Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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;n 1 ? n i> ip ijiij yOfcl/MJO XXIV. , " ') ? - -L.. -j- aeaBBBgaw OAMDBN. SOUTH CAJKOUNA. FHIUAV, MBFTKMUKK ?, iul?. WW . -4! HH wp? nuMukk ao HUMAN ^WRITES OPEN LETTER AND GOVERNOR BLEASE REPLIES ^ t Correspondence Between |Sc?or Senator and Governor Hakes Interesting Rending. i I The following open letter from B. R. Tillman addressed to JoJernor Pleas* appeared In last day's dally papers: Hon. Colo L. Blease, Columbia, C,~- My Dear Sir: WbUe the r<* hrms from the priary election are lot complete, enough is Jknown to Eke It certain that you and I are loth re-elected to the high office* ^ now hold. In every* way poBsi you have tried to make my old Emends among the people believe (at you are thO TopreeentatiVe of ?tttmanism, and therefore entitled be my political heir. Permit me to explain briefly the Inference between Tlllmanlsm and am as I understand them; am means genuine Democra ts the rule of the people ? of all E? white people, rich and poor Uiko with special privileges and vors to none, with equality of bur ~ tiff "all. H was so understood the Tillnlanltes in 1890 and In 92, and it Is so understood by wn flllljjS v . | Bleaaoisjp on the contrary means prional ambition and greed for of ce? the office to be used, not ur the welfare of all the people id the State, but for VBlease and b frlendn. None others need ap 1 1" "While Tillman as Governor, did ot hesitate to, pardon a constable f telegraph Vrho had been unright* ously punished, by the liquor eler wot in Charleston for raiding Chic^ o's house, Tillman always tried and Id administer the law equally and istly as he understood It. He haq o favorites and tried to obey the ill of the majority of the people, retb in those counties which had Dted against him. He refuted ap~ ointments as trial justice to some t his hitter political op|K>nents but bey had not been elected at & pri mary, but were nominated by his folltical enemies in the legislature. [ Tillman in Washington has never tsked whether a man from South [arolina, who ha$ applied to him br a favor, for promotion or for [rotectlon was a Tillmanite or an *ntj," his only purpose being to ry to discover whether the man r&s trustworthy, honorable and lean and would make good if he fot Tillman's endorsement. 1 believe in sticking to my riends, Governor, but I want to tick by them in the right way and tot in the wrong vtp. y as you have lone. Again Tillman said many larsh and bitter things on the tump, because he was tantalized >nd howled at worse than you have iver been, but healways tried ?11 the truth, and never under the ireatest provocation did , he thread m to make anybody "sweat blood" >r indulge in indecent speech, black iiardism or vulgarity on the stump, [i is not the business of a Gover nor, nor ought It to be permitted to him to threaten his constituents. p>e law is for' the protection of [*ery man an^ not tor thft- gover nor's friends only. f The one thing w&lch gave Tillman the most concern was deajiing with petitions for pardons ? the lifd, l?ath and liberty of the poor Wretches for whom the petitions *ere filed. Blease is charged wltfi jelling pardons through his lawyer rlends and sharing the money. Governor, you know; whether there a any shadow of reason or founda tion for this? I do not, but for rour own fame and good name, as *eli aB for the good name of the >tate you , ought to clear this 'barge up. You cannot afford to :r?at it with silent contempt, for t will not down that way. Tillman *as accused of grafting in the dis pensary, but no proofs were ever wduced or could have been pro? luced. His most effective defence *as that those who charged him nth stealing, would have stolen If hey had had the same opportunl *?s as he hurt Blease is charged with having roted in the legislature as a I aw r?r for a fee rathejr than as the ?gi8lvatie representative of the people. i have not examined the "^cords and Cann6t say whether or 'ot this is true. Others can deter* Ql*?e for themselves and conviot or ^Quit you according to the evidence, *hen the question was asked hy [he infuriated Tillmanites, who felt gat they had been betrayed by P*lr old leeader, "What induced him p> do this?" Bomo o f theift-itl their shouted, "he has tmn bbnght." who in South Carolina knows what toe price of a Tillman Is? Jn Mhington, where he has worked >r the last eighteen years for the ?ate and nation, he has had oppqr nlties almost innumerable to get oney fo offlclalr action. When ho JM in charge of the railroad rate 5JJJ, where there wore hundreds of pillions and ???n billions of drf? *ln. m< he was MH crasy Bouth Carolinian, drunk with