The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1911-06-30
A Bad Example.

Charleston Post.
The Atlanta newspapers are unanl-
nous in commencing the governor OF
Georgia for his refusal to honor the
requisition of the governor of South
Carolina for the delivery Of T. B. Eel
der, the Atlanta lawyer, to the courts
of this State for trial of charges lodg-
ed against him. They declare that the
whole case against Fielder is rld1cu-
lous and that the pursuit Of the law
yer is merely matter Of personal and
political animosity on the part of the
individual now filling the office of gov
ernor of South Carolina. All of which
NAV be and likely is true, but 1t IS
wholly irrelevant and entirely without
the field of cognizance of the governor
of Georgia in connection with the re-
ouisition made upon him by the gov
ernor of South Carolina. The COVER
nor of Georgia has fallen into the
loose ways of those "stewards of the
public welfare" who think they shoulo
administer their duties according to
their personal judgment rather than
according to the law as written IN the
hooks, Under the law the governor or
Georgia is bound to deliver to the Ia"
officers of South Carolina, upon the
reouisition of the executive authority
of this State, any individual charged
with crime who is a fugitive from JUS
tice. It is not for him to inquire into
the merits OF the charge against the
person sought, not to consider the
executive making the requisition. The
one Is for the court of justice of South
Caroline to do, and the other is TOR
the people of South Carolina to judge:
It Is enough for the governor OF Geor-
gia to know that the requisition pre-
sented to him is official, that the per-
son making is the governor Of his
State, and that the individual demand
ed to be delivered up has been charged
with crime. He has no business with
anything back Of that record.
Coleman L. Blease is a poor figure
of a governor, but he IS governor, none
the less, by the suffrages of the people
of South Carolina. His executive acts
are valid and they must be regarded
and respected as far as they are sup
ported by the law. His requisition up
on the governor of Georgia can not be
put aside because he is not approved
and his motives are condemned by the
governor of Georgia. He is exercising
the authority committed to him by the
people of South Carolina, and, though
the people of South Carolina should
have better Judgment than to put such
authority into such hands, that is not
a matter for the governor of Georgia
to pass upon.
If the requisition of bad governor
may be refused by a good governor,
the requisition Of good governor
may be refused by bad governor.
The rule will work both ways, and
the only way to prevent it working to
the ends of Injustice is for the expon-
ents of righteousness and law to OBJ
serve the statutes to the letter that
they may insist that all others do
likewise. What sort Of an example
of respect for the law does Governor
Brown, of Georgia, set to Governor
Blease, of South Carolina, when he vio-
lates a provision of the federal consti-
tuition to keep a citizen of Georgia
from answering in the court of South
Carolina to a charge which he thinks
utterly without merit and, therefore,
presumably to be dismissed by the
courts of South Carolina upon sim
pie showing by the defendant?