The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1911-03-22

By yetoing the Commission Govern
n,ent Bill YOU have seen st to abuse the
nowers of q responsible Office, meyer ex-
pected to be exploited Ior private or
political advantage, ana arrosaIe 10
yourself the right of limiting the iran,
chise of the people OF Charleston, ana
Of saving that our citizens are to nave
no further voice in the choice OF their
form of government. You have, with
ont justification or preteXt, other chan
the selfish interests of a small minority
in this CITY who have done you signal
service at the polls, undertaken to veto
a pernissive, local option bill, passed
by the General Assembly OF the State,
At the REQUEST of fifteen hundred re-
snonsible citizens OF this community,
representing over ten million dollars OF
. nronerty interests. Tbs petition repre-
sented the desire OF a substantial num-
ber of Charlestonians, in all probability
q number greater than gave you their
votes last summer, for form Of govern
ment which would give the people OF
this CITY a. larger voice in their own
home government and which would
make Of the 100000 to be yearly ad-
ministered in this city a business re-
sponsibility and not a jack pot, or the
waste material of an experimental lao-
oratorT. Why you have CHOSEN IN tne
limelight of your Office as Chlet EXecu-
tive, to abandon even protessed adner-
ence to the principle OF local option
which you made much OF IN your cam
paign, and to blazon abroad your oppo-
sit;on ssin toto'' to the democratic prin-
ciple of home rule embodied IN the
terms of the act you have set aside and
your disapproval of any attempt to safe,
guard the public purse, (where 1t did
not contemplate the salvlng OF private
sore), is for yourself to understand. Ihe
purpose of this communication IS not to
demonstrate against an act that was
partially anticipated and is for the pres
ent irrevocable. It is only to acGualnt
YOU with the Indignation and censure
tnat YOUR autocratic and partisan con-
Duct has aroused among the citizens OF
that city to which, for your own reasons,
YOU pretend to owe your election. Your
utter disregard Of their rights argues
either a degree OF inslncerlty IN your
former protestations of friendship which
should henceforth make your utterances
in this respect less likely to deceive, or
else q frank admission that your Charles
ton friends are not so numerous or out
spoken as you or they or the official
count would have US believe. We are
quite ready to admit that the form OF
government we advocate would prove
disastrous to the political fortunes and
ambitions OF your friends here. But
that form Of government could not be
adopted without a vote OF the majority
of the citizens Of Charleston. You are
not nisled, Mr.. Governor, it would
seem, by the top-heavy vote OF the SUM
mer primaries. and no5 so confident n
the fnality of that verdict OF six 10 one
in YOUR favor. Is it that you think that
under the careful restrictions Of the
commission government primaries your
friends would not fare so well:
Your fears are well founded. How
ever, be assured, most honorable sir,
that commission governments not dead
because YOU have vetoed the bill, nor is
the vitality Of this movement to restore
this city to plane OF political decency.
4 moral issue cannot be killed by your
fat. We know of nothing more effect
i've toward bringing the people OF South
Carolina to their senses than the object
lesson they now have OF a dlgnlied pup.
lie Office prcstitute6 to the purposes OF
petty spite and peanut po!ltlcs.
Other cities have waited long 1or the
coming OF their political freedom. You
will find that the ambition ct our people