Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1905-05-18

lie will cease to deny the slun,ug n
the ballot b0xcs the infimidat on CT
black voters. the deliberate intent q
overset the black franchise. South
ern COngrsssmen have lied n1hiy In
regard to this. thinking that the ue-
cessity miglt Justify a fnlseho.si.
Vardaman viii tell the truth. tie wiu
say. We have driven the negroes
from the polls. and We sivays Wiil.
We have counted them out. and a
ways viii. II need be We have tn.
timidated the black vote. and ~ al
ways viii We have made a state
constitution with the express purpose
% casting out the black vote. and " e
will always stand by that constitn
tion. We have held taat white h
white and black Is black. and We will
always 50 hold You call us lawIess.
and We admit that We are. and De.
clare that We always will h. until ynu
give us a law which W. can recognise.
as law We have always refused to
accept the fifteenth amendment Give
Us the sixteenth amendment. and tien
see What the South will do In the way
ot iawfulness. sobricty and modera-
5ioa. and IA the ~ay 90 helping the ne
gru race"
Let us hop- that in those days
there will be- other men OF both par
ties who will see taat this question is
not one of politics. but Of industry and
science Three hundred millions ~
dollars spent in the South have s,lu-
Gated the negro into COO per cent.
more of crime, The cost was high,
With u has gone an Industrial waste
~ many times three hundred millions.
All the foregoing Is true. and yet 10
call Governor Nariaman a hater of
the negro Is a deep injustice He no
more hates them than does Theodore
Roosevelt himself -- perhaps dfSlikes
them not so much The latter has cost
many negro lives and much negro hap
piness in the South-indirectly and
unintentionaliy The former. pro
claimed abroad as an enemy Of the
black race has directly and intention.
ally protected the life and happiness
Of the blacks. Bv a stranra paradox
Of fate he has been called upon to set
right many Of the consequences Of
acts done by man whose ideas are
diametrically opposed to his own The
hater has been forced to correct
abuses brought about by the acts ~
the philanthrOpist' Was ever. IN the
queer 1umhle OF American politics. n
stranger situation than this. Yet d;
is fair statement OF the relations
between President Roosevelt and Gov
ernor Nardaman. dear enemies as they
are.
Personal Traits Of the Man.
Personally. James X vardaman is
a great democratic soul IN appear
ance he is picturesque. staiwart In
4 matter ~ personal opinion he
is apt to assert rather ton ruch
than too little. His fiery ten
per has often gotten him in troab,e.
but in trouble he has acquitted him
self like a man. When he finds he is
in the wrong. he is first to make
amends. as does any good fighting
man. In a great many ways he
seems a survival Of the old South.
tempered by the changing conditions
OF the SoHth today. The Vardaman
hat is wide and black. the vardaman
cravat Immediately white. the Var
danian feet well shod. after the way
of all Southern gentlemen. The Var.
daman bow upon meeting a lady IL
wide and deep. the hat going as low
as the knee. or perhaps under the left
arm. II he pause to converse. The
Nardaman hair is long. black. Indian
like. shot now just tribe with gray.
but reaching in n thick mass to t1e
shouidsrs-hair that might have be-
lcneed to Peter Cartwright. or sole
other stalwart backwo0ds preacher Of
the olden times This hair. tossed
back from high forehead. gives pct
uresqueness To personality strong.
dignifed and unusual
A firr-eater by instinct. Governor
Nardaman is a most temperate man
in all his habits He never touches
whisky Indeed. although We think
Of the South as a Eaisky drinking
land. there Is far less whisky con
sumed per capita there than in the
North. and the temperance and pro
hibition districts in the Southern
States are the largest known any
where in America Therefore. II any
have pictured the picturesque govern
or OF the great State Of MississiuDi
as a swaggerer and a roysterer. they
have been as far from the truth a
.hey could he The truth IL thai Gov
ernor Nardaman is n very qlief. gen
tie kindly man. albeit frank out
spoken. and with no suggestion af ici-
ness or reserve. His home life :
very sweet and simple. He sits n
tle head Of a long table. where the
fare of the country Is served. an
where a blessing il asked. even as Il
was long ago when you and | sat AZ
Lone sahfaG
egotism you must look somewhere
else than the executive mansion If
Mississippis capital Positiveness
decision. unalterab eness. you will
find. but these may go and do go with
a character singulariy broad. demo
cratic. kindly and loyal
BY the time Vardaman shall have
gone to the United States Senate mat
ters in his State will have shifted in
many ways. The South Is changing
with great rapidity. Northern capital
is literally pouring into Mississippi
The delta lands are being taken up in
thousands Of acres by Northern men
The importation of white labor Is just
beginning in the cotton districts. The
North. with its money invested. is a
North not so wholly theoretical and
philanthTopical. The progress OF the
North into tie South viii settle the
race question in time. in a relatively
short time. The solution will not be
that Of education hut the solution will
be found. and by the white man. Ont
Of the smother Of this rush of modern
progress. which is bound tn Oyertake
the South-which has. indeed. over
taken IL nowhere arise. years from
now. as there does TODAY. the figure Of
some man bold enough to tell the
truth.
II is the truth which will save the
South. SuhterfuEe and denial and
evasion have been tried and have
failed. An older. a graver. a bigger
Nardaman-perhaps a soberer and