Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1911-10-27

the caption a supposed picture
of the grand jury whose MEM
bers displayed their simple mind
edness by indicting L. C. Dulaney
on the evidence of that malodor-
GUS polecat, Theodore G. Bilpo.
Instead of being a picture of
the grand jury in question, it is
a photograph of the grand jury
that convened six months later,
and of which Hon. r E. Ken
nington was foreman.
It is an outrageous slander. at
the very out set, to thus, by i'm
plication, charge body of res
pectable men with being so fool
ish as to swallow the contempt
ible frame up of the human coun-
terfeit from Poplarville.
Having started with a sland er,
the Creel article gets worse as it
goes along. Had the screed been
written in its entirely by James
X. Vardaman himself it could not
be more replete with falsehoods
or more fulsome in it's praise of
the man who missused, missap-
piled and misappropriated public
funds during his four year term
as Governor.
It is not worth while, therefor,
to answer CreePs article in ex-
tense, o,and the Daily News intends
to dismiss the subject by reciting
a few facts concerning the visit
Of that mukracker to Mississippi.
During the summer Of 1910
Charles Edward Russell, one of
the most noted magazine writer's
in America, came to Jackson for
the purpose Of making an inves-
stigation Of the alleged bribery
kcharges in the election of Senator
arles Edward Russell Il i
o6ioIist alnd D il1uekraker. He
Fankly admits both, SO this is
not IN the nature Of making
charges. He, is the man who
wrote up the Aids scandal in
New York for the Cosmopolitan,
and he also handled the Lorimer
bribery case for that same publi-
cation.
Being a muckraker, Mr.. Russell
was naturally in search Of muck.
But, despite the fact that muck
raking is his profession, he is al
50 a thorough gentleman and a
trained newspaper writer, who
was we'll schooled in daily Journal
ism before he entered magazine
work.
Mr.. Russell came to Mississippi
under instructions from William
r, Hearst, who. according to cur
rent report and belief, owns the
Observation-Disclosures. Atleast,
he brought letters of introduction
from Mr.. Hearst and, immediate
, " after his arrival here, COM
smenced most thorough inves-
,1igation of the alleged bribery.
y Te made a careful study of the
s,lenographic report of the sena-
torial investigation of the Bilbo
charges, the grand jury evidence,
the newspaper files, and obtained
first-hand information from
scores Of citizens.
It took the New Yorker-and,
by the way, he was the ocialist
candidate for Governor of New
York in the election last Noven-
ber- about one week to complete
his investigation.
Local newspaper men accorded
him every possible facility to get
to the bottom of the story. When
a magazine writer is on assign
ment of this character. it is the
established code of journalism to
give him the facts and let him
form his own conclusions. In
fact, it wouldn't be worth while
10 make an attempt to;tlA q man
like Charles Edward Russell with
bins or prejudice, He was q well
trained relortes before the lure
Of rold 4 npted him into the
service Of William +. Hearst and
the Cosmopolitan Magazine. and
he possesses, to nigh degree,
the well-nigh infallible reporter
ial instinct Of distinguishing truth
from error.
Az the conclusion Of Mr.. Rus
sells investigation he frankly
stated to the editor of the Daily
News, with whom he had formed
a casual acquaintance. that ne
had found nothing to write about;
that he had beer unable to dis
cover any tangible evidence of
bribery or corruption in the Mis-
sisaipDi., legislalurei fhas tne
fyi1vte t5fstfs sss.r.sIsvw .slsss u~