into a
discussion of the negro question and,
touching on this, said;
I'VE should make TIP our minds to
tell the truth about the situation here
at home, and instead of going to the
congress OF the United States and say
Ing that thore is nc distinction made
in Mississippi because OF color or pre-
yious condition of seryitude, tell the
truth and say this: We tried for
many years to live in Mississippi and
share sovereignty and dominion with
tho negro. We saw our institutions
crumbling, we saw the public funds
~sQuandered, we saw the civilization
that u f~orefathers had fought for
passing away, and the law OF self
preservation being the first law, we
observed it. We rose in the majesty
and highest type of Anglo-Saxon man.
hood and took the reins Of government
out of the hands of the carpetbagger
and negro, and, so help us God, from
now on we will never share any sover.
eighty Of dominion with him again."
The governor thought that the
Southern congressman should intro
duce n measure looking to the repeal
Of the fifteenth amendment to allow
the States to deal with the question
of suffrage as they saw fit, and not I'm
til that was done did he think the ne
gro question would be settled.
Mayor Hemingway. the next speak.
or, was introduced and spoke as fol-
Iowa:
Il feel that | am welcoming you to
your own The site of the original
town of Jackson was given by the
United States Of America to the State
OF Mississippi for a seat of govern
ment, and by the State to its citizens.
Therefore, you have a double claim
upon it, and for this week we are CIV
ing it back to you, to do with as you
please, and we expect to make it a
week OF pleasure and profit for us all.
We want you to see your capital
city, learn of its progress, meet its cit
liens and show the world your pro-
ducts.
There has been a widely dissent
mated opinion that the citizens OF
jackson were entirely supported by
the State institutions, and that its
people existed from one accession to
another when they %replenished their
bank accounts from the strangers
within their gates. But such is not
the case. The State institutions are a
great help to any place. but they have
been here for years, and until the year
1900 the population OF Jackson was
not over 5000. In four years 1t has
almost trebled, and we now have near
ly $4,000 people. To prove that the
citizens of Jackson are not actuated
by a sordid spirit, and that we do not
draw u chief support nor our great
measure Of prosperity from the State
institutions, the carnival was con-
ceiyed and the people of the Common
wealth invited to visit us.
You are the first visitors to Great
er Jackson, Our population has Just
been increased several thousand by
the extension of the corporate limits,
and from the fourth place among the
cities Of Mississippi we are now first
or second. Twenty-eight passenger
trains put 500 passengers through our
union depot every twenty.four hours.
The drummers from our iobbing
reach out through the country
in seven directions and represent a
business of over 1000, 600 per annum.
Thirty.seven manufacturing plants
have hundreds Of employees, with a
pay roll of over 81, 000, 900. In 1902
the bank deposits were 81, 100000;
now they are over 2 ,250,000. -Four
years ago there were only two build.
as high as three stories, and now
few are constructed under four sto.
ries, The annual output from our
four cotton mills is over 81, 600, 600.
Our building growth and the estab.
lishment Of new enterprises Is the
work Of home capital.
I'VE wanted you to learn of these
We wanted to see you and
your products and to show the world
that our combination of climate, soil
and people Is unsurpassed by any
on the globe. We are proud OF
our State institutions, but they are
only an inCident-behind them are the
Of Mississippi. AMI fire may dc.
stroy these institutions, but we would
still be the capital of Mississippi and
the foremost city Of the Common
wealth.