Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BLE?SE'S NEGRO SPEECH SPOKE TO NEGROES AFTER LAST PRIMARY?TWO VERSIONS GIVEN. One Account of Allen University Ad dress in The State, Another in The Samaritan Herald. Walhalla, Aug1. 15.?Different news paper reports of the speech delivered by Cole L. Blease at Allen University before 400 negroes between the pri mary and the general election two years ago, when a prospective bolt of the Democratic party was being en tertained by leaders of the Blease fac tion and when Blease discussed with the negroes how he had been robbed out of the nomination were held up to the Oconee county audience here today as a warning to the people of South Carolina. The report of the speech as it appeared in The State, which report was denied by Blease three weeks after it had been deliv ered, was read by N. B. Dial along with the one the negroes made in their own newspaper, The Samaritan Herald. The lAurens county candidate urg ed upon the people the necessity of registering. Although Blease had made an earnest plea through the Charleston American just prior to the State convention for the State-wide canvass, he had refused this summer to "attend the regular campaign meet ings making a speech at only one of these, and at one when he was in troduced refused to speak ''Under the hammer of a partisan Democratic executive committee,' 'and held his own meeting. Mr. Dial showed to the audience the Blease independent tick et of two years ago put out by W. P. Beard, notorious Blease leader in the State, now in the federal penitentiary t in Atlanta for disloyalty. The. name of Cole L. Blease was at the head of the ticket. Mr. Dial also reminded the voters that instructions as to voting the in dependent ticket years ago were published in different Blease news papers of the State, and Blease him self advised his followers that they were not bound by the primary oath to support the nominee. "I am not bound, unless I see fit to be, nor is any other m?n bound to support the nominee of the Democratic party as declared by the State Democratic ex ecutive committee in the primary held .September 12, 1916." Blease said to his following through the newspapers which were supporting him. The meeting today was attended bj 450 or 500 voters, who applauded with much enthusiasm the arraignment oi Cole L. Blease, because of his war stand. W. P. Pollock said that Blease now with a conscience as accusing as that of Macbeth because of the Po maria and Filbert speeches was cry ing "Out, out damned spot." In nc place the senatorial party has been has the linking of Cole L. Blease tc the kaiser and the ^ending of the two out into the realms of oblivion brought from the crowds such an ex plosive burst- of applause. Senator Benet will leave the partj for Washington at the end of the week, to take his seat in the senate for .the new man power bill debates. Men, guns, munitions and ships are to- be furnished without stint or limit, Mr. Benet says, that the boys may finish the job and come home. He would rather see 5,000,000 men in the uniform one year than 1,000,000 in uniform five years, and he expects tc sq. vote when he gets to Washington. Senator Benet is making a striking, aggressive campaign. His speches are eloquent and forceful and he is puttinr in every moment at his dis posal in extra canvassing. Jim:es Francis Rice says he will be keenly disappointed if he does not get th?% majority of votes in Oconee county, since he was a missionary or teacher in the county for two years when he first came to the State. Reports of the speech delivered by Cole L. Blease at Allen University to the negroes between the primary and the general election in the fall of 1916 were published in two papers. The State and The Samaritan Herald. The report in The State was denied by Blease 19 days after publication. The report in the negro newspaper was never denied. The following report of the speech appeared in The State, October 4, 1916: Cole L. Blease was the chief speak er yesterday at the opening exercises of Allen University, a large negro school in Columbia, despite the pro test of Tuesday morning by alumni and former students, who petitioned President Mance and the faculty that the invitation be withdrawn, "as it will greafly embarrass our wives and daughters to have ex-Governor Blease speak to them, since he has spoken so harshly in the courts and on the stump against the virtues of the ne gro women and the respect and de cency of negroes in general." Mr. Blease made no direct refer ence in his speech to this petition, but ? he Rev. W. D. Chappelle. D. D., bishop of the African Methodist Epis copal church in this State, who intro duced the ex-governor as "the strongest white man in the State of South Carolina'' and one whose par doning