Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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E. H. AULL, EDITOR. Entered at the Postoffice at New krry, S. C., as 2nd class matter. Friday, September 9, 1910. ME, BLEASE FOR GOVERNOR. Leading his competitor in the first race in twenty-two of the forty-three counties in South Carolina, his total lead being 3,369 votes, according to the official tabulation, Mr. Blease's friends are confidently expecting him to be nominated on next Tuesday for gover nor of South Caroiina. The confidence which his home peo ple and his neighbors in surrounding counties have in Mr. Blease's ability and fitness for the position is shown by the vote In the various counties. In Newberry, his home county, he receiv ed a handsome majority. In the ad joining county of Laurens, the home of Mr. Featherstone, he led by a good vote. He also leads all other candi dates in the surrounding counties ol Sallvlo, Lexington, Union and Fair field. Mr. Blease Is a local optionist. He believes in home rule. He believes 11 the people of each county are let alone to solve the liquor question for them selves, as under the present law, thai it will be solved all the quicker, and the interests of temperance and so briety promoted. In this we believe Mr. Blease is correct. Prohibitiot forced upon a county which is noi ready for it, where public sentiment h against it, and where it will lead tc murder and other crimes, is itself z crime. On the other hand, where the people of a county are ready for prohi bition and want it, they ought to have it, and where there is a healthy public sentiment behind a prohibition law 11 will be enforced. A State-wide prohi bition law at this time would mean: a reopening of the whole bitter liquox agitation. The old wounds would bleed afresh, and the State would again be In that condition of strife and turmoil out of which she Is now happily pass ing. The principal plank In the platfornm upon which Mr. Blease has sought the votes of 'the people of South Carolias Is an economical administration of the State government. Putting the State upon a sane, safe and solid business basis Is what he urges-equitable tax ation and the cutting off of usele and extravagant appropriations, thus reducing expenditures to the minimun consistent with the best interests ol the State and all her people. There are other issues- upon whicb he has taken a clear stand, as wilt bE seen by reading his platform in this paper. Mr. Blease's ability has been tes'ed and proved in the various positions ol honor and trust which he has held. II elected governor of South Carolina, as we believe he will be, he will maike a good governor and will give the State an able and business-like admin istration, and he will be governor of all the people. MR. BLEASE AT HOME. Mr. Blease has represented Newber ry county in every office within the gift of the people of the county to which he has aspired. As State sena tor for four years up until the session of 1909, he was recognized as one of the leaders of that body, and during the last two years of his service he served as president pro tempore. He is now mayor of the city, and has made a good mayor. He has ability, he is broad-minded and public-spirited, and he has made good in every position which he has filled, and if elected gov ernor he will give the State a good and able administration, along business methods-and that is what the State needs. As to Mr. Blease's platform, nobody has ever charged him with inconsis tency. But, aside from that, business ability is what the State now needs ina governor, ar.d that we know Mr. Blease has. Mr. Blease has been remark-ably successful as a practicing attorney at the Newberry bar. His sucess as a portant cases in which he has bee engaged, not only in his home count but in many other counties througl out the State, and in the result 4 these cases. And not only as a crin inal lawyer Is he successful, but tt records of the cort here will sho that his firm, that of Blease & Don inick, have a very large and lucratii and successful civil practice, whic will compare favorably with the prai tice of any firm in any city in tl State the size of Newberry. - We believe that Mr. Blease woul make a good governor, and we hol and believe the State will pile up a b majority for him on next Tuesday. LOCAL OPTION. The taking of a drink of whiskey beer or wine not being a sin in itse there is no moral question inovlved: prohibition, but the aim should be seek such regulations or such lav as will be in .Ae interest of tempe ance and for the benefit of society. the forcing of prohibition down t] throats of a community which is sol against it will lead to murders ai other crimes of lesser degree, then pr hibition forced upon that communi is a crime. We believe in temperanc but we believe that temperance can 1 secured only by first instilling into t] people a proper conception of the evi of intemperance and not by forcii upon a community a law which c not be enforced and which will inei tably, if its enforcement should be a tempted, lead to the highest crimes. South Carolina today has only s counties in which liquor is legal sold. The others have either nev had legalized sale of liquor or ha abandoned it of their own accord. T] cause of temperance has been adva ced by local option and will contin1 to be advanced if we leave the cou ties in control of their own affairs this regard. For these reasons, we believe in I cal option in South Carolina at th time-letting the present law alor and we believe this for the reason th we are convinced that it is in the i terest of temperance and sobriety ai respect for law. We can very well see how the lea ers in the present State-wide prohil tion movement could have advocatl local option in the past as a step t wards prohibition and there is no i consistency in that