The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1915-07-24
advertisement
CARD FROM [. c. HELMS,
CANDIDATE FOR DIsTsIcT ATTY

When I entered the race for
Dist. Atty | resolved to make
clean race, free from all per-
sonalities and abuse, and to dis
cuss principles rather than men
and their shortcomings. And as
the race is drawing TO a close /
now declare unto you that | have
kept that resolution sacred. | have
made no charges whatsoever against
my opponent, nor shall | do SO
during the remainder Of the cam
paign. / believe that such prac-
tice should be condemned, and
if | am forced to make charges
against the private or public life
of my opponent in order to be
elected, | shall welcome defeat. I
prefer to be a man, erQe and tried
even if it leads to defeat, rather
than to be elected By unfair
means. 4
| have tried as faa as possible
to see every voter in the District,
and as the campaign is drawing to
close, it will be impossible for
me to see all of you again before
the election. [ am Informed that
at this late day in the'race certain
reports derogatory TO me being
circulated, and | am taking this
method of answering them, as /
cannot in the limited time at my
disposal answer them in any other
way.
First: | am informed that I am
being accused of being indicted
and tried in Florida. This is
true. When | was a boy of
seventeen years, [ was working in
a store and negro called me a
damn liar and [ shot him. but my
aim was bad. [ was tried for this
and acquitted, and / have never
regretted firing that shot: Second:
that | was removed from the
Post Office at Merrill. This is
not true. | resigned and the
records of the Post Office Depart
ment>wil show this; Third: that |
was idicated ia Greene County
for selling liquor while running
drug store. This statement is
true, but Judge James Ii. Neville,
who was then Circuit Judge,
ordered a nolle prosequi in this
case after having talked to the
States witness: Fourth that [ got
drunk and sank the Eliza Ann,
a steamboat owned by NE. This
is not true. | never was more
sober in my life than when the
Eliza Ann sank; Fifth: that |
was indicted jointly with Mr., j.
|. Dixon for stealing logs, while
running a saw mill in Greene
County. This is untrue. Mr.. j.
/. Dixson was indicted In five
cases, but a nolle prosequi was
entered in each and every case,
and [ was not indicted for this,
nor was |, in any, connected with
the indictments. The Records of
Greene County will verify this
statement.
The dates of all the alleged
offences We're prior to 1911, when
| ran for County Prosecuting At
torney and was elected by safe
majority over both of my oppon-
ents in the first primary. These
charges were not brought into
that race and neither are they
now being circulated in my home
County, where the people know
me. If there had been any thing
in these charges for which
should have been censured they
would undoubtedly crept into my
race for CountyAttorney in 1911.
| regret that these charges have
crept into the campaign, and re-
gret to be forced to answer them,
and in answering them | make no
counter charges. ! am seeking
the office solely upon theprinciples
| have heretofore announced TO
| you and upon my fitness and
qualification for the Office and if
elected it shalII be my greatest
desire to serve you with all the
liability and earnestness that. I
possess.
Yours very truly,
T.. C. HELMS