Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-09-15
Candidacy of Judge Jones.

Candidacy of Judge Jones.
The action of the Hon. Ira B. Jones
in resigning the position of chief JUS
tice of the supreme court, and an
nouncing his intention of standing Tor
the gubernatorial nomination In the
primary election next summer, consti-
tutes an unusually significant political
development that is receiving attention
from one end of the state to the other.
Up to this time, so far as We have
noted, the only Interpretation the pa
pers have seen proper to give to Judge
Jones's action is that 1t is in the nature
of a patriotic sacrifice that Is highly
creditable to him as an individual ana
that is bound to meet with the highest
appreciation on the part Of his fellow
citizens. This Interpretation, although
all right as far as it goes, lacks to our
mind, a whole lot Of going far enough.
and we are inclined to suggest that II
might be we'll just at this juncture, for
men who think at all, to cudgel their
wits and think still more deeply be-
fore settling upon final conclusions.
In the first place, there are lots or
good men all over the state who insist
that the whole issue is merely per-
sonal one. But is it? Is 1t possible to
say of Mr.. Blease any more than mas
already been said? Did the people not
fha
mary as now? These questions are
pertinent, and we candidly confess that
we are unable to appreciate wherein
the issue is any more personal now
than it was last summer. And If the
issue is not personal, then what is 1t?
What do the people really want? That
is a question which, it seems to us Is
deserving of very careful consideration.
There is no sense in politicians blindly
deceiving themselves about a matter so
important.
AS to whether the administration OF
Blease has the endorsement of a ma
jority of the Democratic voters OF South
Carolina, we are extremely doubtful.
In fact we do not believe anything of
the kind. But we can readily under
stand that even admitting the correct
ness of the proposition that the govern
or Is not endorsed by majority OF the
voters, 1t does not necessarily follow
that his defeat would be an easy matter.
We think rather that the secret OF his
strength lies in one Of two things.
Either he stands for something in
which the people believe, or he is being
supported as a protest against con-
ditions of which the people do not ap-
prove. And whether it be one thing or
the other, there must be intelligent
comprehension of the problem before
there can be reasonable hope Of sat
isfactory solution.
That Judge Jones is an able man,
there Is no question, nor is there any
question Of his character or fitness for
the position as compared with the
character and fitness Of any man who
has held the office for great many
years past; but let no man deceive
himself into believing that the judges
action in resigning his high position
and announcing as candidate for
governor is altogether a matter of dis
interested patriotism. Don't get
the idea that the mere desire to
secure the honor of this high office
figures; because there are few men who
would hold the governorship to be
higher than the chief justiceship. Be-
hind it all there is a reason that seems
to be more practical. From the nature
and character of Bleaseism, as it is
commonly understood. no one would
think that the leaders Of it would be
content to stop with control OF the
executive department alone. Certainly
in the light of the very serious spat
between the governor and chief justice
last winter, no one can doubt that II
the governors star grows brighter, the
star of the chief justice would become
more dim. The general assembly to be
chosen next summer will elect a sue
cessor to the man who succeeds Judge
Jones, and had Judge Jones remained
in the office, and should the legislature
to be elected next summer be Blease
legislature, it is quite certain that Judge
Jones would not have been his own sue
cessor. That a man of Judge Jones's
experience and perception could see
this is too plain for anything, and in
this view of the cast it would certainly
be monumental idiocy for the judge
to remain inactive and perish misera-
bly, like fox in a hole rather than
come out in the open and make the
fight of his life like the man that he is.
AS to whether Judge Jones can be
elected, we are unprepared to say. 1t
depends in measure, we think, on the
answer to the questions We have asked
above, and perhaps in still larger
measure upon the energy and intelh-
gence that his friends and the oppo-
nents of Mr.. Blease exert in his be-
half But the people who think 1t Will
be a win in a walk, hands down race
are going to be badly mistaken, in our
judgment. If there is to be success,
there must be no undertaking of the
strength of the opposition, and there
must be no leaving of the burden OF
the fight to the newspapers. There are
lots of good men who are not yet thor
oughly aware of the fact, but this is an
era of intensely practical politics in
South Carolina, and folks who are dis
posed to rest easy in their sweet and
abiding faith that right always wins
through its own power, without assist
ance, are liable to be Jared into sur
prising realization of the fact that per-
haps after all, right may have been on
the side of the other fellow.
Due West, September 13: BY unan-
imous consent of the student-body
hazing was today eliminated from Ers-
Iii nn1laua Mr. Pn66ay Of Rock