The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1922-06-17
WOMAN CANDIDATE
FOR SENATE SPEAKS
Miss Belle Kearney Makes Good
Impression on Small Au-
dience.

Miss Belle Kearney spoke in the
iate est of her candidacy for the u.
S. Senate at the City Hall of Brook
haocl thursday night.
Tie audience was small, probably
becau2e of the unfavorable weather
and insufficient advance notices-in
fact, the speaker stated that her
audiences at Brookhaven and Halle
hurst were the smallest addressed
during her campaign.
The fifty or sixty present, howev-
er, were thoroughly attentive and
apparently deeply impressed by the
speaker, whose experience as a
teacher, lecturer and worker for pro-
hibition and woman's suffrage has
been valuable training for an as
pirant to public office.
Miss Kearney was introduced by
Hon. Hiram Cassidy who stated that
while Mississippi had never ratified
the woman's suffrage amendment, re-
ceiving suffrage through the action
of other states, the state had been
pioneer in other movements for the,
advancement Of women, and might
win the distinction of being the first
state to send a woman to the United
States Senate. Mr.. Cassidy briefly
stated that his lamented mother and
her sister and Miss Kearney had
been warm friends.
Miss Kearney, after a few re-
marks in acknowledgment stated
that she had recently declined lee
ture tour of three months in Penn
sylvania at $25 per night and a 81
milar one in Virginia, and had re-
turned to her home state of Missis
sippi to speak in favor of law en-
forcement for no payment at all up
on learning the need for such work
in this state.
Among other things, Miss Kearney
stated that 10000 women voters
were registered, and that if they
stood by her, she was sure of enter
ing the second primary. Many of
the best men in the state had eX-
pressed their intention of voting for
her. Once in the second primary, her
election was sure, since, if Mr.. Var
daman should be eliminated, his
supporters would turn to her, rath-
er than to Stephens, while if Steph-
ems were left at the post, the Steph-
ems constituents would prefer her
to Vardaman.
The bitter factionalism in the
state was deplored by many Of the
best citizens, who would be glad to
end it by sending to the Senate one
who belonged to neither, while many
others, disappointed at the develop
ments of recent administrations of
VardaT an associates, were leaving
that faction.
Mr.. Stephens, the speaker stated,
served in Congress for ten years "and
nobody heard of him." While MEM
Der of Congress, he voted against
the enfranchisement of women, sta
ting, in explanation that he was I'm
herently opposed to it."
Miss Kearney threw wrench into
the Stephens machinery when she
said that Stephens did more than
anyone else to secure the election of
Lee M. Russell as governor, Russell
and Stephens hailing from the same
district, and quoted Oscar Johnston
as one of the supporters of this state
ment.
Ex-senator Vardaman had misrep-
resented Mississippi six years in the
Senate, voting against ten great pa
triotic measures, rarely voting with
the Democratic party, hobnobbing
with the most radical Republicans
and asking what the Germans had
done against us.
Miss Kearney declared herself in
favor of such measures as would mi
nimize the probability of war.
In regard to the bonus bill, she
said she favored the bonus and every
other good thing for the ex-soldier
that could be secured without laying
one dollars tax upon the already
burdened taxpayer. She favored
lands for ex-service men where they
could find homes. A heavier in
heritance tax would solve the prob
lem without hardships.
Very few women in Mississippi
own taxable property-this was pos