The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-03-21
SCORES BLEASE
The Governor Is Taken to Task for Veto
ing the Commission Bill.
BY THE COMMUNITY CLUB

Accused of Prostituting Office Ito
the Purpose of Petty Spite and
Peanut Politics." and of the Ambi-
ton That Charleston Should be
His Political Door Mat.
The Charleston Community Club
at well attended meeting on Thurs
day night adopted letter to be sent
to Governor Blease as the official
protest of the club against his veto or
the commission government bill. This
letter is now released for publication
and is as follows:
charleston, S. c., Mch. 6, 1911.
His Excellency Cole L. Blease, Gov
ernor of South Carolina, Columbia,
5. C.-Dear Sir: BY vetoing the
commission government bill you have
seen fit to abuse the powers Of :
responsible Office, never expected to-
be exploited for private or political
advantage, and arrogate to yourself
the right of limiting the franchise Oh
the people Of Charleston, and of say
ing that our citizens are to have no
further voice in the choice Of their
form of government. You have,
without justification or pretext, other
than the selfish interests of small
minority in this city, who have done
you signal service at the polls, un-
dertaken to veto q permissive, local
option bill, passed by the General
Assembly of the State, at the re-
quest of fifteen hundred responsible
citizens of this community, represent
ing over ten million dollars Of prop
erty interests. This petition repre-
sented the desire Of subs; antial
number of Char!estonians, in all
probability number greater thah
gave you their votes last summer,
for a form of government which
would give the people Of this city
larger voice in their own home gov
ernment and which would make Of
the 500 ,0Go to. be yearly admins
tered in this city a business RESPONSE
bility and not a jack pot, or the
waste material Of an experimental
laboratory. Why you have chosen,
In the limelight Of your Office as
Chief Executive, to abandon even q
professed adherence to the principle
of local option, which you made
much of in your campaign, and to
blazen abroad your opposition IN
toto" to the Democratic principles 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 salving OF pro-
vate sore,) is for yourself to under
stand. The purpose OF this COM
munication is not to demonstrate
against an act that was partially an
, ticipated and is for the present irrc-
vocable 1t is only to acquaint you
with the Indignation and censuTe
> that your autocratic and partisan
conduct has aroused among the cit
izens of that city to which for your
own reasons, you pretend to owe
YOUR election. Your utter disregard
of their rights urges either degree
of insincerity in your former profess
tations Of friendship, which should
henceforth make your utterances IN
this respect less likely to deceive, or
, else frank admission that your
! Charleston friends are not so nume1-
! GUS or outspoken as you or they or
| the official count would have us be-
, lieve. We are qnite ready to ADMIT
that the form of government we ad-
vocate would prove disastrous to the
6 political fortunes and ambitions OF
, your friends here. But that form OF
c government could not be adopted
o without vote of the majority of the
citizens of Charleston. You are not
misled, Mr.. Governor, it would seem,
| by the top-heavy vote of the summer
primaries. and not so confident in the
= fnality of that verdict of six to one
I in your favor. Is it that you think
that under the careful restrictions OF
the commission government prl-
maries your friends would not fare
so well?
your fears are well founded.
However, be assured, most honorable
. sir. that commission government Is
not dead because you have vetoed tho
Dill, nor is the vitality OF this move
, rent powerlcss to restore this city 10
|, plane OF political decency. A moral
issue cannot be killed by your fiat
We know Of nothing more effective
toward bringing the people Of SouIl
Carolina to their senses than the Oo-
oct lesson they now have Of digni-
fed p#blic Office proStitutcd to the
purposes of petty spite and peanut
: politics.
"Othar cities have waited long for
The coming Of their political freedom.
You will find that the ambition or
our people for Il clean. free city viii
Outlast yours that Charleston shall
: be your political fcot-mat. 1t shall
: also survive your brief opportunity
Lat fr,..c In 4