position. But 3 can not see how they can consistent charge now, they themselves in ti past having advocated local option a step towards prohibition, that tl local optionists of today are the" quor people." The great trouble wi the prohibition leaders is that som times they go too far, in the enthu iasm of the moment. The abuse of intoxicants 4 a gre evil and can not be too strongly co: demned. How to minimize this evil a question which ought to demand tJ attention of all good citizens. B there is room for a difference of opi ion as to the best method. There no reason for those holding one pa ticular view to arrogate to themselvi all righteousness and all wisdom. If every man honestly for tempe ance in all things would give evel other Inan honestly for temperance:i all things credit for purity of moti' and honesty of purpose in temperan< work the cause of temperance woul be greatly advanced. Mr. Featherstone can either elect< defeat himself by saying a very fe words. If he wants to be governor South Carolina as a representative< all the people, irrespective of the 1 quor issue, the honor for which I has been striving for many years: within his grasp. But if he prefers di feat as the leader of a faction and ti exponent of a theory, he can accon plish that result by declaring for State-wide law, regardless of the ri sult of the first primary.-Sumt4 Watchman and Southron. Having made a vigorous campaig throughout the State with State-wid prohibition as the main plank in hi platform, would MIr. Feather-stone n< now stultify himself by jumping ove on the local option platform? We d not believe he will do so. MIr. Feathea Stone is a State-wide prohibitionis and we do not believe he will abando his colors in the thick of the fray. Even from the sole standpoint of n more judgment than to do so, because b F, no man makes votes by jumping from a - one side to the other in a frantic effort E )f to get on the popular side. L e OFFICIAL DUTY. e Mr. Blease's record as mayor of I - Newberry is proof that neither per- I ,e sonal friendship nor any other Influ-It h ence is allowed to interfere with the t discharge of his official duty. He has c Le meted out justice to all alike, without t regard to station or condition in life, I and all his official acts have been e given the light of publicity. g We do not believe the reports which t are being circulated to the effect that 4 Mr. Blease if elected governor will I abuse the pardoning power for person I >r al or other reasons, will do Mr. Blease r, any harm, because experience has .n taught the people to look with disfavor :o upon these between-campaign, elev rs enth-hour attacks, but it can not do r- harm thus to cite Mr. Blease's record If as mayor of Newberry, in view of this ke charge which it seems is being cir Id culated. . td Knowing Mr. Blease as we do, we D.- believe if elected governor he will ty seek to do his duty and his whole duty. ELECTION PREDICTIONS. >e xe During the campaign and up until Is the votes in the first primary were counted, it was generally predicted by m those who were politically opposed to Mr. Blease that he would be at most a bad third in the race for governr. The official vote shows that Mr. Blease3 received over 30 per cent. of the entire ly vote of the State, leading all the oth er er candidates, and leading Mr. Feath 7e erstone, his nearest competitor, by 1 3,369 votes. Those who fought Mr. Blease admit they were badly mistak ie en-very badly mistaken, and they are squirming in the effort to find reasons for their bad judgment. Now these same critics of Mr. Blease are predicting that he can not possi s bly be elected. .e, There is no doubt that the predic at tion of his opponents so generally El. urged that Mr. Blease could nlotmpos id sibly get in the second race cost him many votes-and yet he led. There are many people who have the idea dthat they do not want to waste a vote aon a losing candidate. Notwithstand ing this loss of votes on this account, Mr. Blease leads. Mr. Blease having led in the first race, notwithstanding the prediction of 1those who were opposed to him that he could not get into the second race, the prediction which his opponents are Lurging that he can not be elected will hardly have any effect with the voters of the State, because they know that if the prediction of. those who are s fighting him, that he can not win in the second primary, is as far from the at mark as was their prediction that he E- could not et into the second race, Mr. is Blease will be elected by one of the ie largest majorities ever given a candi adate for governor in this State who had any substantial opposition. is__ _ _ _ _ _ r- -CONTORTIONISTS. 30 In the campaign for governor, be fore the first primary, many of the r- newspapers and others sought to nar- < -row the issue down to State-wide pro n hibition or local option. Some of the I e~ newspapers who fought the State-widei ~e prohibition candidate are now support d ing him, urging'that now the issue is f men and not measures. If the liquor question was an issue[3 >r in the first primary, we fail to see howIb Wit is no longer an issue. The pretext E that a local option senate has been chosen is very flimsy, because there is r Sno certainty until a vote is taken how t s the next senate will stand. And then t - before the first primary it was urged s eby some that the election of Mr. Feath a erstone would commit the State to a d . State-wide prohibition policy and re ~r open the whole liquor agitation, which a it was hoped was now happily at rest. I n Now we are told that the election of D e Mr. Featherstone will have no bearing b s on the question of local option or pro- I >t hibition. n r We have seen contortionists and o contortionists, but these latter-day po- ic -litical contortionists are at the head Ie Sof the list. c n As matter of fact, the people