Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-07-07
@iseellantpns Beading.
BLEAsE IN sPARTANBURG.
Makes Two Speeches to Large and
Enthusiastic Mill Audiences.

| Enthusiastic Mill Audiences.
Spartanburg Herald, Wednesday.
| | Gov. Cole L. Blease yesterday ad-
dressed two immense and enthusias.
tic audiences Of cotton mill workers
In Spartanburg county-at Cowpens
in the morning and at Drayton mills
In the afternoon. Both addresses
were said by those familiar with the
1 governor to be characteristic of the
man.
| At Drayton he denounced negroes
whom he called APES and baboons,' y
and for whom he said the most ef-
fective remedy was "a little gunpow-
der and few buckshot;" openly gave
his approval to lynching; sneered al
| prohibition; condoned manslaughter
committed in the heat of passion; de-
Tended his pardoning of convicts and
justified his other official acts which
have evoked criticism; slurred north
erners; denounced newspapers, espe-
| cially the Columbia State and the
Spartanburg Herald; spoke contempt
| uously of the university Of South Car
-.ina and DR.. S. c. Mitchell, president
Of the university; denied that he had
| sold pardons, and declared that If he
| should be impeached he would go to
| the United States senate as the sue
| cessor of Senator B. r. Tillman.
Governor Blease began his address
in formal manner and then said that
he would talk about anything his au-
dience wanted and suggested that
| somebody give him a text. Someone
| shouted prohibition"
F'If you can show me where there
is any prohibition in South Carolina"
| said Governor Blease, I'll talk about
It,"
He referred to prohibition again
later in his address. He said he had
| received requests from the authori-
ties of various counties to send state
cOnstables into those counties to en-
force the liquor laws. But, said Blease
he told them that since they had vot-
ed to be dry they could enforce the
| liquor laws as best they could.
dThe governor then switched from
| one topic to another rather abruptly.
He told a story of little boy whom
he had taken into the governors Of
| flee in the state house and had told
him that it was his Office as we'll as
| that of Cole Blease, and followed up
the story by saying that the state
house and the governors Office were
the property of all the citizens.
But by citizens" he said, Il mean
white men-not apes and balloons"
He then launched into a TRADE
against negroes. The Caucasian race
must dominate, he said, and II an in
ferior race got in the way 1t must be
gotten out Of the way in the most
convenient manner.
And a little gunpowder and a few
buckshot," he said, ''are often the
nspst effective remedy"
Later he said that on a previous oc-
casion he had made a statement
which had been taken to mean that
he favored lynching. He said he saw
no reason why he should not be per-
Iectly frank about it-that he did ap-
| prove of lynching. And the reason,
he said, why there had been no lynch
ings in South Carolina during the six
months in which he had been gov
ernor was because the negroes knew
that he would not call out the mill
tary to protect them from lynching
If they insulted white women.
Negroes, he said, were so fond of
notoriety that often they were willing
to make a sacrifice and take a chance
Of losing their lives in order to get
their names emblazoned in the news
papers. But they knew, he said, that
while he was governor there was no
possible chance of their being saved
| from an infuriated mob. Governor
blease said that If any woman Of his
family was insulted by negro all he
would ask was that the negro be
| caught; he would do the rest himself
Governor Blease took up various OF
his official acts which have been criti-
cised and defended them. The pur-
pose of revoking the commissions OF
| the notaries public was to get rid OF
! negro notaries. He now makes 1t a
rule, he said, not to issue commits
slons to notaries without the recon-
mendatlon OF a member Of the legis-
lative delegation of the county In
which they live.
Regarding his veto or appropriation
| bills he said that by so doing he say.
ed the state $4,000. He declared
| that the government Of South caro-
| lima was the most extravagant OF any
state of the union. He denounced the
| exlravagance of the state educational
institutions especially. Gov. Blease
declared that there were men travel
| ing in Europe and enjoying them
selves and at the same time drawing
salaries from the state as members OF
| the faculty of some Of the state edu-
| cational institutions. He said the eX-
cuse for permitting them to travel In
| Europe was that they were being
trained to teach.
| But why the devil" he asked
were they employed to teach If they
didn't know how already?'
! He said he had respect Tor the euu'
cational institutions conducted by the
state, and yet they had given no mer
to public office, whereas other colleges
in South Carolina, notably Wonoro
college, had produced illustrious men
He mentioned that Wofford had pro-
duced Senator E. d. Smith, with
whom he had ridden to Spartanbure
| from Florence.
And Henry Snyder" he said, re.
| ferring to the president of Wofforo
| college, has more sense and educa-
ton than DR.. Mitchell has brains
enough to learn
| Speaking of his tilt with the su,
| preme court over the appointment OF
| special judges, Governor Blease SAID
that he did not intend to appoint spe,
cial judges when regular clrcuil
| Judges were sitting around in clut
rooms, drinking cocktails and playing
| pinochle. And he added vehementl3
that he could prove that this had beer
the case.
| Concerning his liberal use of the
pardoning power he said that mer
| ought not to be punished too severely
| for crimes committed in the heat o'
passion. There was no excuse, ne
said, for premeditated robberies. bul