The Manning times. (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, April 03, 1918, Image 9
nrI
VOL. XXXVIII MANNING, S. C., WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 1918
BLEASE OP
CAMP
(Continued from Page One)
sented, I ask your indulgence to quote
from the original speeches which I
made upon this subject, about which
so much has been said and written
in the press of the state, and from
which extracts here and there have
been misquoted, in order that I may
show to you from the record, and not
from hearsay, how brutally, coldly and
utterly false are the accusations which
have been made against me for po
litical purposes, in order that the will
of the people might again be defeated
in South Carolina this summer, and
the state r-tained under the ring rule
of a miserable autocracy or a band
of ruthless aristocrats.
I was invited to deliver an address
in Danville, Va., which I did on the
16th of May, 1917. In that speech, in
referring to the war, I said, as re
ported in the Bee and in the Register,
the leading afternoon and morning
newspapers of the city of Danville,
which certainly could not he charged
with being for or against me, as they
are far~ removed from political condi
tions in South Carolina:
The Bee, in using an interview with
me the afternoon before the speech,
said:
"Mr. Blease makes no denial that
he is a pacifist, but he is equally firm
in saying that, how that this nation is
at war, every man and woman should
do all that is possible to preserve the
unity of the nation in its great set
purpose. He is also ready to serve at
his station in the firing line should
it ever become necessary to call out
men of his class into the war, ant
intimated that nothing could stop hin:
from fighting with the men of his
state if a German invasion of thih
country or Mexico were attempted. He
also stated that he had offered to raise
a brigade, and was ready to raise
one of as fine fighting men as evel
shouldered a gun."
The Register, in reporting my
speech next morning said: "H<
(Blease) stated frankly that had h(
been a member of congress or a senat
or he would have voted against wai
with Germany, but we are in the wai
now," he continued. "Now it is to d<
"A
urni
Upon America de
volves the sacredduty
of keeping alight the
torch of Liberty and
upholding justice and
democracy through
out the world. Let
us not falter or count,
the cost, for in the
freedorn of the world
lies our only safety,
and the preservation
of our American lib
erties and institutions..
Let Us Invest
To the Limit in
Liberty Bonds
This Space Paid For and
* Contributed By
Overland
MANNII
ENED'
AIGN HERE
and (lie, and we propose to stand as
one man and fight to th 1 finish. Ger
many is reported to have made the
assertion that to burn the National
Capitol at Washington would be to
strike the greatest blow at Democ
racy, but 1 am here to tell you, fel
low-citizens, that when this happens
there will no longer be living any
American citizens."
At Pomaria, on July 28, 1917, in a
speech about which so much has been
said, and which I wish every man in
the state of South Carolina could
read, I again stated my position as to
the declaration of war, but said "Do
not misunderstand me. We are now
in this war and must push it to a suc
cessful conclusion. The might of the
nation must be thrown towards bring
ing it to an end at the earliest possi
ble moment. And let us all pray God
that it may be brought to a success
ful end before a great number of our
young men are killed upon the battle
fields of Europe. We are in the fight
and we must fight it to the finish with
all the power of our great nation. -*
"So far as the war is concerned, I
offered my services, once we were in
it, and offered to raise a regiment or
brigade and would have (lone so had I
been permitted. But that kind of regi
ment or brigade, with officers elected
by thpse whom they were to command,
was not desired by the powers that be
in South Carolina. The reception with
which my offer met bears out my
statement that today in South Caro
ina we live under a limited monarchy,
selfish and self-seeking, in which the
rnople have no voice. They tell us that
we are fighting a war for world de
mocracy. It behooves of South Caro
lina men now to begin a fight for state
democracy in South Carolina-for the
taking back from the hands of the
people their own government."
That entire speech was published in
those papers favorable to me, but the
newspapers which are and have been
bitterly fighting and misrepresenting
me distorted extracts from it for the
purpose of putting me in a false light.
If those papers want to be fair and
honest, nothing would give me more
pleasure than to furnish them the
complete speech, and let them publish
Motr o.
/G .C
it, because, as I hi ve said, I wish it
could be read by every man in South
Carolina. But these newspapers are
not for the fair thing. They would not
publish it in full then and they will not
do it now. Their object !s not to give
the truth with reference to me or my
party, but to hide th- truth, as it has
always been.