of 1: South Carolina are tired of the whole e a whiskey agitation and are content to tl e. lE the preent local option law alone,. n elieving that the interests of temper nce and the interests of the whole tate will be thus best subserved. The Herald and News today publish s the official vote by counties of lease and Featherstone in the first rimary for governor. It will be seen hat Blease leads Featherstone in wenty-two counties. His total lead iver Featherstone is more than three housand. It looks very much like ;lease for governor. Col. Roosevelt is touring the west elling the people what they ought to to and what they ought not to do, in >olitics, business, social life, family ife, and every other human relation. leligion also comes in for its share. "he colonel draws the crowds and has , good time generally, and in the neantime Taft is only heard of when he colonel sees fit to mention him. "THE MENACE." It is a good subject at this particu ar time, and- its importance has been [riven home. The people of South Carolina are nenaced. The menace is unfair newspaper nethods. The Columbia State of Thursday 3arried on its first page a cartoon of 9[r. Cole. L. Blease, over the label, 'The Menace." The Columbia State knew at the ime the cartoon was published that it was as unfair as it was false. The ,olumbia State knew when the car toon was designed that it was mis [eading and false. The Columbia State knew that the publication of the .artoon had for its object the mislead Ing of the voters of South Carolina, ind was, therefore, maliciously false, ind was a malicious slander of a man who led all the rest of the candidates ind received thirty per cent. of the 7otes of the State. Is that not an in tentional and gross insult to one third af the voters of this State? His side will have no showing in the Jolumbia State. No reply will be al owed. That Is the Columbia State's :nethod. That is "the menace." The Columbia State has a large cir :ulation. There. are people who read the State and who do not see the oth er side, because the State does not print the other side. That is "the menace." Before the first primary the News md Courier, the Columbia Record and fther newspapers in South Carolina were charging the Columbia State with unfairness, and, in fact, with ma licious falsehood. Simply because these newspapers :iow agree with the State's policy in bie gubernatorial race, will they keep ;ilent under the same conditions which existed when they brought heir charges against the Columbia 3tate-because, forsooth, then the Co umbia State was going against the ~rain and now it Is cutting along with Surely the manhood of the newspa ers of South Carolina is not a thing >f the past. The newspapers of South Carolina iave in the past wielded a wonderful. nfluence. It is because they have nade for themselves a reputation of airness, and, presenting both sides, rave urged the claims of the side vhich the newspapers thought would e for the interests of the State of outh Carolina. The course which some of them are tow pursuing may help the men of heir choice in this particular race hough we doubt it-but the profes ion suffers. Why not give everybody a "square eal ?" The Columbia State, for instance. nd other anti-Blease newspapers will eprint In their news columns com ients favorable to Mr. Featherstone, ut ignore anything favorable to Mr. ilease. That is "newspaper" busi ess, with a vengeance. So far as The Herald and News is oncerned, we delight in being ignor d by the Columbia State-or boy otted, or put on the famous "black st," as you please-but wihat we start El out to say was that the cartoon in ie Columbia State of Thursday morning was the limit downward in newspaper business as we have ob served it. The days of factionalism and per sonal prejudice in South Carolina are happily over, and we believe that the people of South Carolina when the matter is brought to their attention will resent under-hand and below-the belt methods. For that reason, which is creditable to the people of South Carolina, we believe the Columbia State and other newspapers who are taking unfair ad vantage of Mr. Blease in this race are doing him more good than harm. It is not for Blease that we mourn, but for the newspaper profession. "The menace"-the real menace will be met by the people of South Carolina, as they have met all other questions. During the campaign and before the first primary election, the Columbia State made a strong fight in an argu mentative manner against Mr. Feath erstone and thereby brought down the wrath of a large majority of the papers of South Carolina cbarging it with "unfairness." They had practi cally nothing to say about Mr. Blease, he having distinctly defied them to make their charges, if any they had, to his face. They failed to do so. Now they are making one of the ugliest and most slanderous cam paigns! against Mr. Blease that has ever been waged in the State of South Carolina. What do the newspapers think of this fight at this time? Is it fair? Mr. Blease and his friends have no manner now in which to Answer them for they will publish nothing favorable to Blease; he can not au swer it on the stump, the campaign is over. ELEVENTH-HOUR. CHARGES. We wonder if the newspapers which are making such a bitter fight on Can didate Blease ever stop to think whal might be the result of such a cam paign as is being waged. If there should be trouble before this election is over, which we hope there will not be, the newspapers will be responsible for It The people know the two candidates for governor and have had their rec ords before them for a number of years. Both of them have made cam paigns in the State heretofore and if there Is anything that is derogatory to either it should have been and would have been brought out before. It Is wrong and unfair and unjust to make insinuations and