The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1908-08-12
NEWSPAPER PREvARICATORS.

ing an innate temperamental mildness.
we are, in consequence, much attached
to that word "prevaricators'' in pref
erence to others more acrimonious.
There are some prevaricators in the
world today, which assertion will doubt
less be accepted without question or
contradiction. Some people are natural
prevaricators, some acquire the habit
early in life, while others become I'M
tiated through the practice of their
professions.
1t is a generally accepted opinion that
lawyers must be perversers of the truth
and adopts in the arts of deceit. News
paper writer's also come in for an am
pie share in this kindly consideration
and are usually regarded as jugglers of
facts and wholly unreliable, irresponsi-
BILE specimens. AS to lawyers, we re-
fuse to believe there are no honest ones.
We heard of one who had an office and
office hours somewhere in the West.
In regard to honest newspaper men
writer's who tell the truth, the whole
truth and nothing more there is not
one living; some are dead. If a news
paper man were to publish all he hap
pened to know both he and his publica-
ton would come to a sudden and violent
end. They are not supposed to tell the
whole truth; but-they ARE supposed
to be truthful in what they DO tell.
There is absolutely no excuse for willful
prevarication.
Consider, please. this deplorable ex-
ample from the penof one doomed eter-
nally to a prevaricator's perdition and
on a swift road to his reward. He
wrote "of a cyclone, saying that it
turned a well wrong side up in Missis-
sippi, turned a cellar up side down in
Wisconsin, moved a township line in
Nebraska, blew the slaves out of a
whiskey barrel in Iowa and left nothing
but the bung hole, changed the day of
the week in Ohio, killed an honest law
yer in the West, blew the hair off a
bald headed man in Texas, killed a
faithful doctor in Illinois, blew the
mortgage off a farm in Kansas, scared
red haired women in Michigan, blew the
crack out of a fence in Dakota, and
took all the wind out of a politician
in Missouri" AND THAT BRYAN
WOULD NOT BE ELECTED PRESI-
DENT.
Their was no preaching service in
any of the churches here Sunday, the
congregations taking vacation from re-
ligious devotion.
When the pastors away the sheep
will play.
No preaching at all in Laurens Sun
day, which goes to prove that Laurens
people do not require u~nceasing admo-
nitions to keep them straight.
We expect to support the three best
men for the legislature.
In his speech at Newberry Cole
Blease likens himself to Christ and
paints Rev. Geo. A. Wright as Judas.
Here is the newspaper clipping in ref
rence to the incident:
"He said that he was a criminal law
yer, that he had defended a good man
who had killed the brother-in-law of
Rev. Geo. A. Wright, who has lost his
religion and stabbed me in the back as
Judas betrayed Christ"
We must admit that we had never
considered Cole Blease in that light be-
fore; it is new tous, somewhat strange,
and we must say that somehow it does
not strike us as being altogether appro-
pirate.
In 1906 Candidate Bleasc was the
avowed advocate of the old State dis
pensary as it stood, claiming that there
was no graft, no corruption and rotten
ness in it. He was defeated.
Candidate Blease has deied anyone to
cite a blot on his record, public or pri-
vate. All right. Blease was n mem
Der of the investigating committee of
the old ~dispcnsary, the duty of said
committee being to disclose all the
crooked dealings in connection with the
dispensary business. Samuel j. Lana
han, wholesale whiskey dealer, had a
South Carolina State senator employed
to look after his interests. Blease said
in the presence of witnesses that he
knew who this senator was. Why did
he not tell? So the least that we charge
against his public record is unfaithful-
ness in the discharge of his public duty.