The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-07
A NEAR VIEW OF vARDAMAN.

NOUeTb anu SeutIApeu u uOAou utuoI0ht
brands of calorio now belongs to the past.
As usual in the case Of such Affairs, 1t graft
fed everybody without convincing any
not already persuaded. Nearly all the UNI
terrified Democrats in the State had made
up their minds, either personally or vicart-
DUSTY, weeks before, and those who went
to Meridian on the glorious Fourth did 30
merely to swell the retinue of their respective
favorites and contribute to the uproar and
the humidity Of the occasion.
The upshot, however, is enveloped In as
dense a cloud Of uncertainty as ever, though
the primaries are only about three weeks
distant. A particularly critical and obser-
want person might find the enthusiasm for
Vardaman more genuine than that exhibited
in the cause OF his competitor. The Hon.
John Sharp Williams Is attended by a GER
tain hullabaloo wherever he goes, but to
the dispassionate ear this does not ring quite
true. 1t reminds one just a little bit Of the
property applause of the Roman army In
n of S~hakespeare's tragedies. The aoola-
nations aroused by Vardaman sound more
spontaneous and sincere. This Is all the
more perplexing because, while Mr.. Williams
dresses himself and manipulates his tobacco
juice in a fashion which should commend
him to the ~profoundest affections OF the
hill billies," Vardaman keeps himself so
clean and fresh and neat that one would
expect him TO incur suspicion, II not open
enmity, a. a dandy.
In all respects Of Manner, bearing and
external appearance, the contrast between
the two men Is literally observation-disclosures,
unkempt. ~slovenly, deoiduous; vsrdaman,
erect. graceful, exquisitely groomed and
most courtly Of address. Nor Ia the differ
enoe greatly to Vardaman's disadvantage
in the matter OF intellectual equipment and
oratorical effectiveness. for although Will
Jams is scholarly and at times severely brill
liant, his wit Is biting rather than infectious:
whereas Vardaman. who Uses correct and
potent language, is manifestly in earnest
and obviously in genuine sympathy with
his audiences.
1t must be said of MIR. Williams that he
Is q shrewd campaigner. During the last
few months he has made the wool hat
crowd forget his formerly contemptuous
attitude toward Bryan and has effectively
adjusted himself TO the so-called vagaries
through which Vardaman had won such
favor with the Mississippi multitude. In the
eyes Of the s~elf-contained observer It would
seem that Williams has adopted practically
the entire Vardaman philosophy and is now
striving TO capture his public by an exhibit
ton OF superior vehemence in advocacy of
the same ideals. Indeed, 1t might be said
that he is even more so" than Vardaman
himself, for the latter makes no secret OF
his opposition to Government ownership,
while Mr.. Williams rather carefully leaves
his opposition TO the inference of the indi-
vidual. One cannot be Mt all sure that
should the campaign last much longer Mr..
Williams would not be the more pronounced
and strenuous Bryan man.
Meanwhile. it Is a safe prophecy that after
August 1. on which day the Mississippi
primaries are to be held. the Nebraska
statesman will lose a great deal Of his pres
ent importance in the State. For the mo-
ment he represents a potent. il meretri-
cious, influence. Vardaman at the outset
sincerely believed in him. while Williams
accepted the superstition "a a fact and has
utilized il TO the best of his ability. But
Bryan will cast no spreading shadow after
the expiration of the current month. Hav-
ing used him as an indispensable asset in
the emergency. Mr.. Williams will promptly
reoccupy the hostile position he thought it
profitable to abandon for a strategic and
purely temporary purpose, while as regards
Vardaman we need no c~lairvoyant to tell
us that he will break the Bryan bonds the
moment he realizes the meaning to the
South of Government ownership Of rail-
roads. especially in respect of their official
personnel as furnished through the opera
ton OF the Civil Service Commission.
That yardaman has been bordering his
..n~,S 80 tha -uaptsnn 20 aI,t,loa,I ...lu-.
already. 1t has been notorious for some
time past that he strongly disapproves Mr..
Bryan's attitude in this respect. and those
who now him best predict with confidence
that still further insight will transform him
into an active. outtspoken, passionate OPP
ponent. Vardaman is a strong. positive
and courageous man. He has not professed
adherence to Bryan through any sordid
motive of self-advancement. but because Of
sincere conviction; and he will repudiate
him without a SECOND thought the moment
he realizes the ~perilous mischief involved in
his teachings.
Herein h Mississippian is likely to be
helped by the Southern newspaper and
party leaders. Ever since THE SUN called
attention to the more than probable result
of Government ownership as expressed in
the official personnel OF the service, show
ing that the conductors. brakeman and train
crews generally would in time be colored
men through the natural and inevitable
processes Of the Civil Service Commission,
intelligent thinkers at the South have i'm
mersed themselves in speculation. Before
that the thought had occurred to q very few,
and ever these had not given 1t special
utteranoe; but it is now rapidly spreading
to every lip. and wherever three or four
serious men gather together in such cities
AZ New Orleans, Mobile, Montgomery and
so on, 1t becomes the subject Of anxious and
earnest deliberation. Already the Mobile
Register, one of the most substantial and
conservative newspapers in the South, has
made it the topic of editorial discussion,
and by the time Governor Vardaman re-
turns To comparative leisure after the ia
tigues and excitements of the Senatorial
campaign he will find himself confronted
by the menace of Government ownership
and will know Bryan as its most conspicu-
Gus advocate and champion.
Will Mississippi send an instructed dele
CATION to the next Democratic national
northumberland, that il TO say, for