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

Tha, is all that Governor varda-
man OF Mississippi has claimed or
ever will claim. Hence, for telling us
a simple truth, which we ought 20
be willing IN admit we deride him.
I call him mountebank and n pre-
tender. He can afford the eplthets
It Is a concession to Northern irnor.
ance to state that in making such
statements as the foregoing. the writ
er feels Il necessary To say he Is
Northern man. a Republican and
warm admirer OF Theodore Roose-
welt Were this not said surely this
writing would BE- set down as the
fumings Of a discoutented Southern
partisan So much for ignorance.
Northern Ignorance on Race Question.
Where does Northern ignorance on
this race question have its founds-
tom In geography. I'm trnnsporta-
tion. and in politics There Is an
other strange basis. not so esaily dis
covered. The South understands the
North, bu; the North does not unuier-
stand the South The great North
ern newspapers are read in the South.
hut the great Southern newspapers
are almost unknown to the North
We get little news from the South ex-
cept that OF lynchings. hence. We sup
I pose that lynching negroes is the ex-
/ elusive occupation in the Southern
States. Yet since. North and South.
We are sayages-white savages. tie
I strongest savages the world ever saw
I were we Northern men 10 live in
the South. under existing conditions
I II is a certainty thar we would do
/ precisely as our Southern brethren
[ do. But what Northern newspaper .
is catholic enough TO admit this No.
i Is better 10 purchase press dis
Z patches covering incidents which are
as shocking tn the South As to tho
North. II is better 10 keep up the alb
surd and Tuinous sectional line
In the South there rises a strong
man who orenly declares that the
Eegro is siill a savage. such a savage
I as he was forty years ago. and that
II - useless and hopeless 20 try To
make an educated citizen Of him. or
4 10 try To make q safe neighbor uf
him. This man knows his subject
/ thoroughly and intimately. through
/ a lifetime OF experiences. Lacking
in reyerence-lacking in decorum. il
/ you like-he openly SAYS he knows
more about this than any man. not
/ excepting the president OF the United
/ States. who has not had that expe-
F rience or made that study Disclaim. /
/ ing any wish to be lawless. he openly /.
+ declares that nothing will serve the [
South except a sixteenth amendment
+ to the constitution. That amendment
( be has said. Is sure to come. and he
I believes that II may come with a
/ rush az any time This Is the idea of I
Vardaman Of Mississippi
Problem Is Great One.
4 man with an idea as big as this. [
with a sincere conviction as great as
+ this. is entitled at least Ia respect I
! ful hearing. The question involved
! Is tremendous one. far more so than I
We of the North are disposed 10 be T
+ lieve. in our ignorance regarding il. T.
/ Today the white men Of the South I
I are not free Americans They ara
+ slaves. and slaves 10 a condition. We
call the Southerners narrow. uncom-
promising. bitter They are all that.
and must be. So would We be ii we
! lived their lives. We would be
+ forced IN take up their yoke. If we
+ lived in the South. We would stand
I shoulder to shoulder, white man with
condition, and enforced viOlators of
[ the ,aw.
! When will the sixteenth amend
ment come, taking away that fran
+ chise which has proved n failures
Probably in the good time Of the
American commercial world. The
/ question will have an Industrial solu-
tion. which is To say. scientific soiu-
+ tion. The commercial interests of
America, pushing more and more rap
idly into the South. are discovering
that in the South there is an intol-
| cradle industrial waste. This indus
trial waste is a part OF the race ques-
/ tion. II will be solved in the way
most beneficial to the industrial pros
( perity of America The Variaman
idea is not more than half a genera
tiOn. at best. ahead OF the hour. He
himself NAV not live to see IL ac-
cepted as wisdom. but he will die be
| lieving in its truth and justice; for
he has learned il in the fields. in the
| hamlets and the cities OF the South
and has seen its truth demonstrated
under the windows OF the State cap
itol in which he now sits as chief ex-
ecutive The negro does not improve.
he reverts; he does not become edu-
Gated. but remains savage Educa-
tion does not help him. but gives him
false ideas. Education teaches him
TO believe that political equality
means social equality. which is i'm
possible These are different state
ments of the vardaman idea. A few
years from now il will not seem so
absurd to US in the North.
James X. Vardaman first appeared
in the political field as editor of The
/ Commonwealth. newspaper OF
Greenwood. Mississippi. natural
politician. he was early in the legisla-
ture, where he became speaker OF
the house. His paper advocated in
terventiOn by the United States in
the Cuban difficulties-just as did
/ Theodore Roosevelt. And, just as
did Roosevelt. Vardaman. feeling that
he who invoked war ought TO go to
war. enlisted for the war with Spain.
He left wife and four children. and
left them in no especial affluence.
He joined the First Mississippi. and
was elected captain. but Governor
McLauren. whom vardaman had crit
icised in his paper. made this the oc-
casion for personal revenge. and re-
| fused to issue commission TO the
captain. Vardaman explained this
matter TO his company and enlisted
with the Fifth United States Volun-
teers, known as the Mississippi I'M
munes"-who were not immune. but
| who wanted to see some fighting.
They arrived in Cuba too late for the
glory but in plenty OF time for the
hard. unpleasant work. Vardaman
came out of the campaign as major.
and he speaks now of his experience
as made up largely of chasing mi
crobes up San Juan hill with a bat
, terry Of Guinine capsules
After the close of the Cuban war
Vardaman ran for governor and was
defeated He ran again in 1908. and
after a hot campaign was elected.
In way he had split his party. This