The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1911-07-15
e. H. ALEXANDER
ADDRESSED THE
People of Bay St. Louis at
Courthouse on Wednes-
day Dwelt at Length
On His Candidacy and
Major Vardaman.

HON. u. II. Ale8dDucF, OI JdCkSOlI,
candidate for the United States Senate
from Mississippi against Leroy Percy
and Ex-Governor James K. Vardaman,
addressed the voters of Bay ST. Louis
at the Courthouse Wednesday forenoon
and spoke for nearly two hours. He
was introduced by Judge Will T. Nc
Donald in terms that were eloquent and
scholarly and which formed fitting
prelude to the address of the distin-
guished speaker.
Mr.. Alexander is not an orator, but a
speaker of engaging manner; fluent and
and of flowing thought. In conformity
with the suggestion of his campaign
manager he gave brief history of him
self, going back to the home of his
father, Presbyterian minister in At
tala county, where he worked on the
farm and where he made the money by
which he maintained himself at school.
He said he was born in the country and
had not seen a train until he was 13
years of age. At 20 he graduated in
law from the university and at q hung
out his shingle.
He said that he had never before been
a candidate for Office, yet he had always
taken a keen interest in public affairs
and the political fortunes of his friends.
He told about his service as chairman
of the Democratic executive committee
of Oktibbeha county when he had
barely reached his majority, and how he
labored together with many other good
men to rid the country of Republican
rule and the negro in politics. He said
when he moved to Jackson he found a
Republican city administration there
and some negro office-holder and that
he was a member of the committee OF
one hundred that had oussed the negro
and changed the state of chaos into an
order of Democratic government.
He said he was accused of being a
demagogue and gave Webster's defini-
ton of same and referred to the history
of demagogue contained in the Bible,
which was Absalom, who stood at the
gate of the city and kissed the passers-
by on the neck, telling them he would
make a good Judge if elected. Absa-
lom was a fine looking man and had
long hair, and said you boys know about
Absalom's finish by looking at your
Sunday school cards. He was left
hanging in tree by his hair, and that's
where I have Vardaman. He claims
there was not any whisky used at his
headquarters, but charged that it was
freely used at Vardaman's, and that he
furnished one champagne supper and
on one occasion pulled bottle of
whisky from his own pocket. He said
he had handled 100000 in trust funds,
and that every dollar was accounted for
by his books, which were open for in
spection at any time. He severely criti-
cised Major Vardaman for the stand he
has taken in regard to his trust funds.
When Senator McLaurin died, he
said, he was in Chicago, and that he
wired his sons about the senatorial sue
cession, and that they had announced
his candidacy before he reached home.
He said he did not get into the race to
defeat anybody or to elect anybody but
himself. He said that he was never
more earnest about anything in his life
than he is about thisIace for the SEN
ate. He said that a seat in the United
States senate would be the crownlng
hope of his ambition. As TO the caucus
he said he went into that because there
was nothing else into which to go. He
said that some of Maj. Vardaman's s
friends circulated a call for a caucus,
and that the call was signed by 137
members, among whom were repre-
sented the friends of all the candidates.
The speaker said that when he was
defeated in the coucus he took his medi-
cine like loyal Democrat, and no one
had yet heard him whine about what
had been done to him in the caucus.
He said that he had not, nor would he,
discuss the private life or acts or either
of his opponents. That he did not deal
in personalities. He quoted from The
Issue to show that Mr.. Vardaman had
printed and circulated statements about
him, in which his religion had been
questioned. He had been termed in
The Issue sta political crook. Yet
Mr.. yardaman was inconsistent enough
to say that he wanted to pitch this cam
paign On high plane.
The speaker quoted from the testi-
mony of Legislators to show that liquor
was kept and dispensed at Vardaman's
headquarters. He said that there was
never any at his headquarters, nor had
he ever given ssany wine suppers". He
discussed the corporations and theil
tendency to meddle in politics. He
said that the matter of handling the cor
porations and organized wealth wa;
recognized by makers of the last natio-
nal Democratic platform as the domi-
nant issue before the people. He sale
he knew something of what the corpo-
rations expected of their regularly re-