The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1916-08-04
..NFITHfR COLD NOR HOT
By DR.. B. F. WARD.

the church at Laodicea rebuked the
lukewarm Christians and said Il
know thy works, that thou are
neither cold nor hot. l would thou
vert either cold or hot; so then be-
cause thou art lukewarm and neith-
er cold nor hot, l will spew thee out
Of my mouth"
This text is not limited in its ap-
plication to lukewarm Christians. 1t
applies with equal force to every
profession and a~vOcatiOn in life. In
all written history, sacred or pro-
fame, there can be found M more
scathing and whitening denunciation
of the hating, vacillating, double
dealing politician and ofice-seeker
than this anathema from the Isle Of
Patmos Whatever my mistakes and
shortcomings in regard to public
men and public measures may have
been during my long and humble
career, / have so far escaped suspi-
cion for being Neither cold nor
hot" 1t seems, however, that
good people in the Fourth Congress
~sional District have not fully under
stood my prolonged and profound
silence touching the present Con-
gressionl campaign. 1t has been
kindly suggested to me that my
reticence might reconstruct as a
hesitancy to endorse or approve the
candidacy of William. c Ward. 1t
had never occurred to me that such
a construction could be placed on
my inactivity, but had supposed that
it would have been attributed to a
natural senseof delicacy in advocat-
ing the cause Of a member of my
own family. 1t is true that l have
not written a singgleline to a single
individual in behalf of his claims,
although l have a number of old
army comrades and mero per-
sonal friends in various parts of the
district; but it has been simply be-
cause | did not wish to embarass
any of them; / wanted them all to
act upon their own judgment and
inclination, hoping that they might
all have an opportunity to see him
and hear what he has to say, anG
his of saying it. His limit.
ed means, however, have rendered il
impossible for him to reach all the
voters of the district. Now, how,
ever, since l feel called upon tc
speak out, / wish to say, most EN-.
phatically that l am deeply inter.
ested in his election because l know
him to be competent; l know him te
be we'll equipped; l know him
to be honest; | know him to be can,
did in his opinions and courageous
in his convictions; l know he will be
literally and absolutely faithful to
any and every trust that may be
confided to him by the people.
If | had not been fully and clear
ly convinced thathe possessed these
attributes of character and capacity,
| would have most ~assuredly dis
couraged his candidacy, because l
know of no more pitable error than
for a man to seek and attain an of
fetal position, to the duties and re-
~sponsibilities of which he may prove
to be unequal. For by so. doing he
can only bring discredit upon him.
self, humiliation upon his friends,
and disappointment to his support
ers.
Some of my earnest friends have
been so generous as to make public
allusion to my humble services as a
private in the ranks for more than
half a century, and for which !
never sought nor desired official
remuneration. While l am pro-
foundry grateful to my friends for
their kind words, l beg to remind
them that nothing incident to my
unpretentious career can qualify
William c.. Ward to represent his
District in Congress. He must
stand or fall on his own merits and
qualifications, and he would with
draw from the ace before he would
draft on my record as a citizen as
collateral security for his own
claims to promotion. While ! have
heard him talk only once, reports
that reach me from different parts
of the District indicate that he is
able to take care of himself with
out my assistance. 1t is true that |
was one Of the first men in Missis-
sippi to enlist as a private in the
Confederate Army, and followed the
flag of Lee and Jackson for four
years: but did no more than 9th
ers. 1t is true that when the flag
was furled forever at AppamatoX
| enlisted again in the ten years
struggle against the rule of the ar
~petbagger, the scalawag and the ne
gro, but did no more than my duty.
1t is true that ! was charged by the
CONSERVATIVES" who were neither
cold nor hot" in those dark and
dangerous days, with having ridden
with the knights of the Invisible
Empire" Whether the accusation
was true or not is no matter now.
but | wish to disgress Just long
enough to say that the Ku Klux
Khan was the most wonderful army
OF desperate and patriotic soldiers
in the history of any civilized gov
eminent. 1t held the anomalous
position of a lawless organization
for the restoration and preservation
Of law and order. No Southern
man who was "neithe r cold MOI
hot or who ~pandered to both
sides, like many politicians today,
could hold membership in the CO.
horts of terror. They would not
trust him, and if they had he would
have betrayed them in the crucial
hour. These silent and mysterious
horsemen were as patriotic, as self
sacrificing, as determined and as