The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-03
From the New York Sun.

From the New 1ork oui'
 A N observer, who must be mere A boy, calls the senatorial campaign 4 > in Mississippi the greatest poilt- ical contest since reconstruction times That we cannot believe. Not a shot has been fired in anger, and there Is a worthy disposition to settle affairs of honor Tn the courts. Thus our old friend, the Hon (Priyate) John M. Allen of Tupelo, wounded to the quick by the heinous charge that 31 years ago he assisted In the conversion of a jug Of whisky, mas repelled it by calling the editor who made if "an infamous liar" and suing out warrants for the arrest of the offender and three other editors who were impli- cated in the slander Still another jour- nalist has felt the hand of the law on his shoulder for treating the alleged rape Of the liquor editorially.
 As there has never been a time since Appomattox when Mississippians were not ready to treat Private John Allen TOT the pleasure of hearing him recite his war experiences, the naked charge seems preposterous We are glad to see the following explanation offered:
 "It is alleged by friends of Mr. Allen that another party, whose name has been withheld. was with Mr. Allen at the time the liquor was taken. and that MT. Allen was under the impression that the liouor was the property of this man. This liuuor question Is the paramount one in the campaign six weeks before us close. It should be understood that ai- | though he is the most prominent hgure lin the contest. Private Oohn Allen Is not a candidate for senator himself. His in- | terest in it is solely that of a lover Of Mississippi, or, as he puts the matter him self he took the stump for "the good | of the commonwealth. Inspired by a sentiment so elevated he braves all the discomforts of spellbinding in Mississippi in June, trains from three to 10 hours | late, heat as of the pit. torrential rains, roads axle deep in mud, and tavern meals that would give an anaconda indigestion. And then to be taxed with drinking stolen whisky in 1880! What Private Johns feel ings are may be gathered from a report of the mass meeting at Aberdeen in the presence of 400 of his fellow citizens
 Picking from the table a copy of the Aberdeen weekly, edited by T. T. Daven- port, MT. Allen said: The sanctity of the duty or position of an editor is possibly
 only excelled by that of the ministry and I hold here in my hand a. paper whose editor has traduced his profession
 The intimation has been made that the affidavit containing the scurrilous charge
 was a jest. Private John Allen has been a lifelong humorist, and he ought % Kno"
 when a joke is not joke. A generator
 ago Mississippian might have appropri-
 ated a jug of whisky. particularly IT un- taxed. and his honor would not have been affected but prohibition has altered stand
 ards. Today no man can trihe with the l,ouor question. Pleasantries are serious.
 MT Allen thinks he would be Justified In having every editor in the state who print
 ed the story apprehended on the charge of | libel
 How serious Private John is in his cam
 naitn for the good of Mississippi may be t,dced from the language he uses in dealing with the ambition of ex-Governor vardaman to be senator MT. Allen calls the statesman with the leonine mane "a