The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-22
STATEMENT OF MRS.. JACOBS IS. |NDORSED.
 BY GEO. B. WARD.
Former Mayor and Con- missioner Breaks Silence of Past Two Years to
 Express Himself

George B. Ward, former al- derman, mayor and president of the City Commission of Bir- mingham, and for 20 years one of the leaders in municipal af- fairs of this city, broke the si- lence which has enshrouded him for the past two years. There was time when Mir. Ward could no more keep out of public print than could the late Theodore Roosevelt. And then the former mayor and commissioner returned from politics, actually retired and dovted his entire time and atten- tion to the gentle art of chasing the elusive dollar in the vulgar marts ot commerce.
 But yesterday MT. Ward broke the silence which has been so noticeable for the past two years. He came to the rescue of Mrs. Pattie Ruffner Jacobs. MT. Ward did not wait to see whether her side had the approval of the public. He merely followed his old-time procedure and launched forth with a broadside, which will be very comforting to Mrs. Jacobs and some of her followers, but not so very pleasing to some of those who be- lieve that the Alabama suffrage leadtr has maligned the manhood of the seutn and particularly of Alabama.
 MT Ward goes the whole length. He IS for the statement of Mrs. Jacobs without amendment or reservation. He thinks IL was great stuff" He wants 1t circulated still further and feels that 1t would pc better for the south and for Alabama if the statements she made were taken en- tirelV to heart.
 As is usual with statements made ~by George B., there is no middle ground He goes the limit and the limit in tnis case is the full indorsement of Mrs, Jacobs.
 INDORSES MRS. JACOBS
 Of course he was not mad about II. fie was merely positive. But what he sala to a representative Of The Age-heraia was about like this:
 , The speech of Mrs. Jacobs should De endorsed by every southern man and every democrat" declared MT ward What she said is good for both pro- vided they have gumption enough to stop, look and listenl I happened to see newspaper containing excerpts from her speech and at that time approved every thing she said Since such row has been raised it gives be especial pleasure to indorse it again
 My recollection is that she depioreu and criticized as reactionary traditions and old line politicians both north ana south-that is ti say, the politicians who are hunting for votes, instead sof truth and justice.
 sgrhousands of democrats are making inc same criticisms on the street corners every day and yet nobody jumps on them If would be well for the south if mere of it's people would do more crlticlz- ing and do it more vigorously than they have ever done before
 .STime is proving that many Of the oid traditions and fallacies are being eiimi- rated These representative southern champions are weaving around them selves an atmosphere that is coming 10 he called bunk The genuine chivalric south can be silent in triumph without their help.
 .'The speech of Mrs. Jacobs shoiid pc printed in full by some neWspapel,.a ime ir, great majority of the readers would mn mediately wish they had the ability ana onnortunity to say the same thing.
 .Future development will probably reveal the fact that the same eiemehl which is wincing under the truth or | Mrs Jacobs statement ana IS raisihs the row as a sort of smoke screen
 while she is being 'shanghaled OFT the democratic committee
 JAS a southern man and a democrat.
 nrefer that Mrs. Jacobs be left on 1 the democratic national woman's ex- | ecutive committee an< the folks rom Tennessee and Montgomery who seem I so excited be left off. The south VIII l fare better. So will the nation. Tn my judgment this petty attack | on Mrs. Jacobs furnishes the first and only incident that appeals to me as Justification of the arguments against woman suffrage and the capacity of women to engage in public affairs. "The old south is not so sacred that if cannot be talked about. The views of statesmen are not so important that they should not be checked up in con l trawise to tidal movement toward | justice.
 esThe woman's movement cannot march on to its full fruition if it's leaders are to indulge in pickering, prejudices and narrow visions with ! out regard to the general good