The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-04
VARDAMAN FAVORS | OSCAR UNDERWOOD
Strong Underwood Move ment Is Developing in
 Mississippi

A Jackson tMiss) special to the Mobile Register says:
 A highly interesting topic of dis cussion in Jackson is the Underwood boom.
 While there has been no crystali- zation of sentiment as yet, it is evi- dent that MT Underwood Is regarded in very friendly manner and the consensus of opinion is that he is of presidential size.
 Some politicians assert that he is presidential timber, but shrink from the old bugaboo about nominating southern man; he can't win" others a bit more courageous, are in favor of nominating the southern man even if he loses, in order to assert the right of that portion of the country, which has unfailingly and unflaggingly piled up the majorities decade after decade and this seems to be the more general tenor of thought,
 Underwood seems uppermost in their minds. He figures in all the discus sions. There is little of Champ Clark or anybody else.
 SenHtOr-elcCl dTudiiidh " eo etNh Sunday and asked for an expression on the Underwood move.
 "The time has come" said he, when sectional lines should be obliterated in choosing candidates for the presidency, and the growth of the Underwood boom
 Is an encouraging sign. l have tray eled over the north a great deal of late. and I believe sectional prejudieos have so far died out that the rigAt southern man would be voted for as readily as a man from north of the Mason and Dixon line.
 "One good thing about the nomination of such a man would be absolute wip- ing out of sectionalism, and the open ing up of the avenue by which the south would march to her rightful place in the affairs of the nation we are going to elect democrat in 1912. think the best thing that could happen to this republic. and which would forever rub out sectional lines, would be the election of southern President.
 The attitude of the party leaders in Mississippi on the Underwood move IS that of waiting. They want to be for him, it is manifest, and they will be for him under certain conditions. Those conditions are that there Is real substance to the movement; that the Un- derwood boom is not a localized "favorite son" whoop and hurrah, and that there is sufficient impetus and determination
 behind it to not make a lining up With
 it a stand which might require abandon
 ment on account of it's possible collapse, necessitating eleventh hour alignments and alliances, with their attendant chagrins and disadvantages. l 1t can be asserted with the utmc posi- tiyeness and with knowledge of Missis-
 sippi politics, that the moment the Mis- | sissippi leaders are satisfied the Under wood boom is a real movement and not a
 flash in the pan. that it has likelihood of assuming respectable proportions, then
 and there a declaration will be made by a leading figure in Mississippi politics in
 favor of Underwood, and the state can be | safely counted for him in the national democratic convention. This leader does nothing by halves, and if necessary will
 mt ,,p A fight for Underwood, and his rol- lowing is the dominant one in Missis-
 sippi.
 1 If the declaration is made and the senti- ment started the state will send an In derwood delegation that will stick and 1 fight for him on the floor of the con- vention.