Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1911-04-14
THE vARDAMAN SPEECH LAST WEEK.
Splendid Political and Classical Grafton.

Ex-Gov. Jas. X. Vdrdaman spoke
in Leakesville last Thursday April 6
to large, attentive and strongly APP
plauding audience. Leakesvillc Ee-
ing the county seat OF Greene County
and Vardaman' coming being well
known, the surrounding or rural
population sent in quite number to
hear the distinguished speaker. The
Leakesville High School turned out
in order that the children might at
tend, and the School building audi'o-
rum was used in order to accommo-
date the large crowd as the court
room would not have had seating
capacity or even standingroom suf-
ficient.
The distinguished Mississippian
spoke for nearly three hours. The
first half of his time he devoted ex-
clusively to discussing some of the
vital issues before the American peo-
Pile today, such as Governmental con-
troll of the railroads and other differ
ent public service corporations; I'm
perialism as regards the Fillipinos
and the Mexican Border Army man
ouvers; Election OF the United States
Senators by direct vote of the People,:
Bringing the Federal District and
Supreme Courts back into sympathy
and under response to the will of
their masters, THE PEOPLE by
making those offices elective, and
several other acute problems, which
Vardaman stated were not of his
making though he is accused of being
az issue maker-but on the con trary
were the natural outgrowth of an I'M
healthy political condition. lie paid
a glowing tribute to the horny handed
tillers of the soil who pay the major
part Of the taxes to run the govern
ment, and urged upon the individual
voter his possibility for share in
these unnatural and perverted condi-
tions existing by neglect of properly
and constantly welding the ballot
CORRECTLY in behalf Of pure govern
ment.
He then devoted forty minutes to
discussing the race question in his
characteristic strain, citing the I'm
mentionable crimes of tie day by
black brutes as an expression of that
social equality which the negro race
hopes to reach through his political
equality the adoption by the
South African Republic of a consti-
tuition that debarred the negro from
political participation therein, as the
necessity and the way for America to
deal with this vexatious question
and pointed out the repell of the
10Th. and modification of the 18th.
amendment as the first step in the
legislative route to take to that end.
He stated that in his lecture tours
veterans who fought on the Northern
side had frequently alter his discus
sion OF the Negro question came for
ward and voiced the awakening sen
timent in the North by saying by
Gosh we fit four years to free the
Negro, and we are willing to fight as
many more to deprive him of the bal
lot which he does not know how to
use or appreciate.
The remainder of his time was put
in expressing his hostility to the
Liquor traffic; explaining the Con
tipgency and other Fund matters
and the Gandsi railroad pass, and
some slight references in that pun
gent sarcastic style at which he is a
master hand, to the infamous secret
caucus and his Opponents. 1t seems
to have been the admitted opinion of
those free from prejudice that his
speech was masterpiece IN the class
Of political orations, and remarkably
free from venom towards those who
oppose him considering the bitter and
unparalleled manner in which they
have assailed his character.
This does not pretend to fully sum-
marize the scope of his address, but
we have hit it up from the high places
and have endeavored to be cenoerva-
tive remembering th,.U this account
will be ren2 by other eyes than Var
dallan partisans and that the veraci-
ty of the Herald would be at leopard
lzed did we turn our reportoriai duty
intoa biased editorial hatchup. Later
on if circumstances justify we may
make some detached editorial obser-
vations on the speech.