The Columbus weekly dispatch., 1907-06-13

over forty years to SO dignity charges
tlemen and no scoundrel had ever
uttered before. But when the libel
! has the endorsement of United
States senator, the case is different;
albeit he simply makes three of this
pair of arcades ambo.
"A lie which is all a lie may be met
and fought outright,
But a lie which is part truth is a
harder matter to fight
1t is our fortune to contend with
that which is all a lie. In meeting
| it we have only to say that it has not
single filament of fact or a color
of circumstance on which to rest. We
are charged with seeing everything
through the glasses of the Yazoo Val
ley Railroad Company; that we
never support anybody the railroads
oppose, and never oppose anybody
the railroads support" The Herald
readers will bear out the assertion
that we have criticised the Valley
road with more frequency than any
other paper in this city; or, we may
and the broadest sense neither this
paper nor this editor ever asked, or
ever received, a dollar or a dollar
worth of favor, or special considera-
other corporation whatsoever; and,
of course, no orders or directions, as
to the men we have supported for
Office. The late Senator George was
just man, but he did not love rail
roads, as any one will perceive who
reads the corporation article in the
State constitution which he shaped,
and which he said to us he had as
much at heart as the elective fran
chise article 1t will not be question
ed that we were among his most
trusted and valued supporters. Con-
gressman Williams will not be charg-
ed as tainted by railroad influence.
In the heated canvass, when he was
Herald was his supporter. The same
may be said of Governor Vardaman
Both of them were opposed by Sena-
tor McLaurin and all his clan. In
short, in the words of the poet, 1.-The
lie is all lie"; a pure concoction of
falsehood; while the branded SLAM
derer who has uttered it is known,
far and wide, as the greediest seeker
after railroad favors in the State His
insatiate thirst for passes, until the
lodged until its enactment was GER
tain-is proverbial.
Here We might rest this article,
but for Senator McLaurin's fabrica-
tions Of how he incurred the enmity
of the Herald" First he states:
when / was inaugurated governor
| was besmirched with the praise of
the Herald until after I separated it's
editor and his confreres from the
levee board, thereby saving thous
ands of dollars to the people of the
levee district"
The alleged separation of the ed
itor of the Herald from the levee
board" is an unblushing falsehood;
he had left Greenville a year before,
and was no more interested pecuniar-
lily in levee matters than the man who
utters it. As to Saving money" the
record will show that McLaurin's ap-
he rio
of levee officials, and that never since
that of Adel Ames was there so cost
ly an administration. There is a hu-
morous feature about our said con
freres" - some of them - which we
may here pertinently interject. They
had supported McLaurin for governor
and had urged the Herald editor to
join in the procession. Although
there was but shadow of opposition,
we refused, stating that we knew him
to be a shyster and believed him to
be a boodler. and would not touch
such pitch. Equally fictitious is the
rest of the quoted message. We are
proud to say that McLaurin's admin
istration, like that of Ames, earned
scant praise from the Herald editor,
and not a vestige, as our files, which
are open to all, will show, in this
period when Senator McLaurin says
he was .sbesmirched" with it. On the
contrary, he was repeatedly criticised,
as our files will also show, in this
time: the first occasion being his
message on March 3, asking the leg
islature to prohibit gold contracts-a
piece of demagoguery that even a free
silver legislature would not treat
seriously.
The following count in the indict-
ment of The Herald will be read with