The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1918-07-26
yARDAMAN OR WILSON, WHICH.

yARDAMAN OR WILSON, WHICH.
Beat about the bush as much as wei may, the issue is
|squarely UP to the people of to the people of Mississippi in
the senatorial race as to whether they will stand by their
President-in an hour of National peril, or whether they will
give their endorsement to the course Of Senator Vardaman
whose record in the United States Senate has BEEN one OF
ult1fnding,fdsagreeme and obstruction. OF course the
Senator says he is Supporting" the President now-ne' nor
any one else, could not afford to say otherwise at present, II
he would. y < - s>e G
The issue in Mississippi is not one OF. personal integrity.
It is not a reflection upon a mans honor to prefer some one
else over him for the discharge of certain pubic 1uncUons. "A
man is not per Sc under public condemnation because he can
not see issues that arise with a foreign country just as 9 ma
|jor1ty of others with whom he must labor sees them. One
who talks much about the unrighteousness OF his own coun-
try's position iii a dispute with a foreign foe, is not necessarily
consigned to political oblivion because those whom ne repre-
sents turns him out Of office and puts another in who sees
the vital issue from the other angle. But a turning. out
has been necessary in, times past in our history and there are
thousands of the best citizens of the land who think there
should be some turning out today. Because one who, has
baked at almost everything the head of the Government has
urged but now says he is standing by" does not necessarily
mean that he is standing where he should stand. Men have
been known to stand by" while one of their fellows got al
terrible thrashing. This is more than standing" and talking
time. It is doing time and the American people have their
own particular idea how the doing should be DONE They
have made up their minds that where national legislators. have
not seen. fit to make their doings coordinate with the majority
in Congress, to politely leave them at home to think and learnr
The people have organized in every state of the Union
to reflect no obstructionists of war measures to Congress, and
to see that no new obstructionists get in. Those who have
Loyalty supported the President and VINO from tne mrs real
lied the justice of the war have organized to do this without
regard to party. So the issue now up in MissSsppIs sena-
torial race is not confined alone to this state. And it is we'll
to note that thus far wherever there has been an election or
a primary, the war supporter has won. !
We repeat, the issue is squarely up to the people OF Miss
issippi as to whether they will stand by their President, the
Commander-in-Chie of the Army and Navy, or Senator Var
daman. President Wilson practically said as much when he
refused to allow Senator Vardaman to pass upon appoint
ments in this state and when he declined to re-appoint the Sen
ator's own brother United States Marshal. Could the Presi-
dent have more emphatically registered his disapproval Of
Mr.. Vardamans course as a Senator than to refuse to honor
the Senator's brother? Again, when President Wilson placed
Senator Vardaman, because of the Senator's record on the
armed neutrality bill, as one of the "wilful twelve" he put ="
him under the ban. But had the Senator stopped there, as
several other. Senators did, the political sky would have been
clearer for him; but he did not. He went on and on and
wherever he covertly and many times openly, could, he took
a gibe at the President and antagonized administrative meas
ures. T.
Yes, he. is standing by the administration now in what
he says publicly. But do his past acts and utterances justify
us in believing that he would be standing by" the admins
tration had not Congress passed a law that stopped seditious
German talk and incidentally the talk of everybody else whose
words were likely to embarrass the Government and hinder
the progress of the war? Nobody, not even a Senator, can
get out and say now what the Senator has said about an "un-
just war" since a state of war was declared. What would
be done with you or us, reader, if we were to say that it was
the passing of the dollars of the rich between New York and
London" that caused the war, and that but for the fact of press
ure on the President so that ''the rich might grow richer there
would have been no war? We would be in the tolls of the law
and behind the bars. It is a matter of common knowledge
around the Nations Capitol that Senator Vardaman does not
hesitate TIA make all sorts of harsh criticisms and sarcastic
filings at the President and even some members of the cabinet
The Senator does not darken the doors Of the White House.
Thus it is that his own acts and his own tongue have rendered
him in a very great measure helpless to properly serve the peo-
pie as a Senator. The office of Senator belongs to the
people. There is nothing about the political life of any man
that is sacred. The people put a man in Office and the same
people can take him out. It is a duty they owe themselves to
see that he is taken out whenever he renders himself impotent
Ito properly serve them. Senator Vardamans standing with
the President and with his party in Congress places his infu-
ence on the zero side