record had removed all sting in things "said on the stump" was somewhat scathing in his denuncia tion of those who presumed "to dic tate the policies of a great church." "Who are they, anyway?" Chappelle a^ked. Then in answer to his own ? uery he remarked. "They aren't known outside of their own back yard." The harsh things said on the stump, the bishop observed, were only to tickle the ears of the voters and thereby gain their support. Ten minutes were consumed by Bishop Chappelle in his speech of in troduction, generously seasoned with superlative In asking the ex-governor, he had sought, he said, to get the strongest man in the State. He had gone care fully over the records, careers and: deeds of all the governors of South Carolina, and Mr. Blease. he said, easily held first rank. Several par don cases, where the former frovern "r "by a single stroke of the pen set that ne.irro free " were cited. Orm of these was that of a 11 year old ne IB HELD IN VISE. ./ FRENCH CRUSHING GERMAN RE SISTANCE IN ROTE SECTOR. Advance of Allies Toward Noyon Pressed With Stubborn Determina tion- :ns Defend Dines Desper ately Paris, Aug. 16.?(1 P. M.)?Roye is held in a vise like grip by the French. Stubborn resistance by the Germans is being crushed and the French are slowly encircling the town. The French advance at Villers Les-Roye makes the fall of Roye in evitable, it is believed by military men. The Germans are clinging des perately to a range of hills east of Ribecourt and are also stubbornly de fending the Lassigny-Oise canal, the loss of which will entail the evacu ation of Noyon. _ gro boy sent up for life. The con gressional controversy between the negro, George Washington Murray of Sumter and a white man, Colonel Moise, ot the same district was also reviewed by the bishop in all its ram ifications. Later in his speech Mr. Blease reminded the bishop that it was he (Mr. Blease) who had made Murray the congressman from this State instead of the white man. Mr. j Blease was then a member of the I canvassing board and cast the decid ing vote. "If I had got justice three weeks ago and if the board had been as honest" he said yesterday, "I would be the next governor of South Carolina." He had always sought, he said, to do justice to the negro re gardless of his color. Much speculation had been engag ! ed in by the negroes themselves as to the character of speech Mr. Blease would deliver, but the speaker throughout his discourse spoke guard edly and with moderation. He said he had been misunderstood by the negroes, whom he greeted as "my friends." In politics he had always urged that taxes negroes paid should go to the support of negro schools. School boards, he said, chiseled the negroes out of their just apportion when making apportionment for the schools of the two races. Christian citizenship was earnestly com mended to the students of the school. "I don't make much profession my self. I have been so hounded, vilified and abused that I often go by my own church, refusing to enter, be cause. I know that there are hypo crites and scoundrels at the com munion table, who are a disgrace to God Almighty." The students were told to "aim high, tell the truth and to attain the ends of a worthy ambi tion honestly," and not by slipping books under the desks in the examina tion room or copying information from their cuffs. Referring to the sentiment in the petition, by inference Mr. Blease said he had never insulted "a colored girl.',' "I have never wronged any woman, whie or black. Neither have I spoken a word of slander against any woman/' A slanderer was de nounced as "a most contemptible cur." The ex-governor's attitude toward convicts was somewhat enlarged up on. He sometimes thought he said, that all penitentiaries, jails and court houses might be abolished. What was the use of these and the church too. he asked his audience, that applaud ed his words with increasing volume, and punctured the unfinished sen tences often with confirmative com ment. An overruling Providence was held up as the mighty avenger of all wrongs, both political and spiritual, and certain political con troversies were enumerated to sus tain this assertion, the names of those wronged being tastefully withheld. In urging that the negro students hitch their wagons to a star, the race just up from ' slavery, was cordially commended for its entrance into pro fessions and the varied phases of commercial life. "You are coming into higher things," they were told. "They can't hold you back despite what I or any other man may say." he said, while the auditorium roared with cheers of approval. B. W. Mance, president of the uni versity was reared in Newberry coun ty, and the Newberry negro was the choice of Mr. Blease to head State ne gro college at Orangeburg when an