The Tupelo journal., 1917-11-16
"Private" John Allen

- VIII lAtAShg pNAOtNN i
sissippians, was his readiness to fight
for a righteous cause.
Private" John Allen was never a
sail-trimmer. His conduct was never
guided by expendiency. He was
always ready, at all times and on all
occasions, to take the field in behalf
of a friend or a cause. Nor was
this due to any natural love OF fight
ing. He simply had the courage OF
his convictions, and no sacrifice was
too great for him to make when ne
believed that he was working for the
best interests of the people Of Mis-
sissippi.
When "Private'' John Allen took
the stump in behalf of Leroy Percy
in 1911, some people said he had
''no business butting in" when he was
not a candidate. Probably only a few
recalled the fact that he did the same
thing in behalf of Lamar, George
and Walthall when those great states
men encountered opposition. 1t was
because of the fast that he never
failed to fight for g friend that Mr..
Allen always had stubborn OPPOSE
ton in his W district. That IS the
inevitable fate of a strong partisan.
But the Tupelo STATESMAN never wa
vered. neither did he hesitate. He
was never known to advocate an issue
or espouse q cause because he felt
that it would further his own polltl-
cal fortunes.
And he didn't care for popularity.
What the people might say or think
was to. him a matter of utter uncon-
Germ. There was no ~demagoglc ele-
ment in his mental makeup. When
he believed a MAI or measure to be
right, he would fight for that man or
measure, even though the whole
world stood against him. 1t is rare
indeed that one finds in public life a
man of that sort.
Perhaps historians of the future
will say that Mr.. Aliens chief claim
to fame was his flow of wit and hu-
NOR. In truth, he was a serious
minded man. Throughout his poit-
ical career that remarkable gift of
storytelling was a handicap, despite
the fact that it earned for him a
national reputation. Often he tried
to restrain himself, because he want
ed to impress the public with the fact
that he was in deadly earnest. But
his flow of humor was spontaneous
and could not be curbed. Often he
softened the bitterness of debate IN
Congress with this saving grace, M
the fame he attained was enough to
satisfy n man, even if it he based
on humor alone, but it was not the
sort of reputation he desired. he
possessed many Of the elements OF
true greatness, and in mental equip
ment he reached the proportions of
a statesman, but even his intimate
friends would not consider him as
such. They loved to be RECALLED with
his anecdotes, to enjoy his rare abil-
itv as a story-teller, to hear those
FLASHES of merriment that were wont
to set the house in a a
This is too often true with national
ijcelebrities.- Even the immortal
Boothe, greatest tragedian OF his
time, cherished an ambition to play
comedy, and Joe Jefferson, whose
comedy made him the idol of a hun
dred million people, frequently at
tempted tragic roles. Stage history
is replete with similar cases, and yet
the public would accept non OF these
men in parts other than those they
| were accustomed to playing.
Wit is always a dangerous gift,
| sometimes this also applies to humor.
But the wit of Private" John Allen
was never malicious. 1t was much
akin to the playful pinch that a faith
err gives to the cheek of a rogulsh
| bow. And his humor was always OF
a genial quality, always mingled with
sensigility, and often with a deep I'M
dercurrent of philosophy. But in
moments when his passion was arous-
ed and his mind outraged by some
damnable hypocrisy or specious dem
agogy being perpetuated on the peo-
pie, his ridicule was terrific and his
sarcasm cut like a ~two-edged sword.
He welded both these weapons with
the skill of a master artist, and al
with these weapons
"Priyate" John Allen started after
an opponent with these weapons he
never left a mangled victim. The
wounds were always sharp, clean,
deadly and incisive.
II is q consolation to the friends of