The Starkville news. (Starkville, Miss.) 1902-1960, 1919-04-18
FIRST JOINT DEBATE Of !
GUbERNATOR|AL CAMPAIGN
HELD At CARTHAGE On NJ
Russell Oscar the Day Before
Large CrowdRuse Attacks ALI Three Opposing Candidates
and Is Literally Skinned by Johnston, Whose Address
Frequently and Vociferousy Appauded by Crowd.


state on the mileage basis.
After discussing these matters al
some length, Mr. Russell went into
what is generally regarded in this Sec
tion as the main issue in the campaign,
the state tax equalization board or
state tax commission. He sought to
show where various counties, among
them the county of Leake, had receiv-
ed more money out of the state treas
ury in the form of pensions and com
mon school fund than they had paid
in by the way of taxes He vigorous
ly defended the state tax commission
saying that Capitalization of authority
was the one thing to be desired and
absolutely necessary In the fixing Of
uniform assessments throughout the
state He said that he understood that
his opponent was against ii and SUD.
rcsad he would offer patep' msdic,rs
cure-all that was absolutely impossible
for the Board of Supervisors in the sta te
to equitably assess in uniform manner
the taxes of the state. He charged his
opponent, Oscar Johnston, as being
against the tax equalization laws be-
cause the tax commission had raised
property values in the Delta and had
charged that if he was elected he
would probably name on the state tax
commission men who would not seek
to carry out the letter and spirit of the
tax equalization laws. He charged
Johnston with being a secret Caucusite
and as having voted against the exon
Grafton of Senator Vardaman, while a
member of the state legislature.
Mr.. Russell claimed in concluding
his remarks on his own platform, the
bankers. the railroads, and other cor.
porations to be fighting him. He laid
the issue OF factiona! politics squarely
before the voters and said that it was
impossible to conduct a campaign in
Mississippi without factionalism for
the reason that there were two schools
Of thought in Mississippi and he was
the candidate of the one and Johnston
the candidate OF the other. He
cited an editoria, run in the Jackson
Daily News in support of his con-
tention. And said that while some
people in Mississippi were calling loud
ly for factionalism that they were the
nen who were most ardently support
ing his opponent, Mr.. Johnston.
Russell attacked Johnston for his
stand on the matter of college frater-
mites both while in college and later
while in the legislature. He called him
IN autocrat, and inferred that he had
been reared in an atmosphere that
took him out of touch with the COM
mon people. He said that he had al
ways been politically antagonistic
toward Johnston and Johnston toward
him and that they had never agreed
on anything.
Takes Rap at Lonsno.
Mr. Russell's manner was vigorous,
ienunciatory and vituperative. His
address was forceful and throughout
he was given the strictest attention OF
his audience. Just at conclusion of his
address he took occasion to denounce
Longino, Ex-Governor of Mississippi,
for alleged remarks made by the eG-
Governor in controversy with Mayor
McInnis of Meridian over the old SOL
uiers home at Beauvoir, in which he
charged that Governor Longino had
told Mayor McInnis that he was tired
Of all that Confederate rot In this
connection he paid a tribute to the
exConfederate soldier He further
charged Longino with having been re-
pudiated by the people of Mississippi
at the polls, once in his race with Sen
ator Money and once recently in a race
with Judge Sydney Smith, whom he
stated had overwhelmingly defeated
Governor Longino for Supreme Court
Judge year or so ago. He charged
that Longino was claiming the credit !
for building the New State Capitol
when as a matter of fact the suit |
against the Y. & M. V. Railroad and
'the l. c. Railroad was brought by Writ
Adams in the term of the predecessor
in office of Governor Longino and that
all Longino had to DO was to spend
the money.
Mr.. Russell went after the ex-Gov.
ernor, Mr.. Longino, in strong terms
for that part of his inaugural mes.
sage in which Governor Longino
recommended to the Legislature that !
every time a/lynching was pulled off
by mob that the family of the per-
son lynched. should be entitled to re-
cover in the Chancery Court aum