The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-08-19

opposition vote would be split and should there be more than two opposition can but 1t would not practically assure Sen ator Vardamans reelection" as this same Washington correspondent has said. | It would take away from Vardaman more 1 and more of his old vote, and defeat him on the second primary. great | many of his strongest friends have re pudiated him, and he is losing ground every day. His latest attempt to corral or mans vote in an appeal to preju-
 against the corporations and what
 s'e Ills predatory wealth. was a win
 nef pr him four or five years ago, but he oters of Mississippi have got their ayes open and now know his demagogery tcs what it Is worth.
 DEMOCRATS FIRST
 l The intelligent people of the state are democrats first last and all the time, and stand by party lines. They recognize | in their democratic President the head of the party in the nation and are with
 him to the bitter end in defense of the honor of the country Such men bow their heads in shame when they read that Senator Vardaman is doing everything iii | his power to throw obstacles In the way of the President; when they read his charges that the President and the great
 majority of senators and representatives | in Congress have declared war against the rapists and murderers of Germany for mercenary reasons, and that it is | like stabbng man in the back to jump ] on the Kaiser after he Is down.
 One day this week J. G. Spencer of Claiborne county, fo, r11er congressman l from this district, who has always been a strong friend and supporter of Varda- : man, published a letter in the Vicksburg | Herald declaring he had wiped his hands | of him since his latest characteristic in terview Several days ago Judge Robert Cochran of Meridian, one of Vardaman s chief~shouters in all his past campaigns, and a man Vardaman elevated to a sea t on the circuit court bench while govern or, gave him a fearful roast in the Merid- 1 ian papers, declaring he ought to be hanged, and washing his hands of him forever. That was before his latest va boring, before he had insulted all con- gressmen and senators as well as the President, and Judge Cochrans friends Thaye been looking for another letter sug- 1 gesting that he be burned at the stake But this does not relieve the situation I in MT. Harrison's district, as in the event i the Washington correspondent had the right dope" and Mir. Harrison declines l to enter the senatorial race against Var l daman unless assured there will be no other anti-Vardaman candidate he will ! naturally ask his people to return him to Congress. It Is said in the Washington 1 telegram that 4it is understood MT. Har- l rison had the assurance of the anti-Var- 4daman leaders there would be no other I candidate" There has been no such un- l derstanding here, and there are just | about as many anti-Vardaman leaders I here as elsewhere in the state. But no I anti-Vardaman or other leaders had 1 any right or authority to give any such suggested assurance and the lists are 1 still wide open. Governor Noel has made 1 formal announcement and all the anti Vardaman leaders in the state could not choke him off if they so desired. He is a good, clean man who served his state i ably and creditably as governor, and has host of friends who would take pleasure l in voting for him for the Senate. ''The 1 more candidates the merrier,'' said Gov ernor Noel to the newspaper men Of 1 Jackson when he made his formal an 1 nouncement a few days ago, and Mir. 1 Harrison would do well to enter into the ! race under the same conditions.
 WHAT OF BILBO?
 In the event MT. Harrison does not enter | the senatorial race and does ask his peo- l pie to send him back to Congress, what l is to become of Governor Bilbo? He has l announced for the place, and it may be | that Governor Blbo assured MT. Harrison l he would not be a candidate for the Sen ate against Vardaman It is possible that | they will run against each other, and if l they do, the voters of the seacoast dis trict will have the pleasure of seeing the 1 fur fly in every direction.
 The intelligent, patriotic people of Mis- sissippi would be delighted to see Pat Harrison In the Senate as successor to James K vardaman, a man now branded as traitor to his party and his country. Mr. Harrison has made a record during these stormy times of which he may well be proud, and there are thousands who hope the Washington correspondent was talking through his hat when he said that unless Governor Noel can be in- duced to retire 1t is practically certain Mr. Harrison will not run.'
 A REPUBLICAN ROW
 There is dissension in the ranks of the Mississippi republicans. One day tee met here to name a national com mitteeman to succeed the late Lon B. Moseley. Just after the death of MT. Moseley the chairman of the state com mittee, w. o. Ligon of Gloster, had named Perry Howard, Jackson negro lawyer. as his successor, pending act ton by the committee. Twenty-two |committeemen attended the meeting,
 and by vote of 1S to they declined
 to indorse the action of Chairman Ligon,
 charging that he had made arbitrary
 rulings as to the seating of members
 from the Fifth district. The chairman held that 1t required two- thirds vote
 to elect a national committeeman over
 the chairs protest. After that ruling the |13 members held meeting of their town and named former Postmaster
 Mulvilhill of vicksburg. a white man.
 as national committeeman, and the con-
 sequence Is that two men will de-
 mand seat at the next meeting of the republican committee. It has been Ia long time since the negroes had a
 member of the republican national com
 mittec, not since the days of Jim Hill. for many years the leader of his race in this state, and who during negro rule in Mississippi. filled many offices of honor and profit, for state and na- tion.
 THE WOMEN HAVE GONE Last Saturday night orders came
 from the department of Justice to the
 mayor of Jackson to wipe out the re- |stricted district by Wednesday night. and those orders have been obeyed,
 though Mayor Scott doubts the wisdom
 of such course A survey of the district
 developed that there were nearly 100
 unfortunates in that part of town given
 over to them for years and that many
 of them were so very penniless that
 they could not buy ticket to the next. town. A committee, of the ministers of
 he city accompanied the officers on
 their rounds of the district, and re-
 ported to the president of the Board of
 Trade the true conditions. The women
 knew they had to go, and were will-
 ing to obey orders. but did not have
 the means. Money was raised by sub
 scription among the business men of
 the town. and today the district is