The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-01-31

partment of Justice and at the
White House. :.
THE first shot, so to speak, >
said Mr.. Capers, "was tiled oy
Judge Brawley. He came to
Washington from New York IN
October, visited the President
and entered a vigorous protest
against my prospective appoint
1 ment as Judge. He convinced the
! President that the poorest way
ION eart1, to Offset the adverse
feeling against the chief execu-
tive in South Carolina, caused by
the Crum appointment would be
by making me judge. He sad
nothing detrimental to my WORK
as district attorney. as IS evil
denced by his letter to me as late
as January 18th OF this year, IN
which he says that during nv
whole term of Office I had been
! uniformly courteous and con-
lsiderate. Senator Latimer frank
lly, told me in Greenville at the
Mansion House during the
sChristmas holidays that he had
ljust been to the President and
Ihad assured him that Senator
}Tillman meant exactly what he
Esaid in declaring that if l was
to be appointed judge the new
judicial district bill would not
become a law. When first heard
! that the opposition to my ap-
poiptment as Judge was being
skillfully turned to my possible
Sdetriment for reappointment as
SUnited States attorney, l came
to Washington, and, together
with Assistant Attorney General
l IPurdy, called on the Attorney
] General. I told the Attorney.
! General I knew I was being at
1 tackled and asked him if my
irecord was all that he desired.
] He assured me thab he was per-
fectly satisfied with my record,
iand that there was no earthly
reason why I should not be re-
lappointed, as Solicitor Hoyt had
Isaid this was due me by such a
fixed sentiment in my own State
that there was no applicant in
or out of my party for it, and for
which I was endorsed by the
| Governor and the bench and bar
| of the State from the chief j JUS
tice down. After that interview
] Il returned to Greenville perfect
| " satisfied that I would have no
trouble.
| :sBut in a week or ten days l
heard that my enemies, were
still vigorous, and to make the
matter sure I wrote the senior
assistant general, Mr.. Pradt, my
friend and associate for years IN
Washington, and asked him to
60 to the Attorney General and
ascertain if anything additional
was desired to satisfy him that |
was entitled to reappointment.
Mr.. Pradt replied as follows: Il
find that there is no question
raised as to your capacity for the
duties of your Office nor respect
ing your record therein. The At
torney General is entirely salts
fed on that score. Hence, it
would be a work Of superroga-
ton for me to further testify in
that regard to him At the same
time I also wrote a member Of
the cabinet and asked that at
the cabinet meeting of Friday,
December 18th, he take the mat
ter up with the Attorney Gen
eral and the President and ad-
wise me if there was any trouble
ahead. He wrote me at once that
day that he had made inquiries
and the outlook was all right. [
also wrote Judge Pritchard and
told him Of the situation. I.asded
that he write the Attorney Gen
eral for a hearing in case any
thing developed that was worth
attention. To JudgesPr richards
letter the Attorney General re-
piled, under date of December
18th, saying that certain rumors
had been brought to his atten-
tion, but as yet there is nothing
tangible upon which could act.
IF any serious charges are fled
against Mr.. Capers which would
disqualify him for reappolntment
he, will certainly have an oppor.
:tunity to meet them.
cit seemed to me absolutely
silly, after such letter as that,
to worry about the matter, and
l dismissed the affair from my
mind until my friend, Joe Nc.
Cullough, of Greenville, met me
on the street in Greenville and
told me he had just received a
telegram that the President had
sent Mr.. Cochran's name to the
Senate for district attorney. I at
once telegraphed the Attorney
General as follows: I have just
been advised that the President
has sent some one else's name to
the Senate as district attorney.
] was assured by you, through
Judge Pritchard, that [ would
be given a hearing before any
adverse action. To this telegram