The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1902-08-21
Gunter for Attorney General.

"Mr. U. X. Gunter, in his candidacy for
Attorney General, has laid special stress
upon the fact that his opponent, Mr..
Stevenson, was not the man for the office,
because of his connection with railroad
as an attorney, and that position is well
taken. AS corporation attorney Mr..
Stevenson is supposed to have thoroughly
studied corporation law and naturally
his interpretation of that law was favor
able to the corporations. He must nave
convinced himself that such lnterpreta-
ton is proper, and naturally the bent OF
his mind is in that direction. The tact
that he has resigned his position as cor
poration attorney could not possibly have
changed an opinion which he has held for
wears, and neither would his election as
Attorney General transform his mental
attitude towards such questions so that he
could view them with an unbiased eye
This is natural, and however honest man
might be and however much be might IN
tend to do what is right, he would under
such circumstances always be badly
handicapped by a previously formed
opinion. This fact is recognized IN law
for when man is put on his volr dire IN
a trial, if he says he has formed an opln-
ion as to the case, it is considered sufflcl-
ent generally to reject him as juror,
Notwithstanding that he may express the
belief that after hearing the evidence he
would render an unbiased verdict. Law
yers are afraid to risk such man; how
ever honest he mi ght be, and the people
of South Carolina will no doubt look upon
Mr.. Stevenson in the same way. AS to
what Mr.. Stevenson has done, 1t is fact
that while speaker and a railroad attorney
he appeared before a committee which
had some matter connected with his rail-
road under consideration. 1t may be true
that he was sent for by the committee,
but under the circumstances it was eX-
tremely impolite and improper for him
to have accepted the invitation ana II
would have been eminently correct Tor
him to have declined and given bis reasons
therefor Men have declined to partlcl-
pate in certain matters of legislation
when their personal interests were OF far
less importance than Mr. Stevenson's in
the case referred to. The rights of the
corporation and those of the people ought
TO be equal under the laws, but everybody
knows that in these latter times corpora
ons have to be strongly held back from
encroaching on the rights OF the people
Here their interests are generally con
sidered antagonistic. MIR. Stevenson rec.
ognized that principle when he resigned
to become candidate. Note the fact that
he considered that necessary even before
he asked the votes Of the people. why
should he do this unless he knew that
the people believed that he could not
serve them and the corporations at the
same time? Yet MIR. Stevenson was
speaker and railroad attorney ut one and
the same ime Aswe said on previous
occasion, he could not serve both honest
". If he served the people, he was rccre
ant to his duty to the railroad, if he served
the railroad, then he betrayed the trus
contided in him by the people. There i:
no getting around the logic of the situa
ton, and Whichever horn of the dllcmm;
Mr.. Stevenson chooses 70 hang upon, hi
proves himself unfit for the position tt
which he aspires.--Columbia Record.