Bleaselsm, to burl this supiclon at an old man hovering on the' brink of the grave, u man whose purity In private life and whose. Purity as a servant of the people, has made htm above suspicion. On the Qlght of the election 1 bad a dream In which something told me "Blease Is elected." Be coming fully awake, I thought over all the consequences an the people dreaded thrn, and considered what was best to be done In the event the dream should prove true. I thought of your threeat to make the people "sweat blood" and of what It really meant or could poa slbly mean. The only Interpreta tion that occurred to me was that the Governor would make a general jail delivery by emptying the peni tentiary and turning the convicts loose upon society. You have that power, sir. It was given you for purposes of mercy and not for the punishment of your fellow cltlsens. The governor takes an oath to see that the "laws are executed In meroy." There la In ^be Constitu tion nothing which permita him to trample the law under foot on t&e pretense of mercy, and nothing but venality ?nd greed of money can make him place the pardoning pow er In tlfsTHafittr of a lawyer who charges big fees ,to obtain pardons. As for pardoning the criminals by the wholesale, nobody but a luna tic would do such a thing and no body but a lunatic would threaten ftr Let m? beg you to beware whati you do and say hereafter. Put aj bridle on that unlicensed tongue of yours. You owe It to your- friends, you owe It to yourself and you owe It to the State. " I have been trusted by the peo-! pie as well as you. , They have1 shown their love and confidence in no uncertain way, ^nd I therefore claim the right to warn and to of fer to help you in all matters of, pardons if you will deign to ask my advice. Nobody In South Car olina will doubt the justice of any. paraon I recomme&d. This is a thankless burden I am willing to asstlifte for the public welfare, and I do not expect to do any of the drtidgery of It, but ,1 know men I ban trust whose honor and pa trlotlsm are not only above suspi cion, bilti_Wbo have the respect and confidence of their fellow citizens. I will enlist the help, if I cap, of. ?these to examine the petition* in order to help you, but you shall not, if I can prevent It, carry out your threat to make the people of South Carolina "sweat blood" b^( cause so many of them have not' been "bamboozled and debauched' ; by your demagogic appeals. Con sider, Governor, what It means to turn loose criminals, murderers and cut-throats, and then consider the infamy of boldly and openly offer ing to pardon any man who would kill certain people. Don't you see to what criminal folly you have led^-to give people the right to .thiok that vou will pardon men who assassinate your enemies? Such an infamous idea, never entered any but a crazy man's brain. In your desperation, attempting to reply to my Indictment of yon; In the Ferguson letter, you were unscrupulous enough, to say: "I fear no evil from Senator Till man's letter,- -except that possibly his mind has become more diseased of late than it was when t had my last talk with his confidential phy sician." Everyone knows that you allude] to Dr. Babcock. And a more knight ly gentleman or a more loyal friend to me never breathed and I know you had no authority for It. ? He is not the type of doctor who dis cusses his patients and their ail ments with Tom, Dick and Harry. 1 want to say to you th&t 1 know since my last stroke of paralysis in February 1910, my memory has been much impaired, but the other parts of my brain have gradually and very perceptibly increased In efficiency and vigor, and I am now fully capable of doing as good wor)k as I ever did. The only reasdn Wby I have felt unwilling to make speeches In the 8enate and on the hustings this summeer is because I know I cannot speak with any force or vigor without turning on the full voltage of tbe dynamo. Under excitement the blood rushes to the brain for that Is the way the mind works. Dr. Babcock had warned me that to attempt to make a speech would mean grave danger and the probable bursting of a blood vessel, followed by paralysis or death. Therefore I have refrain ed and restrained myself, though at tlmee the temptation has . been very, very great. But Governor, while jny memory is poor the mor al fibre in me & as sound as it ever was and injr patriotism burns with an eVett brighter flame thin when my health was vigorous. And my consctonoe is in fine working order, too; I can assure yon. When I' told m y wife that I In tended to write an open letter to you and outlined some of the things I intended to say, she PlJ*d iugtou. 