The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1919-04-26


Russell. That he was q candidate
of no man or set Of men but that IL
standing for his convictions and fight.
ing for them vigorously made him q
factionalist, then he would have TO
plead guilty to the charge. That he
would do without office in Mississippi
forever before he would seek the favor
of the people of the State by hanging
on to some mans coat tail and trying
to ride in in that fashion.
He went into some details in re-
ferring to his personal life, his record
and his own. political views. He stat
ed that he had the good fortune for
some six months to be a student at the
state university, but had been forced
to leave on account of adversities and
had later worked his way through the
law school of Lebanon University.
That in those days the spoon that he
had in his mouth contained consider
able pewter rather than being of the
silver variety.
Goes After Tax Commission.
+ He went after Russell and the State
Tax Commission vigorously, and it was
very evident before he had discussed
this proposition long that he had hi7
audience with him. Frequent applause
met his arguments in this connection
He showed that the State tax commits
sion was utterly devoid of power and
recited the fact that the people OF
Washington County had filed affidavits
with the Board of Supervisors OF the
County that their property was assess
ed at it's actual value, and that the
Poard had so found, and that when the
State Tax Commission attempted to
make the board of supervisors carry
out its order to raise the assessments
in Washington county that the Board
of Supervisors refused to Go so, and
the State Tax Commission went into
the courts with the matter lost out and
withdrew their suit. That the people
of every county in the State could have
done the same thing and defeated the
State Tax Commission in its efforts to
;aise their property where it was as
sessed too high. He advocated the
absolute abolishment of the state tax
commission and the saving to the peo-
ple of the salaries and expenses of the
useless adjuncts to the Governors of
flee. which were without power to
function; went then into his own record
and cited the fact from the record that
he had introduced or been the author
Of practically every bill that Russell
had referred to and taken credit for,
among them the agricultural high
school bill, the anti-land corporation
hill, and the drainage laws of the State,
and much of the other legislation that
had been enacted during the past four
years during the present adnlin.stra-
ton
Recalls Land Bank Bill.
He charged the present administra-
ton. ably assisted by the Lieutenant
Governor, with defeating the Land
tank bill, for which he said that he,
Johnston, had made fight in the Leg
islature, and that he had succeeded in
getting the bill passed by both houses,
when it was vetoed by the Governor,
age over the Governors veto. That
notwithstanding that the Governor
personally appeared on the floor OF the
House, and debated the bill with him,
Johnston, that the bill passed the
House over the Governors veto and
only lacked one vote of passage in the
Senate. He stated that the principles
and some of the main features of this
bill had been adopted by the Federal
Government in it's farm land banks.
Johnston went vigorously after the
Lieutenant Governor for his position
on the age Of consent law in Mississip
pi, citing from the record the fact that
he, Johnston, had introduced bill to
raise the age Of consent in Mississippi
from ten to fourteen years and charged
the Lieutenant Governor with having
voted against it.
He said that Russell had charged
him with being the candidate Of Earl
Brewer, and defied him to prove it;
that the fact was we'll known that Gov
ernor Longino had appointed Earl
Brewer District Attorney when he was
Governor, and that the record showed
that he had voted against the recon-
rlendations of Governor Brewer when
he was the Governor of the State as
often If not more often than he had
voted for them That he had fought
for and written the anti-corporatioD
land holding bill! which the Governor,
Brewer, was opposed to, and threaten.
ed to veto, and that it had been en-.
acted into law IN spite of the opposi.
ton of Governor Brewer thereto. He
stated in a vigorous manner that Rus.
sell was simply appealing to passion
and prejudice and proved conclusive.
iy to his audience, IS was evidenced
by wild applause, that he had been in
strumental in the passage of this anti
land holding bill. thereby saving to the
farmers of the State hundreds of acres
of land which would have been gobDled
up by corporate ms. He charged that
Mr.. Russell knew these things OF
ought to know them and had no right
going over the State misrepresenting
him and the things for which he stood
College Fraternities Still Exist.
He said that iir Russell was mem
Der of the Board of Trustees of the
State University and as such ought to
know if he cid not that college fra
ternities were in existence at the State
JTp;vnrcifv fndav He charged that IL