At Filbert, I male another speech
which these s.ne newspal crs took
great pains to misrepreoer.t. There I
reiterated my Pomaria speech, an l de
nounced Governor Manning, George
W. Cromer and David R. Coker, who
had, without justification or excuse,
cce')te(d lies that. were published with
refer-m:('e to my Pomaria speech, and
salt to the Council of )efense in Co
lumb'a, that I had made tr.itorous ut
tarances. I may spoken harshly of
these men. I have no doubt that I
did. Hut you must remember what t
they had falsely said about me. I did
not mince words in denouncing them
in the most vigorous terms I could
command, and if 1 eve'r have an op..
portunity to meet any of them face to
face on the rostrum, wiat I said then
will be repeated a little stronger, if
possible. But I have no idea that thev
vill ever give tie the privilege of fac
ing them before the people. In fact,
since my Filbert speech I have not
heard of their mentioning my name ei
ther in public or private. They seem
to have been silenced in that regard.
I also have this Filbert speech and it
vill give me great pleasure to furnish
it to the anti-Reform press, which his
had so much to say about it, if they
will publish'it.
At Pickens, on August 25, 1917, in
another speech, which has been mali
ciously and falsely misquoted by the
the anti-Reform press, I said:
"I have stated, and do not hesitate
no~w to state, that I was opposed to
this war, because I saw no compelling
reason for us to go into it. I am still
opposed to it, for I have as yet neither
read nor heard of any such reason for
our going into it. It is true that it is
said and properly said, 'My country,
may she ever be right, but right or
wrong, my Country.' I say that, and
emphasize it. But it is the duty of our
leaders-those who are in the front
and whom we send to represent us in
the highest councils of our nation, al
ways to inform themselves thoroughly
and see that our country is right, and
when they fail to (10 this, the constitu
tion of this great republic of ours
gives us the privilege to criticise them
for their actions in a proper manner,
and to petition them for a redress of
our grievances, and we have that right
and none can take it from us. And if
they will not listen to us we have a
right to sweep them from office at the
next election, and to send to Wash
ington as our representatives men who
do listen to the voice of those they
are supposed to serve, and not to boss.
* * * No man wants the United States
to back down, or curl its tail and run,
but if we can have an honorable peace
without slaughtering our young
manhood, who can object? Let each
man ,instead of bombast and billings
gate, answer this question: Are you in
favor of an honorable peace-peace
without sacrifice of principle? Let
him answer that plainly and dsitinctly,
and then next year we will know how
each man stands. *r * I believe in
every man doing his duty in this war
emergency, and have made myself as
clear as ' could along that line. I be
lheve in every man doing his duty
wherever he is placed and in whatever
situation he may find himself. I have
I had men to come to me with the offer
of fees to test the constitutionality of
the draft law. I have refused to dis
cuss the matter with them, except. to
state that it is every man's duty to
obey the law of the land. That has
been the doctrine which I have tried
to preach throughout and it is in thor
ough accord with my desire for peace.
I was consulted in Columbia, a com
mittee came to me in Anderson, and
today others have seen me in regard
to employimg me to contest the lawv as
to conscription. I said to all that I
wams anid am opp)osed to conscription,
but I adivisedl them amid advise them
now not to contest that lawv, b~ut to
'obey it even if it be to the death, for
1 (10 not believe that it would doi any
goodl to contest it in the courts, be
cause 1 am of the opiinion that no
court, not even the supreme court,
would have the nerve to dleclare it un
constitutional in the face of' Congr'ess
You would, therefore, be w:mating your:
money andl creating agitation for
nothing. Let us ali obe~y the laws of
our state ando our nation. * * *I ami not
a .p(Ssimliat. I always look on the
bright side of life, and I console my
self nowv with the thought that i' has
beemn the history of the worid, in ae
cordhance with the slow, but steady
progress of the human race, that the
dlairkest night is ever followed by the
brightest dawn, and my pirayer is that
from the gloom that enshrouds the
land and sea wil Ispeedily emerge a
more splendid (lay than any of the
(lays which have gone beforc, and that
human nature will be softened by the
blood that has been spilledl and by the
tears that have been shed and by the
pr ayers of wvidov~s and orphans that
have ascended to the th!ronie of a pity- I
ing God. But we have a part for
humanity, a stern (duty which looks
towardls the speediest honorable peace,.
and in order that we may perform
that duty well, let us ever keel) in
mimd that noble sentiment of the poet: i
"This, above all, to thine own self be
true and it must follow as the night '
the day, thou can'st not then be false
to any man."
That speech, my fellow-citizens, I l
delivered just seven months ago.
P~les Cured In 6 to 14 Days
Your drugglet will refund nmoney If PAZO1
OINTMENT fails to cure any case of Itchnug,
Dilnd,3Dieeding or Protruiding Pileu inM6to4 dayg
The irat application gives Essae and 'lest. Suin'
At Chapin, in Lexington county, on
August 30, 1917, I said, as reported by
the Lexington Dispatch, the leading
caper of that county:
"At the outset Mr. Blease paid a
nagnificent tribute to the 'men who
wore the grey,' as well as to the cause
For which they fought. Later he urged
.he people to stand by the government
ow, right or wrong; and called upon
.he youn'i men to now don the prov
2rbial khaki instead of the honored
grey. * * * Mr. Please closed with an
impassioned and earnes:, plea to his
friends (for if there be any place on
arth where the former governor can
laim the jrivilege of having frien:Is it
s in the Dutch Fork section of Lex
ngton ), to stand by the flag, and to
!o their parts in the present crisis
vith the same courage and fervor of
pirt which characterized their acts of
he sixties."