8?e knows you told an un truth and has never forgiven you. ' It si iu this spirit 1 now speak. | You have beeu lied on, slandered and abuaed almoat beyond endur ance, but so was I. I had courage, and self - control enough to rtsej above it. You have been weak enough to surrender to the impulse to strike back and to strike below the belt. I want thoae who consider Bless ism as Tllliu suiting to take this con trast In consideration when they make up their final judgment. Till manism aa Tillman preaches it, and has always preached it. ia noble, high and elevating. Bleaselsm la Selfish, low, dirty and revengeful. 1 have been very greatly blessed In my life and every day I return thanka to the Creator for hia many blesalngs. The g'reatest . among these has been a good womau whom Qod gave me In her youth and pu rity forty-five years ago. 1 have had one grief and that wa8 the knowledge that ao many good men in South Carolina seemed implaca ble and irreconcilable In their ha tred of me. These men truly and .honestly hatpd me as badly aa ma ny South Carolinians hate you now, but there are more of them In your case than there ever were in mlne? thank Qod. Honeaty compels me to say that you deserve the hate and distrust in which they hold you. I never did. You had an op portunity when you went into the governor's office such as comes to few men in this life. Your inaug ural, was ft great disappointment to your friends and provoked your en emies to reneWd and relentless ac tivity. You had shown yourself ?too little * and narrow to be gover nor of any atate, for, my dear air, the governor8hlp ia a veryi high hon or, Indeed, but it also carries the very heaviest responsibilities. You will recall when you were elected, two years ago I wired you congrat ulations and added "Let the heath en rage." The heathen have' rag ed, but the righteous also have moaned and their cries are now rising to Heaven in accusation of you. Returning to the blessings which have been, showered upon me, I have bfore I die the satisfaction of knowing, as I now do know, that I have won the admiration, love and confidence of the Anti - TiU manites of old, and ot the Haskel ites even. I owe my re-election t<? the .Senate to these men that came to me wh^n some of my old friends ? the "tfool-hat,, one gallus boys" and my fellow citizens, "who woirk in the cotton mills, were shouting "Crucify him/' "retire him to prV vate life," ,1#we can no longer trust him," etc. My re-election to the Senate is assured and I shall die in harnesfe "when the Lord's time comes to me to go conscious that I all of the good people of the State J now appreciate me and realize at least what manner of man I am. > It is a sweet thought to feel that many of the Haskelites voted for me, ftnd_ rightt here I want to ouy mat nwMiii?' ougnt not to be an epithet of opprobrium in this state any longer. Judge Haskell and I m ude friends before he died and I always felt that he was a blind fanatic. _ who had hfish ied off into the frenzy of IndCpendentism bv the same emotions which your' election has produced. He was a! knightly gentleman and a brave sol dier. Peace to his ashes. \ Haskel ism and Bleaseism ought to be bu ried^ vin the same grave and thej world hear no mpre of either. ? It-is? time for South -Carolinians to quit wounding each other's feel ings and fighting like cats and dogs No good ban come of it and much harm has already come of It, and and more will follow if we do not realize that a "house divided a galnst ? itself cannot stand." As good men voted for Btease" as vot ed . for Jones. They felt it to be their right as citizens and many of them religiously believed that their liberties were In dangeer, for you, Governor, are reported as sayiiig that if Jones was elected- they would never vote again. Jefferson said once, that as . be tween government without newspa pers and newspapers without gov ernment he would take the latter, for the newspapers would keep the people informed and they would have intelligence enough to give themselves good government in some, way. Our newspapers in this state have lost sight of the necessi ty for fair and square dealing with their leaders, so much so that they have not the influettop with the pepole that they ought to have. There is room for a great many re forms in this particular .ana I sin cerely hope that the editors of the 8outh Carolina papers will serious ly consider how the jr ' can regain the confidence of the people again. 