The vidette. (Iuka, Tishomingo County, Miss.) 1912-1967, 1917-12-13


nit most bitterly and when II was pu
on final passage he voted present
Was that voting to give the presiden.
every man he asked for
When the aviation bill, carrying ar
appropriation OF $4,000, 900 was be
fore the senate. The j,,nioT senator
stated in the o1tset OF his speech u
opposition thereto that ne would nei
vote for 1t. The measure passed with
out the necessity Of roll call because
the opposition was 80 smasl. but haC
the roll been called the junior senator
undoubtedly would have voted ngaiGs
It. Was that giving every dollar that
the president asked for?
HE made a feeble excuse to the
audience at Walnut Grove in explana
ton of his opposition to the aviatioT
bill, but he failed TO tell his audience
that he took occasion during his
speech to refer to the rioting Of the
draft registers in Canada in this fash
ion: 1t was very gratifying TO me T.
see from the newspapers day or tive
ago the manifestation of Independence
and the patriotic courage on the part
OF our brethren across the border in
Canada
Why did the junior senator use such
language three months and twelve
days after we entered the war and
on the eve of the draft in this coup
try?
Was II to help the president win
the war? Was it to make the people
OF this country feel more kindly to the
draft or to have more confidence In
their government?
Defended Pro-German Press.
I'm this same speech against the
aviation bill the junior senator went
out OF his way to speak most ardently
and tearfully in defense of those pub
lications which the government was
trying to representation and trea-
sonable pro-German organs that were
being excluded from the mails. He
had this OF say on this point: The
excluding from the mails of certain
newspapers that are guilty OF no Of
Tense except the exercise of the blood
bought privilege of an honest. patri-
otto citizen to express his convictions
on governmental and social questions.
do not agree with much that some of
these papers say, but / deny the right
Of any officer. from the president down
to the constable, to prescribe, limit or
abridge the right of free speech. 1t
is not ,reachery in newspaper edi-
tor to express his disapproval of any
thing that the congress or the presi-
dent has done since the beginning of
this war
"Yet the journals that the junior
senator was SO eloquently defending
were known to be bitterly anti-Ameri-
can, and the seditious, reasonable
stuff they were publishing was enough
to make the blood of any true Ameri
can boil. The junior senator certainly
crowded a lot of comfort to the enemy
into that three-minute talk against the
aviation bill. He not only opposed the
bill itself, but also found time to con-
graduate the draft resisters in Can
ada and rush to the defense of the pro-
German press"
Mr. Harrison referred to the famous
interviews sent out from Washington
In which Senator Vardaman said some
thing about "stabbing Germany in the
back while France and England had
her down." and about this being a
commercial war. On the rostrum at
Walnut Grove, Senator Vardaman
sought to excuse the "stabbing in the
back" part by saying that he had been
misquoted.
Says Vardaman Not MisquAted.
In this connection Mr.. Harrison said:
In firing the opening gun of his
campaign at Walnut Grove on the Stn
Of this month, which was lame apoi-
ogy for his bitter opposition 10 Presi
dent Wilson, the junior senator was
asked this question: What about stab
bling Germany in the backg
"Oh, | am glad you called my at
tention to that. ! was about to forget
It, said the junior senaor. Well, my
friends, he tried to explain, some
months ago reporter came to me and
he asked me what thought about this
great chautauqua that was being q
gamyed for the purpose of telling the
people of the United States what we
were at war for and the causes of the
war. Now, | really don't like to dis
cuss the war, 1t is a matter of no
concern to me now. | didn't say that
the United States was stabbing Ger
many in the back and the man who
quotes me as saying that knows he is
telling a lie. pure and simple never
said that we were in the war TO pre-
serve the neutrality of the seas. |
didAt' say that We were in the war for
characterization of the worlI. What |
said in that interview was quoting
somebody else
MY friends, what | have Just read
to you is from stenographic report OF
the junior senator's Walnut Grove
speech and 1t is word for word just as
he spoke 1t.
what about stabbing Germany in
the back?' 1 was about to forget ii.
All, my friends, | don't doub. that the
junior senator would like to forge,
It. but, like Banauo's ghost. it will net
down.
The junior senator now says that
he said to this reporter, etc. which
would create the impression that he
talked offhand and left 1t TO the re-
porter TO write out something along
the lines he had suggested. | say to
you that he didn't do anything of the
kind. He carefully prepared that state
ment and gave it to the press with
the request that It be published exact
ly as he gave 1t out or not at all. And
it was published exactly as he gave II
to the press. punctuation and all.
But suppose the junior senator had
been quoting somebody else in tina,
interview. he should have so indicated
[ II no ,,nit,r "a 10 - h