In response to one of the invitations
which I had to make an address to a
!ass meetinr, at which it hadi been
intedl to me that there might be a
est of the draft law proposed, I wrote
he committee: "I was and t.m opposed
o conscription, but since our nation
a in the war we must not discourage
>ut on the contrary we must encour
ige every man to do his full duty and 1
o obey to the letter the law of his
tate and his nation, and only along
his line have I spoken or can I speak.
ll men have the right to petition con
ress upon any line that they please
is is oemg done, but no one should
me1ou1'rge an1y man11 not to obey the
aws of his country and his God."
That was on August 15, 1917.
That is the record, my fellow-citi
ens, and I leave it to any fair-minded I
nan as to whether or not the speeches
have made breathe aught but loyal
,y to principle, to country and to God. I
Loud sounding phrases, however, I
lave never yet won a wiar. Men may
)arade up and down the state and the
lation telling in eloquent words of the
;raditions and glory and prowess of
he American people, but victory is to
)e won by the men who fight and the
nan who work, and who show their
faith by their deeds.
To the fullest extent of my ability,
mentally, physically and financially, I
lave (lone all that I could to aid myi
ountry in this her time of need, and
when i my judgment men should not
)e unjustly accusing other men of dis
loyalty and attempting to nag at and
Irive others from doing their duty,
but should be endeavoring to preserve
Et solid unity among ourselves, to keep
lown bickerings, in order that we may
present a solid phalanx to fight the
common enemy. If you will again ex
cuse me for being personal, in order
to show you how maliciously I have
been misrepresented to the people of
my state, I desire to make known to
you my attitude in regard to the war
emergency, not only by what I have
said, as I have already tried to show
you, but by a few of the things that
I have done also.
If you will go back as far as last
April you will find in the proceedings
of one of the fraternities to which
I belong, a resolution unanimously
adopted, offering our services individ
ually and as a body in any capacity
in which we might serve our nation.
You will find that at a convention
:f Reformers held in Columbia in May,
resolutions were adopted, unanimously
reaffirming our allegiance, and pro
testing against discriminations prac..
ticed im war matters South Carolina
against us by petty politicians here
holding high office. That protest was
carried to Washington and when I
went to the national capital as one of
the committee from this convention, I
told Provost Marshal General Crowd
'r in the presence of others, that I
4tood ready and willing, as did all of
my friends in South Carolina, to serve
the United States government in any
rapacity, individually or otherwise. I
further offered him then to raise a
regiment or a brigade of volunteers
and put them in the service of the
Unitedl States, and that I wouldl go
with them either as a private or as an
>fficer. All I asked was that the men
e allowed to name their owvn officers.
I have repleatedl that offer to the gov
arnment as late as inst Saturday
iight. When everything was looking
lark and gloomy On the wvestern front
sent the following telegram: "o
umbia, S. C., March 23, 1918. Ion.
"red II. Dominick, Member of (oin
ress, Washington, D. C. 'Tell General
rowd~er liy offer stands, and that I
tin willing and~ readly to iraise regi
nient of volunteers now~ if men are aml
owedl to elect their officers. Our boys
mre loyal and ready for work. C'ole 'I
iilease(."
When the call for the Liberty ILoan
V1as made ini our State, I went to one
>f the bainks in Columbia and hnor
'owedl the money and pa0id initerer~t on
he note and purchased twvo $500 Lib
rty Bonds, and( 1 have theml now. I
vas inot financially able at that time
o0 mlake the purchase, but I knew that
he honor of our state wvas at stake,
md I wvanted to (do miy part. I also
ssuedl ani add~ress, urgIng miy friends
o come to the rescuIe that South
-arolina might not fail to raise her
luota, and right nobly did they re
1)pond. "Let us, the Reformlers of
south Carolina," I said in thlat pub
ished adldress, "again come to the res;
ue in ordler that the Palmetto flag
nay not trail in the dust, and ill order
hat the Palmetto state cannlot be
'harged wvith being short in her sup
mort to the American army." Continu
ng, I said: "H~owever we maly have
ecen treatedl in this statb by the civil
Luthorities-ignoredl, snubbed and
harged falsely with various things
ve are true to our state andl to our na
ion. We must overlook the lies that
mave been printed and spoken about
as by the anti-press and the prejudiced
peakers who hAvye paraoedl the state.
t is hard to take, but we must take
L: we must overlook it, nnd we must
rise above letting it influence us and
save the (lay for our grand old state
as we have saved it berore. Personally
I am a 0 poor man. ly expenses are
naturally heavy in comi:parison with
my income. There are many calls up
on me to which I respoij with pleas
ure to the extent of my ability. But
with it all I shall endeavor to make
a purchase along the line. I suggest,
and I ask my friends to join me hnd
let us show to the othir crowl that.
while you have failed, we as always
111 Wim, and while you have robbed us
of victories, still We are victorious."