80 great has been the distrust caused by the dishonesty and partisanship that hundreds, nay thousands, Of my friends could not b* toade to be lieve that I had written the letter to Ferguson br glVeh out the state ment accompanying It. I received marty many telegrams and letters asking whether it was authentic. This condition, of the public mind has been brought about by seeing that the new?M*ers in ttber h^ad lilnes and in xhp body dpthe.ftrti cles themsel vei, distort " an4 color unrighteously the factB. When the pepleo are Taught \hey can' always be trusted, Wit When the people distrait the newspapers and be lieve them corrtrpt and dtshonr"1 land: gtam .to all manner # If I over get able to speak again I want to go tothree counties in South Carolina, aud talk to my old friends f%c? to face, Anderson, Uu r?n* >And York. n You have stolon tlu> Hove uud confidence of thoss rule ? ] did not lose it; you stole Who would ever have believed it possible that the men who twen ty-two yearn ago were so freniied In their Tillnianiam and worship of Tillman aa to uuhltcb tbe horses iroru ina carriage and hltcb them selves In to drag him in triumph through tbe atreeta would come to distrust, bate and abuse him wlth Out cauae. Mudauie Roland it waa who ex-, claimed: "Oh, Liberty, what crimee are committed in thy name." Not ing the progress which haa been made toward tbe demoralisation a moiiK tbe Democr&ta in South Caro lina one can about, "Oh. Democracy, will the people never learn to know tbelr true friends from their false leaders, never to distinguish be tween a statesman and a demagog, always listening to flattery and swae wordh without looking below the surface and the true Inwardness of things and men." To think that tbe very men for whom 1 have done moat, the poor farmera and factory people, should turn and rend me tbia way! I gave them Clemaon and Winthrop. At least 1 bad mora to do with it than any other one man. I gave them tbe primary, for I, in SonJ unction with my brother, Oeeo. >. THI man, wrote the Democratic fttatp Constitution with my own feftp# and made the rules governing the primary and aafeguarded 1n ev ?ry possible way their rights bo that now every citisen has a voice in the government and can protect blmpcif if he has sense enough. A,\\ pleasure and satisfaction in toy re - election to the Senate is gone because of tbe desertion of these old friends and followers of mine. |t makes me doubt seriously wfeethei^ I have not erred grlevpus lyVlh giving tbe power of self-gov ernment to these people and teach tfcif them their, rights. They show woeful lack of gratitude. I feel that when I am dead and in -grave that they will realise and understand the criminal folly of their action and tbe enormity of J he betrayal of their best friend. I mow If X could have fipoken to them this summer this tragedy coul not have occurtbd. When'theBfe old mends have had time to cool off and think it all over they will curse themselves for such b*^e ingrati tude and for thoir idiocy, in being missed by a demagogue. To think tb>ti they bad been such fools as ^ot-jto understand and grant the qHf^maiTli last plea "to die in hafnefy" Serving them and serving thfe state and nation? Oh,, it is pitiful! * .' ? ?? . ? 1 The object of every true patriot should be to pour oil upon the ; trou bled waters and bring a return of harmony and good will among our people. "Let us have peace," and if that cannpt be' given ua let us see what a return to decency and sanity will accomplish.. If yo ucan clear yourself of the foul accusations made against you in the Governor's office, and will pursue a wholly different policy hereafter, there' is some future for yoUr -lor-nthe state Vit.' lit Iron do not, your name will go down in "his tory as the very w6rst native South Carolinian who was ever governor, Moses not excepted. I repeat, you are eminently qualified to be gover nor, as far as brains go," and if you reform and make good in the two years you have yet to serve in that office the pftople may forgive you. But you must He governor of the whole pedple and not of your frineds alone and they will take care of your future destiny, always supposing that you clear yourself of the lnfamoua charges that have been brought against you. Etor unless" you .do that you can never hope to aspire to higher promotion, for the people of South Carolina will never send to Washingtton a man not above suspicion. Your destiny is largely in your hands. Governor. For the honojr of your state I hope you can and will clear yourself^ May God forgive you for the sins you have committed against your self and the people of this state. Governor Blease, you are given another opportunity; will you make use jot it and show that you are a man and not a demon? fcut the devil behind you and be the gover nor of all people instead of your friends alone. Conquer yourself and instead of being the governor of seventy - two thousand, become the governor of the one hundred and forty thousand men in Soutth Caro