attempt was made to oust Miller, the president of that institution, during the Blease administration. Mance I himself took occasion at the conclu sion of Mr. Blease's speech to deliv er another' laudatory speech in which he recalled the early efforts of Mr. Blease at the Newberry bar, "when Cromer and Johnstone and Schum pert and Welch and the late lament ed Pope were the giants in the legal profession there." These had dwindl ed into the proportions of "mere pygmies" in comparison with Mr. Blease. before Mr. Blease was elevat ed to the governor's chair, Mance argued. The president of the school commended the examples of Mr. Blease and Bishop Chappelle to the students as worthy of emulation. I Both, he said, were known through out the United States and it was only j through their zeal and adherence to worthy purposes that they had been I able to carve their way through un j toward circumstances. The Samaritan Herald, a negro pa per, carried the following report of the same speech: Allen university opened last Wed j nesday with about 400 students. Dr. j B. W. Mance. th;- new president] I seemed to know his business, as though h--> were a whole term. We as! 1 trustees were hospitably entertained! with what the appetite ? could bear. Bishop W. I). Chappelle, the new' bishop, knows his business, and per-j forms his duty like a hero. He is his' own dictator*. Kx-Govornor Blease was present, and was introduced to speak by the bishop, who prefaced as; follows: Mr. President and board of trus-; tees: I feel that we arc compliment-j cd to have one of the strongest white,' men in South Carolina, in the person] of ex-Gov. Cole I,. Blease. to speak toj this people. in asking the protec tion foi our people. J watched care-' m ARTILLERY BATTLE. GERMANS BOMBARD BRITISH LEV ES ALONG ENTRIE FRONT. Britisli Continue Forward Movement on Somme Front to'? Gain Advan tageous Positions-r-No Further Withdrawals by Germans. With British Army in Prance, Aug. 16 (10.30 A. M.)?Enemy artillery vras active last night from one end of the British front to the other. The activity was especially marked along the new Somme battle front, in the Essarts sector and in the region of LaBassee. where there was a heavy bombardment. All along the Some front the Brit ish are continuing various slight for ward movements to gain advantag eous position. There are no further reports of widespread withdrawals by the enemy in this region. BRITISH PRESS ONWARD. Germans Being Pushed Back in Re gion of Morlancourt. London, Aug. 16.?South of Al bert the British advanced their line slightly in 'the region -northeast of Morlancourt, it is officially announc ed. Local fighting occurred last night on the east bank of .Ahcre, on the outskirts of the Piav Wood. Further north the British pushed their pa trols eastward on a three mile front, between Beaumont-Sur-Ancre and Puisieux-au-Mont. IMPORTANT GROUND GAINED. French Advance Two and a-Half Miles West of Roye. Paris. Aug. 16.?The French made, an important advance on a front oi two and a-half miles west of Roye. the war office announced today. Pro gress was made in the region of VII lers-Roye, about two and a-half miles west of Roye, St. Aurin and Arman court. WITHDRAW TN LYS , SALIENT. Germans Retire Two Miles on Nine Mile Front. London, Thursday, Aug. 15.?Fur ther slight enemy withdrawals fron the Lys salient were announced iij. London today. The enemy evacuated the village of Vieux-Berquin, south of Meiris, and has retired one to two miles on a front of nine miles. AMERICAN AVIATORS IN ACTION. They Successfully Boom Railroad Station Near Verdun. With American Army "In France. Tuesday, Aug. 13.?American avia tors successfully bombarded the rail road yards at Dommery, -Baroncourt in Verdun-Metz area this morning. Longuyon, north of Verdun, and Thiacourt were attacked! Wednes day. PRO-GERMANS TE^RTFTJED. German Embassy Suddenly Leaves Petrograd. London, Aug. 16.?Anti-Entente circles in Petrograd were surprised j and dismayed when the German em bassy and mission which had gone t< Petrograd from Moscow, suddenly left Petrograd, according to a' Stockholm dispatch. ^ujux American Casualty List. Washington, Aug. 16.?The first section of the army casualty list con tains 43. Killed in action, 18; wound ed severely, 25. fully the record of all the governors and decided on ex-Governor Blease We want the friendship of our white people. I want money. I am goim> to ask him for it to help lift up out people. I don't believe that Cole L. j Blease will insult my wife, or no oth I er colored lady, any more than he [ would like for any one to insult his I wife, or any of their white ladies. ! The bishop now introduced Colonel Blease, who rose and said in part: Mr. President and Members of the Faculty and My Friends: I want to congratulate you for