The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-12-02
IAN INFAMOUS SWINDLE."
This is the Way the State Describes ne
Circulation Business-Did the Cle:--
Act Fairly in the Matter?
Editorial in The State, November 2ith.

Editorial in The State, November 2ith
The advertisement asking for bids for
the State printing is, by the General
Statutes, required to be given to "one
daily newspaper in the city OF Colum,
bia having the largest circulation" "
This duty is placed upon the clerk OF
the Senate and the clerk of the douse.
The law is mandatory. It says that
these clerks shall do as it directs.
The clerk of the Senate o. the State
of South Carolina is Sampson Pope. He
| is so bitter an enemy Of tie state that
he will not touch it or read it. The
clerk of the House, J. Walter Gray, is
a prominent member of the present
Administration, which is notorlously
hostile to the State. Both of them are
| friends Of the Columbia Register, a
moribund newspaper, which seeks to
live by grace of the aims of the ADMIN
istration represented by Clerk Pope
and Clerk Gray.
In order to ascertain the circulation
of the Columbia dailies, Clerk Pope ap..
pointed as his agent the book-keeper OF
the Rcqister, Mr.. C. II. Beard. Clerk
GRAY appointed an old employe of the
| ReGister, Mr.. W. NJ. Rodgers. Both wei e
notoriously hostile TO the State. Both
were notoriously friendly to the Regis
ter. In recognition of the fact that the
appointment of the book-keeper OF a
newspaper assuming to rivalry with
| the State to examine the books OF this
| newspaper would be considered lnde-
cent, MIR. Boards authority was with
! drawn. Mr.. Rodgers served. He saw the
| books and lists of the State. He knows
its circulation.
The advertisement had to be given
| out yesterday morning IN order to ap-
pear this morning. Clerk Pope last
| last evening stated to a representative
of the State that the clerks had mailed
| this paper a communication on the
subject. Diligent search was made at
| the postoffice, but no communication
from them could be found. He would
give no information as to its purport.
At 1870 O'Clock this morning Clerk
Gray's lodging place was discovered;
He was aroused and questioned, and
said that the advertisement had been
awarded to the Register because Mr..
Rodgers report showed that paper to
have the larger circulation, and that
| the communication mailed had been
intended to advise the State Of these
alleged facts.
We have several things to say in re-
gard to this Infamous proceeding.
The clerks of the Senate and House
are by law required to make the deter
mination of the circulation question
themselves. Upon them rests the
responsibility and the duty. They un-
lawfully delegated these powers to men
who hated the State. The man they
| finally chose is recognized as partisan
without scruple or character.
The report made is a fragrant and
wilful lie. Nobody knows better than
| w. NJ. Rodgers, who has been for years
an employe of the Register and who
has seen the States books and lists,
that the Columbia Daily Register not
| only has not a larger circulation than
the State, but has not circulation bali
as large. In making his report ne has
lied, deliberately and maliciously,Wlth
intent to injure the State, which ne
| hates, and benefit the RegtsteT, which
he supports.
In accepting and thereby endorsing
a report, so made, by an appointee SO
biased, Sampson Pope, clerk Of the
Senate, and J. Walter Gray, clerk OF
the House, have broken their oaths to
perform their duties, have knowingly
accepted a lie as truth, and have car
lied out conspiracy to defraud the
State of its reputation and to give the
| Re0ister a reputation which it could
not otherwise possess.
We charge w. NJ Rodgers with per-
Jury, if his report is to be accepted as
| one made on oath, and in any case we
charge him with deliberate lying. We
charge Sampson Pope with outrageous
partisanship and fraud. We charge j..
Walter Gray with outrageous partisan
ship and fraud.
The State will give Sampson Pope
Sl00; it will give j. Walter Gray 500;
!. it will give the Columbia Register 500,
if Pope and Gray can induce three re-
spectacle business men Of Columbia,
advertisers in both papers, to make an
examination Of the books and lists OF
the State and the Register, and present
a report justifying that made by w.
NJ. Rodgers, the man they selected TO
do their dirty NsS
We shall make T.S2Se unfaithiul pub
lie servants as sick nf-their slanderous
work as we have made me Columbia
Register, their tool.
LEADS TO 4 FIGHT BETWEEN THE CON
ZALES BROTHERS AND THE TWO
CLERKS.
Special 70 the Greenvile News.
COLUMBIA, S. c., Nov. 4.-To night
the matter eliminated when A. T.
Gonzales met General Gray in the
crowded lobby of the Grand Centra
Hotel. The occurrences that followed
are conservatively given according tc
the most dispassionate statements IRON
witnesses obtainable.
Gonzales said to Gray: 81 have been
anxious to see you to tell you some
thing I have been saying about yoU
all day. You, or Pope, or Rodgers, OF
whoever is responsible for awarding
The advertising to the Register, anC
the statement that the Register has
greater circulation than the state is
Cd liar and fraud. ANY one
who will assert that the Register ha:
half the circulation Of the State tells
wilful lie.'
Gonzales repeated this, and said tina
it was an outrage on TIE tax payers o
the State to have the award given to ;
paper with not half the States circula
ton.
Gray asked if fGonzales had received
his communication.
About this time y. G. Gonzales cam
into the lobby, and, hearing hi
brothers voice, came upto him. Ora,
then said: 80 there are two OF you
are there? Have | friend here"
At this appeal a number OF person
Immediately rushed up, and the or,
was heard, "les, lots OF them"
Gray eXcitedlv threw Oft his over
coat and drew his pistol and said An.
man who says that | am fraud is
] id liar"