lina: If yon do this the "heathen will quit raging" while the right eous, will rejoice. You have the brains, make use of themt . insteda of giving way to your evil passions. L do assure you that you will die a happier man if you will follow this advice. Conquer your enemies by Klndheas and Justice. You can not QQpguer them in any other way. (Signed) B. R. Tillman. T rentbn; 8. C., Aug. 30, 1912. y Ct' .. * ?? i ?? W ' M -? " . . ? Blease Answers Tillman. . i Colombia, Sept. 1. ? Got. Blease this afternoon gave out (he follow ing open letter ln-**&ly to Senator Tillman's letter. Hon. B. R. Tillman, Trenton, S. C. Is selfish an d scorrupt. However, I shall My nothing bareh in reply thereto. The newspapers have abused me moat wilfully and maliciously, and after tuy luauKUratiou, they had a hill Introduced which gave them un limited power in their abuse of candidates for public office. 1 ve toed that bill and succeeded lu having it rejected. Since then, no act of mine ban met with the ap proval of the edUow, but on the coutfary, every suggestion of mine ? ? whether it be for the best inter est of the state or not*? has been fought aud sueered at. The result has been that great injury has been done to the state by the newspa pers, the people luslde of the state, knowing that the nwspapers were publishing what was untrue aud that they were unfair, have been made stronger for me. During this campaign 1 have beeu most maliciously lied on. My speeches have been mlscontrued, dis torted and parts of sentences whlah I used have been published whioh have made it appear that 1 said thing* which 1 did not Say ? for in stance: "To hell with the consti tution" was used by me In this way ?Jones said that the separate coach bill was unconstitutional. 1 said that If there was anything In ttu? constitution which forced the white ladle* of South Carolina to associate with negro men, then to hell with the constitution, and ev ery other white man iu South Caro lina, whose mind is not diseased, will thoroughly agree with me in this statement. I said, at another time; that if I was defeated for re-election by the old Haskelite crowd that ,1 would make them sweat political blood. I meant that when I said It and I mean it now ? not by pardoning criminals which you seem to have dreamed with your eyes open qr by any other maladministration of the offce of giovernor, but strictly ul a political way. Now, you see sir, if these two sentences had been published in full none would have had a right to have complained. The last session of the legislature fought me bitterly and unjustly ? Jones, having been brought Out for governor, remained in Columbia practically during the ent)fo session And directed Its affairs for selfish Interest, and not for tho best Inter est of the people. When the campaign first opened, he and his friends pitched it not on measures or principles, but on me and my personal character. Jones charged me and my friends with being anarchists and charged fije With being a crook by protect ing criminals and otherwise. Is too, made amny speeches "before the opeiting of the campaign, but never referred to Mr. -Jones at all. At Sumter, in npr opening speech, I did not. He followed, and his ha rangue was bitter ai^inst mex and from that day until the close of the campaln he never preBented a single reason why he should be gov ernor of South Carolina, but took up his time abusing me and my friends and trying to explain the miserable record he made as leg tslator and judge. At Blshopville I exposed his re* cord, and, after tllttt speech' yrttn^ read by the people of Bo'Uth Caro-, llna, Jonees might as well have re tiredfrom the race, for he never. had a look-in from that time on. I conducted my campaign on a high plane, but having been most severely criticised, lied on and abus ed, I struck back and in no uhcer tainterms; ?7 ? ? ? : ? When the Augusta slush came for ward and the John Grace filth was poured forth, when dirty and filthy circulars, unsigned, were Bllpped un der the doors of the people at night and broadcasted throughout the state, when the ministers _and preachers were praying and preachlh against me, and when the newspa pers, every issue, were hralding vl tupratlon, slandrs and abuse against me, I continued to hold my temper, did not get mad ? as tbey hoped I would do ? and even when Jones in sulted me, I had too much respect for his gray hairs and old age to, even slap him with my open hand. Some may oall this cowardice, jnst as some called it cowardice when Qen. Butler gave you a cursing on a railroad train wheen you gave as your excuse for not resenting it, that he had only one leg. I had every reason to believe ? having stood by you in 1890; at