having such an able Christian gentleman as you. president, if his face is black. I have ! known him from his boyhood, and always thought he would make a great man. I would trust my daugh ter in his hands as well as you are trusting yours. They said that I am against the negro. Nay, I am a friend of the negro. You are robbed out oi i your rights by the unjust laws of this J State. How will the judges and ju rors stand before God who will take jadvantage of a powerless race? What I kind, of a law has this State that will j not allow a negro representation on' ! the jury or prohibit him of his j rights in any way? If this State would j give you all of the moneys from the j tax paid by your people, you would ! have better schools and also longer j terms. I am not against educating i the negro, but only wanted the taxes j of each race set aside for its inter I mediate purpose. Yes, this State is i rotten. They're robbing you out of j your rights, but there's a God above i that will bring them into judgment. I , have never insulted a colored woman. I The man that woulel insult a woman i is worse than the darkest cloud that j ever held over the firmament. Girls iakid boys, your character is what God ! gave you. and can never be taken j away. But your reputation is what you make it. and what the world says j of you. If justice was given me. 11 would have been your governor today, j But it is white people that is stealing | (Line dropped out) some years .ago. and political thieves, I but the negro is now out of it. and] who is now doing the stealing? I j am a Methodist, and. will never leave, my church, but I do not attend be- j cause thieves and robbers are at the) communion able and I am not going to associate with them. What is the use for- jails, penitentiaries, chain-j gangs .-md the church too. If n'" the leaders of the people were right-? eous. there would not be any use for prisons- for the leaders of ..the people! have caused them to err. Building Materia ? MM?? IBOT LIME, LATH, BRICK, CEMENT, SIDINfi, CEILING. PLASTER, SHINGLES, FLOORING, MOULDINGS, FIRE CLAY, FIRE SRICK, ROUGH LUMBER RUOFING PAPER 9 Feed- Stuffs HAY, CORN, OATS, HULLS, TANKAGE, MIDDLINGS, RICE FLOUR, WHEAT BRAN, SUGAR FEED, MEAT SCRAP, CHICKEN FEED, OYSTER SHELL, SEED OATS AND RYE, COTTON SEED MEAL oc, Sumter, S. C. BATTLE SLOWS DOWN. ALLIES STILL CONTINUE OFFEN SIVE, BIT GAINS ARE SMALL. Compared With Tcrriflic Blows Ear lier in Week Efforts Thursday Re sulting in Gains for Allies Are Not Outstanding?Germans Continue to Fall Back. The fighting on the Somme-Oise battle front still continues of a minor character compared with that of the early part of the week, when the Germans reinforced their line and stopped the eastward sweep of the allied forces. Nevertheless the ' British and French again have been able to gain ground on two important sectors? the British a short distance north west of Roye, where they took the villages of Damery and Parvillers and the French on the southern wing of fhe battle front where they captured I two farms in the process of clearing the hilly and wooded district around Lassigny of the enemy. North of the Somme between Al bert and Arras the Germans are con tinuing to fall back and the British are keeping in close contact with hem. Thus far the Germans have definitely given up ' the towns of Beaumont, Hamel, Serre, Bucquoy l and Puisieux-au-Mont and at sev eral points have crossed the Ancre River, with the British following closely on their trail. No official ex planation has yet been advanced of che retrograde movement of the Ger mans over this front, but it is not at all unlikely that the operations on the Somme front and the harrassing actics made the enemy desirous of establishing himself on new ground eastward with the Ancre River a bar rier between him and his foes. At any rate the Ilebuterne salient has vir tually been obliterated by the retire nent of the Germans and seemingly they now will be compelled to make \ readjustment of their line* between ihe Somme and Arras. In thp week of fighting in the Picardy front, 34,24 1 prisoners have fallen into the hands of the British Fourth Army and French First Army. Of ths number the British captured 21.S44. Unofficial reports, probably complied since the official data was sent from the front give the I number of prisoners in the hands of the British Fourth Army since Aug ust 8 as 34,000, and says also that J70 captured guns thus far have been counted . I The situation in Russia again is looming large. Soviet leaders have J iled from Moscow, the Bolshevik cap-! ital, to Kronstadt and the Soviet! .roops now are declared to have be- j gun the evacuation of Moscow. Amer- j ?can troops have begun to disembark j at Vladivostok to aid the Czecho-j Slovak army in its campaign in