The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1906-11-17
is. WILLIAMS IN JACKSON
Throws Down the Gauntlet TO
Governor Vardaman
ON REPEAL OF THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT
Says Ninety Per Cent of the Darkies
Are Trying to De Good Citizens.
rIlstake to Make Race Ques-
tiOn a National Issue.

Hon. John Sharp Williams deliver
ed a speech in Jackson on the night
November the 9th in which h
handled various national topics in
very able manner. In coming dow
to the question, that OF the negro
which will no doubt be Governor Var
daman's chief slogan in his race TO
the United States Senate, Mr.. vii
lamS sailed right into Governor Var
daman'S position without any maneu
vering. He said that the negro wa'
less a political factor in Mississippi
than in New Jersey and that the peo
pie up North had decided to let the
South manage the negro in its own
good way.
''The North" said Mr.. Williams,
''haS acquieSced in the southern view,
and consents to permit the race queS-
tiOn to be considered as state OF
local issue, and not as national queS-
tiOn.
''Now, my friends. for one. want
the race question to remain state is
sue, and do not desire it to be again
made a national issue. Great ap-
plauSe.) You and l fought against
reconstruction, to accomplish just
what we have accomplished. We
fought to get the north to let us alone,
and the state Of Mississippi, and all
of the other Southern states solved
that problem among themselves.
''Ah, but gentlemen. they try to tell
me that they would like to have the
fifteenth amendment repealed direct
ly, instead of Indirectly, as has been
done by the Mississippi constitution.
which has been sustained by the
United States supreme court. So
would I, and so would every man with
white blood tingling in his veins who
lives in these southern states, but
there is only one way to do 1t, and
that is by appealing TO Caesar. You
must bring it into national politics,
and appeal to the northern people,
and when you appeal of the fifteenth
amendment. So decision. Caesar and
you must abide. Are you willing to
trust Caesar in this case? CA storm
of cries, No, no, from the audience
j. L. George, the greatest Of them
all, would like to have seen the repeal
of the fifteenth amendment. So would
have L. @. G. Lamar, and e. G. Wal
thall and Ethel Barkdale, now dead
and gone, and Private John Allen,
fernando Money, AnSe McLaurin,
Shed Hill Ben Humphreys, Eaton
Bowers, Zeke Chandler, Adam Byrd,
Frank McLain, Tom Spight, and my
humble self, among the living, would
also like to see it done. 1t has been
intimated that the reason why these
great men Of the past, and our con-
greSSional representatives among the
the living, have not urged that the
repeal of the fifteenth amendment, is
that we were afraid of northern Senti
ment.
Speaking for myself, dom know
whether | have any great personal
courage, for | have never met the Oc
caSiOn that required severe test. |
do not know whether or not | am q
brave man, but have heard that the
most striking figure on the field a
Harrisburg, amidst the storm of bull
let's and rattle Of muSketry and can
non, was Edward G. Walthal. He
wasn't afraid of Yankee bullets, and
afraid Of Yankee statesmen or Yam
kee sentiment. | have heard that
James Il. George was once captured
simply because he went into battle all
by himself, with no regiment follow
ing him. And fernando Money was
a follower OF Gen. Forrest, that great
wizard of the saddle. No man could
follow Forest and not be brave man
fernando Money was with him, and
once he never left his saddle for q
period of five weeks.
My, friends, I speak not for others,
but only for myself. | believe if /
could eDgrave upon the hearts Of the
public everywhere | would engrave
Just one sentence that is, to my mind,
more satisfying than any other, and it
would be this Sentence-Be honest
with your people. Great applause
II would not hold out to you the
slightest hope of the repeal of the fif-
teenth amendment. To do so l would
be guilty Of lack of worthineSs, be-
cause cannot possibly see a method
for it's accomplishment. nor can 1 ap-
prove the agitation Of this issue
through desire to secure public
office. All, l could easily comeibefore
YOU and write little platform, to get
in on, and not to stand on, and say to
you, Il will repeal the fifteenth
amendment, and then could easily
after that strike a bargain with you
to keep me somewhere until I3.had
done it. Then / could come to you
and give you little platform to put
the darkieS back into slavery. We
know it is best to directly repeal the
fifteenth amendment, which we have
already practically and indirectly done