Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-06-24
RACE FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL
3. 3. Evans Comes In to Oppose Fra
ser Lyon.

ser Lyon.
The feature of the campaign meet
ing at Bishopville yesterday, was a
spat between B. B. Evans, who Is an
eleventh hour candidate for attorney
general, and Mr.. Fraser Lyon. VIM.
Banks reports the spat in the Colum-
bia State as follows:
Chairman L. T. Baker introduced
s. r. Evans Of Columbia, who In ar
nouncing his candidacy for attorney
general declared he would not fling
mud or hit below the belt, but that
he would criticise his opponent from
the record. He Is a fluent speaker
and kept the attention Of the au-
dience. He claimed that John Gary
Evans and not Lyon was the original
graft hunter when F. M. Nixon was
fired out OF the dispensary commits
sioners office. He complimented the
members Of the board Of control, all
except l.. ]. williams, who Mr.
Evans said is now under the bar OF
suspicion and had left the state,
Lyon had promised to put stripes on
the grafters within sixty days and he
has been at it four years without a
single conviction. And yet he has
pdlu SlOU,UUO Ill lecS W idlliodu 10 "
yers to help him; Tom Fielder, the
whisky trust lawyer, had been paid
over 100000: w. F. Stevenson over
$4,000 and B. L. Abney, the South
ern railway lawyer, over $4,000.
Evans alleged that it was compound
ing a felony for Mr.. Lyon to accept
conscience money from the whisky
houses. Morse, the banker, in Fed
eral prison, is no worse than Jack
Cranston, Lanahan and Fleischmann
who have paid the conscience money
Put me in the attorney generaPs
Office" said Evans, land ! will put Ii
up to your governor whether or not
he will extradite some Of these men"
He would not issue a warrant and
hold 1t over mans head for four
years and keep him under the bar of
suspicion. Evans spoke Of the case
of the state against the Virginia
Carolina Chemical company that had
been on docket under five attorney
generals Why had not Lyon push
ed It? Why had not Lyon pushed
the Southern merger suit? Why?
Echo answers "Why?"
In concluding Evans said that II
elected he would not pay a lawyer
SIS, 900 to make a speech Cor him.
Mr.. Lyon was received with
cheers. He announced that this
eleventh hour opposition would not
fetter him and he wished to give the
grafters notice that he would be
ready to try their cases at Chester on
the 4th of July. However. he con-
tinued, with scorn, he could not af-
ford to let the wilful misrepresenta-
ton or gross ignorance Of his op-
ponent go unnoticed What are the
facts? This mans own brother,
John Gary Evans, was the first to
tell me that T. B. Fielder was in a
position to help me catch the graft
ers. Mr.. Lyon, with disdain, chal-
lenged every statement Of Evans as
false and declared that II Evans
could prove one-half of what was al
legged he Nyon) would quit the race.
"I deny" said he, that T. B. Fell
der has been paid one cent out Of the
treasury Of South Carolina, and the
other attorneys who have done so
much for this cause have not been
paid as alleged by this man. defy
him to prove the accuracy Of single
statement"
He had twice put before the leg
islature the Virginia-Carolina Chem
ical company matter and asked for
means with which to push the case
and this had been denied him.
The Southern railway merger suit
had been heard in circuit court, ap-
pealed to the supreme court and Is
back in circuit court and would have
been tried last term but for contin-
uance granted defendant company on
account Of illness Of chief witness
He has done a vast amount Of work
on the case as will appear when
ii Is heard. All these matters are of
record Evans hangs around the
state house a great deal. He knows
where such records may be found.
Why did he not get those records
instead Of coming here with charges
which are maliciously false or gar
bed through pitiful ignorance.
AS to the grafters, Mr.. Lyon stated
that one case had been tried to pave
the way and that if he had had
square jury in Columbia, Jim Far
mum would be behind the bars. AS
it was, Farnum called the jurors
set Of liars by pleading guilty on an
other charge and paying a fine of
$4,000.
Mr.. Lyon said that he would be at
torney general at least two years
longer and in that time he will make
the grafters feel the lash Of the law
and he might have indictments
against SON. others whose names
have not been discussed by the pub
1in ,t,ith Mr