Si beria, an allied army is chasing the; enemy more than loi) miles south of j Archangel on the railroad further al lies have made a landing southwest of Archangel, and are endeavoring to cut off the retreat of the Soviets, while British troops have arrived at Baku in the Caucasus on the Caspian j ^ea to assist the Armenians in de fending their important seaport | against the Turks, to whom it was j given by the Brest Litbvsk treaty in j che attempt made by the Teutonic al-j des to dismember Russia. Thus it would seem a died forces; now arc operating jointly on three j important sections of Russian terri-j tcry?on the north with a base in the j White sea. in the east with a base in; the sea of Japan, and on the south in! Trans-Caucasia. Probably realizing the seriousness; of the situation as it now affects the j central v powers, with defeats on thei western front and their military po sitions in the other theatres none; too secun?with the feeling in Bus-! sia daily growing more intense' ? gainst the Bolshevik and Germanic rule, and with the spectre of the morej than 1.000.000 Americans elready inj France and more millions of them j seen to be in readiness for overseas! duty, important conferences are inj progress at German headquarters. The German and Austrian emperors and their suites and Field Marshal von Hindenburg and General Luden dorff are the main conferences. j Washington, Aug. IT.?War indus tries hoard lias refused to grant pri ority for iron, steel and fuel for the manufacture of cotton gins, having reached an agreement with the man-j iif?cturers t-> curtail production of gins for next year. ' PASSING OF BOLSHEVDXI NOW SEEMS NEAR AT HAND. Rout of Government of Leninc and Trotzky in Russia Will Bring Dis may to Germany?Allied Troops Move From Archangel. Washington, Aug. 15.?The march of events in Prussia from news receiv ed today, seems to be rapidly assum ing the proportions of a rout of the Bolshevik and of a nature to bring dismay to Germany. With the allied troops rapidly mov ing south from Archangel forces of British, French, Japanese and Amer ican troops at Vladivostok are oper ating to the westward, and a British force at Baku the Czecho-Slovaks have taken new heart in their heroic right against the Germans and Aus trians. Late dispatches today recorded the advance of the Allied troops from Archangel to Pabereshkaia, 100 miles south on the road to .Vologda. The Bolshevik are retiring and were re ported committing every known atro city upon the civilian population which openly has espoused the cause of the Allies. The Bolshevik throughout Russia are reported not only fleeing from the advancing Allies but the newly aroused Russians who have learned that the Allies are not beat en on the west front, as the Germans and Bolshevik have been persistently preaching. As the real news reaches the great mass of the people the men are reported taking up the arms that they carried home with them when they were disbanded after the de bacle of Brest-Litovsk. One of the State department officials declared to day that far from being tired of fight ing and wanting only to get back to their homes, as the German propagan dists have reported the Russians are more anxious than ever to fight for their freedom which they thought they had lost soon after having gain ed it by revolution. One proof of this is found in the marching of armed bands of peasants upon Petrograd demanding food and charging that the Red Guard have robbed their farms and stores of all provisions. The soviet of Petrograd, fully ap preciating the menace of the arous ed peasants, have fled to Kronstadt, where, with Lenine and Trotzy, many observers believe the soviet govern ment is making a last stand. Reports official and otherwise from all parts of Russia indicate the news of the approach of the Allies is spreading throughout the country and that peasants are flocking to the standards of any group that is open ly anti-German and anti-Bolsheviki. The landing of American troops at Vladivostok announced today by Secretary Baker marks the beginning of operations from the Siberian coast to the relief of the Czecho-Slovaks. British and French contingents have been at Vladivostok for several days and there is reason to believe the Japanese have also landed. The principal opposition to the Bol sheviki and the armed German and Austrian prisoners is on the Siberian railroad between Lake Baikal and Vladivostok. All the rest of the line to Moscow is in the control of the Czecho-Slovak troops and the loyal Russians and Siberians. The control of the road from Vladivostok to Xiekolsk. the junction of the Man churian Eastern line and the Siberian road, is in the hands of the Allies. This permits of striking a blow di rectly at Lake Baikal, where the op position is