The Brandon news., 1922-08-31
CLAIM FOR VARDAMAN
is EXPOSED BY WOMAN
Wife of Veteran Publisher Cites
J. K. Didn't Stand For Prohibition
First.

West Point, Aug. 20 (SpeciaD
Mrs. l.. T. Carlisle, who with her
husband, the venerable newspaper
publisher of Mississippi, edits The
West Point Leader, a weekly, has,
In the issue of August 25th, con
tributed bit Of interesting pho
hibition history in Mississippi that
refutes the claims Of Vardaman and
his supporters that he was one OF
tributed bit of interesting pro-
hibition in the state, but shows that
he never climbed into the band
wagon until the fight was practical
ly. won.
Mrs. Carlisle says that she mar
ried her editor husband about the
middle of the fifteen year period
that the fight was in progress ana
that Vardaman was not even then
enlisted under the prohibition ban
ner, but spent his time reproducing
extracts from Brann's Iconoclast,
denouncing and Producing ministers
of the gospel and members Of the
church as hypocrites and wolves in
sheep's clothing. She Sarcast1cally
points to his success as an im1tator
of Brann in attacks upon ministers
of the gospel, by those made by
him upon Bishop Galloway, DR..
Bailey and Rector Ewing"
The Carlisle article, because of
the writer's first hand knowledge
and personal activity in the pro-
hibition fight, is being read with a
great deal of interest. 1t is as fol-
lows:
A Bit of Ancient History.
press reports of the meeting in
Jackson of the Vardaman forces
give prominence to the presence
and utterances of Mrs. Virginia Red
dit Price, past president of the Mis-
sissippi Division u. ID. c. and the
State Federation of Woman's Clubs,
who publicly professed her alleg-
lance to Senator Vardaman. One
rather wonders as this eleventh hour
scramble of Mrs. Price into the
| band wagon, and why she did not
help out to give him the victory III
the first primary. 1t suffices, how
ever, that she negotiated the band
wagon and is now a campaign ora
tor for the White Chief.
But the purpose of this article
is to keep the record straight as to
at least one of the claims made as
to Mr.. Vardaman's past achieve
ments. Mrs. Price and others have
stated that Mr.. Vardaman was a
champion in the past in the fight
for prohibition Did Mrs Price
mean that Vardaman was one of the
pioneers in closing the open saloon
and securing local option?
The writer married into the
Fourth Estate along the middle of
the period covering about fifteen
years when the battle for temper
ance in Mississippi was being fought
by the few newspapers over the
| State Mrs Price must have been
a girl in her teens and it is hardly
probable that she has first hand
knowledge on how the press stood
! on the subject.
| Vardaman Not There.
THE names of the state journal
lists who fought, bled and some OF
whom died, in the cause, can be
counted on the fingers of one hand
The name of James X. Vardaman is
not among that number.
MIR. Vardaman began editing a
paper in Greenwood about the mid
| die of this fifteen year period. But
he didn't fight the battles of tenn
perance in his paper. What was he
writing about? What did the read
ers of his paper find in its columns
For one thing, they found every
week, extracts from Brann's IcOnOc-
last, denouncing and traducing min
| listers of the gospel and members
of church as hypOcrites and wolves
| III sleeps clothing. These preach
ers and church members, who were
being attacked by Brann were the
persons who were fighting for pro
hibition. Vardaman reproduced these
attacks in his paper.
1T was through Mr.. Vardaman' 5
paper that the writer became ar
quainted with Brann's Iconnoclast,
a sheet SO bitter, SO vituperative i'll
its attacks upon the church of God,
it did not even spare it's women, but
| in unmistakable language, stated
that the women of the Protestant
churches were controlled by their
pastors and used by them for I'M
moral purposes.
1T was after the literary style
of this master of course vitapera
| tive that Mr.. Vardaman modelled his
own success as an imitator of Brann
in attacks upon ministers of the
gospel are classics, as evidenced by
those made by him upon Bishop
Galloway, DR.. Bailey and Rector
Ewing.
Lets keep the record straight as
to Mr. Vardaman's services in the
| prohibition movement.-Ady.