The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1911-07-05

ways by people who do not know me,
and doubtless by people who have
been taught their lesson as a parrot,
that am running merely to help some
body or to beat somebody, that really
care little for the office and Its honors.
Such assertions do not rise to the
level of nonsense. Why, was the
first candidate to announce. did not
wait to be solicited by any old line
politicians I did not know who was
going to run. did not wait to find
out.
Besides this, is it not absurd to sup
pose that | who have labored thirty
two years, sometimes working for
whole seasons an average of fifteen
hours a day, to build up a law prac-
tice, which some attorneys have
thought is the equal of any in Missis-
sippi Il do not believe this), should
sacrifice it and go into the stress ana
strife and turmoil of this campaign,
and unlike my opponents, leave the
Pullman lines and electric light dis
tricts to drive often from forty to fifty
miles and speak three times day in
remote country school houses, and all
this to help somebody or to beat
somebody. I have never yet seen a
man so unselfsh. I certainly am not.
am a candidate because it would fill
the measure of my ambition to worth
ily represent the great State of Mis-
sissippi in the greatest deliberative
body in the world.
and. let me say here, I have been
eliminated once, but do not propose
to be eliminated again. I was not per
mitted to leave the hospital and come
to Jackson until the legislature assem-
bled I arrived on the train with the
Legislators from North Mississippi.
had no opportunity to see the legisla-
tors until they were nearly ready to
assemble and when I did mingle with
them I found that 1t had already been
practically agreed that there should
be a caucus. No one opposed 1t so far
as could find; certainly every can
ddate favored it.
Vardaman Wanted a Caucus.
Major Vardaman has not denied
and will not deny that he wished a
caucus and urged his supporters to
call it, have the original call for
the caucus signed in duplicate parts.
Some of the calls for a caucus were
taken around by supporters of Major
Vardaman. More of his supporters
signed it than those of any candidate.
Now, | do not feel that the part ought
to be assigned to me to defend the
action of the caucus, for what the eau
Gus did to Alexander was a plenty, was
it not? But, will be frank and manly
enough to say that it was not un-dem-
ocratic or Unprecedented l was
spectator in the caucuses which nomi-
mated Money and McLaurin, and these
we're organized and conducted and the
ballot taken in all respects like this.
Yes, l went into the caucus. If ]
hadn't I couldn't have gone into any
thing else for there was nothing else
to go into. The legislature resolved
itself into a caucus. Don't forget this,
that the candidate who abuses the
caucus most stayed in it three weeks
after Alexander was put out taking
his chances all the time. Does it not
seem queer that some who wish to re-
buke the caucus expect to do it by
voting for the candidate who stuck to
it closest and stayed in it the longest
and got what every other defeated
candidate wished above all things,
final run off" for the nomination.
verify believe, in fact, know, that if
had had the run off" with Major
Vardaman ! would have led him by
twenty majority Yet I do not de-
nounce the caucus as infamous. I
know how to take defeat. | would not
in this campaign have ever referred
TO the caucus had it not been that
ia.or Vardaman, and under his lead
his supporters, have deliberately
sought in some general way TO con.
meet me with his false and slanderous
sharges.''
Reading from the Issue" an edito-
rial wherein Vardaman charged him
with hypocrisy and bitterly assailing
him for the part he played in the
secret caucus, by inuendo and insin-
uation trying to lead the misinformed
to believe that he, Alexander dis
pensed liquor and resorted to other
means of corruption to gain votes, Mr.
AIavon1or otatad.