Helena, when I stepped between you and a man who had a pistol drawn to kill you, andr when the crowd rushed forward and broke down the platform, I had you picked up by your adinlrers and carried into my father in law's 'home, * which was in a few yards of the grove where you were speaking, for pro tection ? that you were my friend. In the legislature 1 differed with you sometimes and did not vote ac cording to your dictation, but, sen ator, .1 have never Worn any man's political collar; . bave never beefc bossed or dictated (to by any man, anh I never expect to, for 1 have been Selected govrnor of South Car olina by the people and 1 recognise no boss but ?h6 'people, and the people have shown, last Tuesday* that they recognise no boss at Ml. In addition to my political sup port of yon, the position which | took as lawyer and witness in say upon the pftcw of U* Sooth dK (CoMlnoM dnBB fcmr.) MANY YOUNG LADIES TO BE IN PIANO CONTEST 1Y IK NOW ON IN KAHNK8T ANI> IK A riil'/I<: WSlili WOliTH WORKING ?X)K. The circulation con teat to be oar i on Ly T iie CU con tele during the next few wwks hns begun in earnest. To judge from the large - Hat of young ladles In Kershaw county who have been nominated an contestants, there must be a great number of popular young ladies In our county. Here 1? a chance for the friends of the young ladles to help them and at the same time help us. Everyone has an equal chance to win the piano? there be-' lug no favorites. The Chronicle hu? put on this contest In order to get In touqh with the people of the coounty who are not subscribers. The plan is to add a number pf new corres pondents In the localities which are not in touch with the remainder of the county. The Chronicle Is Interr eBted In the people of these com munities and hope you are Inter ested In It, so why not. co-operate? You help them by giving them a subscription which will coount 1.000 votei foT the yooung lady In whoee name It Is sent, and we will do our best to give you the ii?wh of the whole county. Qnly a county paper can keep you posted on the county news. The Chronicle has never solicited subscriptions. All subscriptions have been voluntary, and It has op ened this conteBt to be the organ of the whole county. The weekly inorease in subscriptions leads us to think that the contestants will have no trouble In getting their frlendp to subscribe, pay up baok HUBcriptlone or renew them, ana let It count so many votes for them. One proof that The Chronicle 1* a welcome addition to the week'* mall Is the 'fact that the Kershaw Guards were sd glad to see ;Tfce Chronicle When sent them at Att nlstion that ' there waa a regular scr^nble tor a copy. It meant "a letter from home" find what could mean mooret The college boys( girls are just as glad , to see It when off at school - Even tho- nd^----? vertlsements are of Interest. If you have ever noticed you know that we only advertise "home mer chants" ? our mail order cartoon* substantiates this. We have set a standard for The Chronicle and try to give you 4 "home" paper at as little cost .to you as possible. We try to give an accurate account of the news, and even of the political) discussions, that Is, we state the facts, as they come to us and let you form your own opinions and not force otirs upon you. These are some of bur reasons rOr opening this contest. "Last, but not least," Is the piano we of fer to- winner. We want you to try it for yourself and not take take our wbr<j for It. It will be ? on exhibition sodn. See a list of satisfied owners of Kimball pianos " published elsewhere today. The contestants have our good wishes for we are anxious as they to Bee who will be the lucky Win ner. ? TAKKN TO NOHTH CAROLINA - ? V Young Man Wanted in That State Forced Away In Auto. An unusual case will likely come up at the next term of -eourt here, ? that of three North Carolina men forcing a South Carolina citizen across the state line. It seems that young Ranz Dorrity, a cotton mill operative, of this city had formerly lived lh Rockingham, N. C., Where he had gotten Into some trouble for a minor offense. Qe put up bond for his appearance and returned to Camden. /Three citizens of Rockingham came by auto to Camden last week and under pre tense of having the case settled in duced young Dorrity to accompany them in the automobile to Camden. Instead of stopping in the city they headed for Rockingham, carrying the young man With them. The father of the young man has em ployed counsel and will carry the case to the ceurta on charge of re moving a citizen from one state to another without requisition papers. I "<?!> , ? BROKE HIS ARM. '. If / v, t jv > ' J Dr. W. #, Dunn Suffered Serious' In Jury by Falling.