The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1907-09-28
MORE "AMOOSEMENT FOR BRO.
BOWEN.

gle out Of The slanderous insinua,
4 tion it cast against Gov. Varda
man in connection with the white
cap pardons and answer The Lead
er of last Saturday, opens itl
, article by referring to the editor
of this paper as ''an amoosin
} cuss." In denouncing the Times
unJustifiable insinuation against
the Governor, the editor of The
Leader did not seek to be either
'amoosin' !" or personal. If he
had he might have good-humored
ly referred to The Times editor
as the bold iconoclastic straw.
berry blond from Iowa, who
bad not yet lived in Missis.
sppi long enough to entirely
obliterate his early Northern
Republican ideals of negro social
and political equality, and justly
estimate a man of Vardaman' s
high official integrity and pro-
nounced views on the race ques-
tion. Again, we might have men
toned that it is so rare that the
editor of The Times expresses q
decided opinion donated, bor-
rowed or absUrbed-on any real
live issue or subject, that such a
thing is liable to produce on the
instant paralysis of the brain OF
nervous prostration. The slur he
published against the Governor,
mind you, was not the ex-
preston of frank, robust opln-
ion or direct charge, but an attack
by innuendo or insinuation.
And he is now seeking to shuttle
out of that. But it was not the
intention of The Leader, as we
have said, to try to be 'amoos-
in % or personal, and such is moi
the chief object of this article.
The paragraph in The Times
which The Leader denounced as
an unWarranted reflection on the
Governor was this:
A specially unfortunate coinci
dence is in this connection. The
rumor freely circulated fol-
months before the late election
that this pardon would be granted
if Lincoln County rolled up 8
good majority for the Governor
His strongest opponents refusec
to believe that any promise OF
hint of promise had been given.
1t is unfortunate for the higt
esteem in which the Governor oi
a great state should be held thai
this pardon was not issued before
the election. 1t would then have
forever quenched the unspoken
thought which accompanied tht
} question Sc, often asked by white
cap sympathizers and opponents
alike: "Do you reckon the Gov
ernor will pardon .th EN- boys if ht
is elected"
The issue of The Times now be
fore us changes its tune thus:
But who is trying to blow
the Governors!
Not The Times. 1t said that The
sequence of events was unfortu
nate. 1t did not and does not say
that the Governor made any
} promise of pardon conditioned on
the way the vote of this county
should be cast. On the contrary,
it stated that his strongest oppo
nents refused to believe the rumol
to that effect.
This is transparent quibbling
The Leader has never asserted
that The Times made the charge
or said openly and plainly tha
the Governor had pardoned the
Lincoln white-caps in pursuance
of a political deal. Our poin
|
was and is, that it did so by indi
rection, by resort to a slanderouI
insinuation or Sinnuendo. Tht
Times can't dodge out of and dis
prove this now by misquotine
both itself and The Leader. /
was before the senatorial election
and before any pardons had beer
granted, that, according to its al
legation, the Governors strong
est opponents refused to believ,
that any promise or any hint of
; promise had been given.' Afte
the election was over and the par
dons had been granted, according
; to the words Of The Times, it be
came unfortunate for the higl
esteem in which the Governor 0
a great State should be held, tha
this pardon was not issued befor,
the election, : and the 'quenched"
"unspoken'' thought which
had been hidden out somewher'
before the election and mot be
lieved by the Governors strong
est opponents" was given utter
ance by The Times.
Strangely enough though, afte