charges that are not sustained by the proof and it is caculated to arouse the passions of the people which may result seriously. The people, we do not believe, are go ing to be influenced against any man by insinuations and charges as to what he will do. The opponents of Mr. Featherstonle have made no attack upon him per sonally and are making none. The issue now is as much an issue of plat form as it was before. The two men who are in the race were in the race before the first primary and if there were charges to be made they should have been made then. THE PEOPLE NEED NO DICTATION~ Efforts are being made to get Lieu tenant Governor McLeod to say that he is not for Mr. Blease and that he Is supporting Mr. Featherstonle. Mr. Mc Leod, in our view of the case takes the right position. He says that in his view of the situation, the vote which he received was an independent one and could not be dictated to, were he disposed to do so, nor will he make any attempt to do so. He says that it is his purpose to be fair to both of the candidates. That is a manly posi tion but altogether at variance with the position taken by the press of this State and principally the daily press. They are making an effort to dictate to the people of South Carolina how they should vote. We believe that the people of South Carolina are compet ent to vote without dictation and that they will resent the efforts which are being made to dictate to them. PROUD OF THE IIILL TOTE. Those who are making the effort to~ have it appear that Blease's strength ies ith the cotton mill votes of the State to which they refer sneeringly must remember in order to secure the primary, th?re were a great many thousand vo:rs of South Carolina who cast their ballots for him who are not cotton mill people. Besides that, we have observed for many years that all of the candidates for office have been very anxious and have labored very hard to secure these cotton mill votes,, as they are termed, and it is no dis credit to any man if he does secure them. * "CAMPAIGN LIES? * * * * (Contributed to AbbeTille Press * and Banner.) The good old Yorkville Enquirer is generally in the right, and as a rule, we agree with all that it says: Last week that paper said: "Because of the reputation the cam paign liar has made for himself, even the truth has a poor showing in-telec tion years. Most sensible people fol low the rule -of putting all slanderous political stories down as lies.". To all of the above we say a heArty amen. As far as we can now recall the "campaign liar" has done no busi ness in this campaign , in Abbeville county. We have, no recollection of having -heard a word against the char acter of any candidate. But in a previous campaign there was enough said or Insinuated against Blease to excite the sympathy of vot ers who lovq a fair deaL While there has not been said a word as far as we have hear! or seen against any-candi date, yet woe have heard or read much which we thought to be insinuation against Blease. This by what we re garded as members of the "holier than thou" element. The vote of Newberry and Laurens gives assurance that where Blease is well known he has the approval of mighty good communities. We hap pen to know something of the people of those counties in the fifties, and as we knew them then they were as good. as the-best.and we are willing to sup port thei' judgment or opinion. Blease needed no other certificate of charao ter than that of the voters of Newber As the situatie4 appears to usa:1Al the candidates are, admittedly, gen tlemen. Blease having this disadvan tage of the rest, he was born of- the" uneducated class and because of his Inherited poverty, and his ambition to rise to positions of influence and usefulness, the other set are jealous - of him and his ability-and we as-r sume that there was not in the governor's race a man who would claim to have more ability. While Mr. F'eatherstotne's good character is in no way questioned, yet ' heproposes to deny to a part of the counties the right of local option-a right which was freely offered to Ab beville and other counties. If local option was right last year, It Is right this year. The State of South Carolina has as much right to say that Abbeville shall sell whiskey as it has to-'say that Char leston shall not. IThe cry in 1876 was "Home Rule." Believing that "political stories" are "campaign lies" and believing that the opposition to Blease is based more on jealousy of a poor boy who is ambi tious to rise In the world,, than upon substantial reasons, this scribe ex pects to poll his vote next Tuesday for Cole. L Blease. Whatever the facts may be, we tikBlease Is a manly man, and we believe that opposifon to him is large ly based upon this fact, and the fact of the poverty of'his birth. He has no coloinels or generals or governors among his ancestry. And we do not believe in closing the door of hope or refusing promotion to the poorest boy in South Carolina. To seek to be governor is a laudable ambition. Brainy and A Leader. . Hon. Cole. L. Blease, of Newberry, is one of the announced candidates for governor who will prove a strong man to defeat He is one of the best post ed men in the State; he is brainy and is a leader among men of influence and high repute, and the News feels certain he will win. Mr. Blease Is in every sense of the word worthy the high and honorable position to which he aspires to filL-Editorial Colleton News, June 15. NOTICE MEETINGQ COUNiTY DEMO. CRATIC EXECUTIrVE CODEITTEE. The County Democratic Executive Committee is hereby called to meet In the Court House on Thursday, Septem ber 15th, 1910, at 11 o'clock In the forenoon, for the purpose of receiving the returns of the second primary elec tion. tabulating same and declaring the result of the said election. Fred. H. Dominick, County Chairman. Frank R. Hunter,; Secretary. - ~