concentrated because the Manchurian road has been constantly under guard of the Japanese by ar rangements with the Chinese gov ernment. There is little doubt that this will be the first movement of consequence from Vladivostok. The reported arrival of British troops at Baku is another feature of supreme importance to the Allies. Xot only does it mean that the German control of the Baku oil lands and refineries is seriously threatened, but it opens another possible road into Rusisa from the south for Allied troops to enter. SLOVAKS CAPTURE IRKUTSK. Anti-Bolsheviki Forces Aided by Si heriaiis Have Taken Important I City. Washington. Aug] IT.?The capture at* Irkutsk by the Czecho-Slovaks aided 1>V the Siberian people's army r?n July 7th was announced in a be lated dispatch from American consul Harris at Irkutsk, dated .Inly '12, kvlueh was received at the State do nartmeni today. M'LAUBIN FOR DHL HATRED OF' BLEASE FOR THE PRESIDENT WELL KNOWN. Former Senator Says There is Ziht a Man Closely Associated With Fann er Governor Who Docs Not Know of it?Comes Out Squarely Against Blease. Columbia, Aug. 16.?"Surround ex-Governor Blease with the protec tion afforded by senatorial privileges and he can and will do a vast amount of harm. There is not a man closely associated with him who has not heard his bitter denunciations in pri vate conversation, and who does not know his intense hatred of President Wiison," says John Lowndes Mc Laurin of Bennettsville, in a letter to Ashley C. Tobias, secretary of the Democratic executive committee. Mr. McLaurin was writing Mr. Tobias for the purpose of instructing that his name be left off of the Democratic primary ballots. The letter of the Marlboro man follows in full: Aug. 14th, 1918. Mr. Ashley C. Tobias, Secretary, Democratic Executive Committee,. Columbia, S. C. Dear Sir: In response to an in quiry from you, I requested that my * name be left off the official ballot. Since coming home and getting a clearer understanding-of the -situa tion I find that my friends are em barrassed and I wish to relieve them entirely. You will, therefore, omit my name in preparing the official bal lot. The overshadowing issue in this State is the situation precipitated by Senator Tillman's death. Shall we' or not send a man to the senate who can be relied upon to support the policies of Woodrow Wilson. Now that I have no interest except as a private citizen it may have some weight to express myself. A Urnted states senator just now is a very im portant individual. We have sedi tion laws which suppress the private citizen, but the United States sena tor can say what he pleases and it ^oes all over the world in the Con gressional Record. He cannot be held to account for it. I do not like Mr. Dial personally, nor do I think that he is by any means the / choice of the people of South Carolina, but as between him and ex-Governor Blease, I shall certainly cast my bal lot for Dial. This world is in su preme agony and its eyes are turned upon the United States; it is her mis sion to save jivili^ation. It is not merely a cr'i? ion of the military de feat of Gerr ny. We will do that^er tainly wich * the next few mont^. It is the dan-i of a new world era; Rus sia, the Balkans and the Orient are In a seething ferment and stable gov ernment must be established there before a lasting peace can come. By common consent of mankind every where, the nations have adopted Woodrow Wilson as their mouthpiece and spokesman. Before it is all over, we may have the United States of the world; at any rate, the world can get along now without Woodrow son. He may have to accept, a th term. He must certainly be placed ?n some dominant position where he can still utter the thought of Chris tendom. It would be a shame and disgrace to send a man to the senate who had bitterly attacked Mr. Wilson personally and who was utterly un abie to appreciate his wonderful breadth of vision until an unholy de sire for office caused the scales to fall from his eyes. Surround ex Gov. Blease with the protection af forded by senatorial privileges and he ^an and will do a vast amount of harm. There is not a ,man closely associated with him who has not heard his bitter denunciation in pri vate conversation, and who doe6 not know his intense hatred of President Wilson. Yours respectfully, Jno. Lowndes McLaurin. ttirW LABOR SHORTAGE RELIEVED. Restrictions on Non-war Production Improves Situation. Washington. Aug. 16.?A shortage of skilled labor in war industries is being considerably relieved by the re strictions upon non-war production, the department of labor announc ed todav. Stoughton. Mass.. Aug 16.?Fire to day destroyed three mills of the French. Ward Woolen Co.. which were engaged in government work, rhe loss is estimated at four huj?rcd thousand dollars. *