The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1920-06-26
HON. OSCAR JOHNSTON REPLIES
TO GOVERNOR LEE M RUSSELL
Gives Statement of the Reasons Why the Real Democrats
Mississippi Do Not Regard Governor as Member of
the Party-A Shot Taken at Ex-senator Vardaman

/ behaved man, clean in private life and
consistent in support of the Republican
! principals.
AFTER four years of service with him
in the United States Senate, am con-
WINGED he is man of good purposes,
upright and trustworthy"
Speaking of the vice-presidential
nominee, this paper says HE is an
able man, rather untried in national DO
liticsS but he is reputed to be a man of
good ability and clean in his public
and private life."
From this I feel that we are war
ranted in the statement that this party
indorses the nominees of the Republican
party.
Second-What is the attitude of this
party toward the Republican platform?
I again quote from "Vardaman's Week
ly:" THE Republican platform ex-
presses my sentiment in the plank on
agriculture. What do you think of it,
Mr.. Farmer? Again:- THE Republi-
can convention at Chicago last week
adopted the following plank on the
league of nations: It strikes me as a
neat piece Of political diplomacy, and
if carried to its logical end, it saves
the republic from the disaster into
which Woodrow Wilson sought to
plunge it,"
He then quotes the platform of the
Republican party dealing with the
league of nations, starting his quota
tion with this paragraph "The for
eign policy of the administration has
been founded upon no principles and
directed by no definite conception of
our nations rights and obligations. 1t
has been humiliating to the result that
after period of unexampled sacrifice
our motives are suspected, our moral
influence impaired and our government
stands discredited and friendless a.
mong the nations of the world"
cannot conceive a more severe in
dictment of the Democratic party than
the above. and yet it is the plank that
is indorsed and approved by the party
led by Mr.. Vardaman.
Takes stand Against League
Gov. Russell refrains from stating
to which of these parties he belongs,
but Judging him by the company he
keeps, by his own public utterances and
by the utterances Of his paper-the OK
ford Eagle-the convention felt justi-
fed in classing him as a member of
the last mentioned party, and must
leave him there until he sees fit to for
sake it and the pernicious principles
for which it stands. In an editorial in
that same paper the leader of this par
ty has this to say: "I hope the conven-
tion at San Francisco may not make
the league of nations the paramount is
sue, because 1 believe that the Ameri-
can people do not favor the league of
nations and 1 know they should not IA
vor the league of nations"
I ask fair-minded public to answer,
could any convention of Democratic as
sembled have adopted a platform in
dorsing the administration of Woodrow
Wilson subscribing to the doctrine of
league of nations, and then select a
lieutenant from this last mentioned
party to head a delegation made up of
Democrats belonging to the first mem
toned party in their> pilgrimage to
| San Francisco. It might just as con-
sistently be argued that state having
Republican governor should send him
to the Democratic convention.
The gentleman in question should re-
member that 1t is not sufficient for him
to proclaim from the housetops that he
is a Jeffersonian Democrat; he must
convince hard-headed Mississippians,
who, like the people from Missouri
want to be sighted, that he is in accord
with the principles of the present Demo-
Lcratic party. He may argue that the
party has forsaken the principles of
Jefferson. If it has. then these princi-
pies have been adopted by the Republi-
can party, and he. being a man stead
fast In his adherence to principles (7)
should stick to his principles, even the
by so doing he be forced to consort with
strange bed-fellows
In my judgement the Democratic con-
vention adopted the only course open
to it. and this course will be ratified
and approved by the people in the elec.
ton next November.