I have day in and day out servad the
soldier boys at Camp .1ackson. '.!any
of them have come to my office an.
I have helped them in vatrius ways.
atni enleavored to encourage all of,
them to do their duty.
It happened to oe my fortune to
awn 41 acres of land near Camp Jacl(
son, with a house and stable on it,
which, f course, was or no great,
value, it having been purchased by
me for $900 at public sale. The gov
ernment has been needing some land
around there for various purposes.
They have been securing it ,of course,
but those of you who inve kept up
.vith affairs in and around Columbia
(now that some people around there
lave been playing hold-up games in
-God save the mark!-the name of
)atriotisn and loyalty. Options on
ands around there secured in time by
one of the very loyal and patriotic
iave added to their riches and some
)f these same people, who have in
:reased their fortunes, have been pre
tented loving cups for their great gen
rosity and public spirit. There was
me man there who owns the street
ar system, and he soiemnly promised
n writing, as one of the inducements
to bring the camp there, that he would
auld a line to the camp and charge
:)lly a five-cent fare each way. The
:'amp was located, the line was built,
but if anybody has ever vet ridden to
the camp for five cents I haven't
beard of it. The legislature at its last
session, by a practically unanimous
vote in both houses, passed an act to
make him stand by his agreement and
his pledge. That act has been held up
for nearly seven weeks by your so
ealled governor in Columbia, and he is
today holding a hearing in his office
as to whether or not he shall sign it
and make Robertson stand by his
agreement. In the meantime the extra
nickles have been pouring into the cof
fers of the Robertson interests in
creasing a fortune which was made
by one Senator Robertson, at the ex
pense of South Carolina, in the ter
rible and horrible (lays of radical and
1'-1
Do Yoi
"This Never C
That is what the farme]
France. If we do noi
happen here.
Invest in Lil
and help end the war <
ocean,~and thus protect
and your country from il
THIS SPACE PAID FOR
A. AB:
Mann ir
AWeIt
THE GREAT WAR HAS MADE
CIGARETTES A NECESSITY.
"Our boys must have their smokes.
Send them cigarettes!" This is a
familiar appeal now to all of us.
Among those most in demand is
the now famous "toasted" cigarette
LUCKY STRIKE. Thousands of this
favorite brand have been shipped to
France. There is something home
like and friendly to the boys in the
right of the familiar green packages
with the red circle.
This homelike, appetizing quality
l of the LUCKY STRIKE cigarette is
largely due to the fact that the Burley
tobacco used in making it has been
toasted. "It's toasted" was the "slo.
gan" that made a great success of
LUCKY STRIKE in less than a year.
Now the American Tobacco Co. is
making 15 million LUCKY STRIKE
Cigarettes a day.
' A good part of this immense pro
duction is making its way across the
water to cheer our boys "a .
negro rule resulting from another war
in which your people and my people
gave and offered their lives for the
south, when Senator Robertson was
building up this same fortune with
the aid of a scalawag legislature. That
is the kind of patriotism we have dis
played by some of the 'holier than
thou" crowd in South Carolina who
would set the standard of loyalty in
this state, which, if followed, would
forever dami South Carolina as a dis
grace to democracy, to humanity and
to civilization. You will pardon this
digression, I am sure. And now to
get back to the little property I owned
out there. The government found it
needed it, and sent a lieutenant to my
office to make terms with me. His
name was Lieutenant Fuller, of the
United States army, and he came in
to see me on the 27th of last month.
lie said: "I am getting up boundaries
and looking into lands owned by
Neely, Patterson and others, and find
that you have a piece of land adjoining
it. I came to see you about it on the
part of the government." I told him I
had never smeen the place. le said,
"Well, the government needy it , or
part of it any, for this rifle range." I
said: "That is all right, sir; go right
(Continued on Page Thirteen)
I-c
IUELLED y6i
i Think
mild lBappen?.'
s thought in Northern
win the war it may
>ertyBonds
>n the other side of the
your home, your town
wvasion and destruction.
AND CONTRIBUTED BY
RAMS,
ig. S. C.