The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-02-08
PSd ColNnY 0TllN IAlGS ESE Win
NOG RttY.

| have watched with no little in
~terest the progress and development,
Of the gubernaiorial canvass now il
progress. and have been psined ant
mortified 10 find one Of the candi
dates Judge Truly who aspires b
be the chief executive OF q greai
state, using as his principal politicai
ssse, sectional prejudice. In my
opinion the man qualified 10 be CIV
ernor Of Mississippi should be s.
broad minded and so square and
fair Is 10 know no geographical sec.
ton, nor try To win on building up
or playing TO sectional preiudices,
bat ! find the distinguished ex-judgs
and lawyer in his public speeches
which have listened to and heard
quoted, announces four distinct
planks TO his platform, three OF which
are used 10 psnder 10 sectional pre.
JUDGES exclusively, and like an
adroit lawyer he shows his adsptness
in making white look black and
black Lnnk white"
Judge Truly's first plank is un.
equal or unfair assessment Of land
value, and he, with beautiful word
painting and adroit statistics, por-
trays hew the delta lands. really
worth from sT5 to $50 an acre,
are only assessed at an average Of
$40 per acre. while the poor hill
farmers are assessed ss to $40 an
acre on lands worth only SIS TO
$50, and so the burden Of state tax
has TO be borne by the poor. Now,
the Judge knows, or should know
that these delta lords, with their del
ia lands, have, 18th a bravery un-
paralleled, and a self-sacrihce I'M
equaled, redeemed to the state land
that would scarcely have a value but
for their supreme efforts. They
have shouldered the whole burden
Of leyee building by which these
lands are made valuable, and pay,
to do this, a tax the hill farmer new
et dreamed OF; pay a large cotton
tax in addition To an advalorem tax;
and in this way have paid out mil
lions Of dollars. whereas in Louis
lana, and ] think in Arkansas, the
levee tax levied to build lsyees is
borne By the entire state. Add to
the present state tax and cotton tax
and land tar that is paid by the del
Ia planter, and he is, outside Of cit
les, the heaviest taxed man in the
state. These delta lords, as the
Judge describes them. are nearly all
native Mississippians, coming from
better their condition, brayely in
vsded the swamps and jungles Of
the delta, daring all dangers Of the
pioneer, and wres,ed from nature a
waste country considered only Fit for
alligators and malaria, and by enor-
nous outlay Of money land still con-
tinuing to spend it bound the
mighty river 10 its channel and
made this desert to bloom and bios
as the rose, adding TO the as
sessed values Of the state a once al
most worthless territory. Now, TO
create q feeling OF antagonism
against one set OF citizenship with
out correctly recounting all the his
is not broad craftsmanship, for
are we not all bone OF one bone,
and flesh Of one flesh?" | don't live
the delta, and have not a dollars
interest in that section, but | take
pride in the people OF my state and
would like TO see az governor one
who is broad enough to give due
and know no north nor south,
nor east, nor west, 30 far as Missis-
geographical condition is
,oncerned. Again, the Judge draws
from his eastern audiences as
ne portrays the inequality OF school
distribution, a question to
,roperly solve which has been the
'tudy OF our shlest statesmen; a So
ution not sought nor really desired
BY the delta, but which. by the con-
'titution, has been established and
an only be changed by the people
themselves; il any one wise. patriotic
md profound enough can be found
Who will tell them how. But, oh, it
8 such a nice political asset to say
he favored child Of the delta, lord
|ressed in purple and fne linen Ia