The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-01-17
pink FRANKLIN Case
WHAT TTHE;AUGUSTA; CHRONICLE
HAS TO sAY5ABoUT IT.. s: 4

Speaks Of Some Of the Influences
That Were Brought to Bear B ..'t on ! !
Coy. Ansel.
# There has been q great deal said
in the newspapers about Pink Frank
lin, the brutal murd derer Of Constable
Valentine, who was shot down in cold
blood while lin the discharge of his
duty as an officer Of the law, armed
with warrant to arrest the man
who murdered him. The latest com
ment we have; seen on the case is by
the Augusta Chronicle, which dis:
cusses 1t more intelligently than
some other daily newspapers that
should be better posted than itsais
on the; case Here is what the Chron-
icle says, a. 81 4,
Here are two strong. contrasting
views Of the comm utations ola death
sentence imposed on a negro in Or
angeburg county, South Carolina,
which serve a purpose OF showing
why unwise and unfounded state
-ments from ,a distance, without a
knowledge OF actual conditions. can
do harm. The Boston Transcript, in
news item from New, y York, says:
The National Association for
{ the Advancement of Colored Peo-.;
pie has received advices telling Of
the success :of it's efforts to save !,
1.-THE life OF Pink Franklin, the
South Carolina plantation hand,
who was condemned to hang for
fatally: wounding Fl. H. Valentine,
a constable. Valentine broke into
z Franklin 81 cabin In the early
morning to; arrest him on a charge
of violating the agricultural con-
tract law, of South Carolina. He i
failed to make it known to Frank.
.lin that he was an officer. Of the
7 law, and Franklin shot him in de-
fence Of his home" e g
That this New York organization
ever had any influence with Governor
Ansel in his consideration of the
Franklin case: is news in. this sec
ton. The negro was convicted for
the murder Of constable who z at
tempted to serve a warrant charging
violation of a labor contract, which,
in South, Carolina, was a criminal
offence. Whether or not the law was
8 good one, does not enter into the
case of the killing Of an officer whose
duty 1t was to, uphold the law SO long
as itiwas on. the statute books, nor
can it be held by the National As
ISOLATION which is said by the
Transcript to have been so quietly
active in the matter, that franklin
was protecting his home and not him
self; that ne would not have fired
the fatal shot as quickly in corn
field as he did In the house. If he
had entertained an idea he could get
out of punishment; nor is it to be
successfully contended that Franklin
was ignorant OF the fact that he was
firing on an officer Of the law. The
Boston Transcript, further says: :Els
Through the National ,i..Associa-z
tion: and ex-Attorney General Bon
aparte, President Taft was inter-
ested in this case, and personally
wrote to the governor asking him
s to commute the sentence il possi-
bile. The case has attracted great
liattention In the South, where
white and colored lawyers en-
;p1oyed by the Association have ar
= gued the facts before Governor
Ansel. u 81, &: + =, Il 4.
t'It. was known that ex-Attorney
General Bonaparte became quite ac-
tive in the case when he was in CT
fee, &, and, ! In his comments on it,
made some very unkind, uuseemly
and unfounded flipgs iat the South
and conditions In this section us'h
respect to negro farm labor, and
practically charged the larger per-
centage of white farmers Of the
South with practicing peonage, but
there was, then, somewhat Of mys-
terry as to what influences were be-
hind Mr.. Bonaparte, and from whom
he, had gotten mis- information about
Southern conditions, Of which he was
plainly without personal acquaint-
Rnce. is true, too, that negro lay
yers were engaged In the fight to
save franklin from the gallows, and
that they we're later replaced ',y
white lawyers, when it was found
that they could not accomplish the's
object, but that they were employed
by this New York organization Was
not known.
"When such statements as these
are made by a reputable paper like
the Transcript, and spread broadcast
among people who know no more
about the facts and conditions sur
rounding the case, or the conditions
as they really exist In another sec
tlon Of the country far removed from
them, than did ex-Attorney General
Bonaparte, it is hard to. condemn
those people for the erroneous I'M
pressions they entertain; impressions
which just such publication as these
lead them into. At the same time,
In the face of these things, it is
equally as hard to condemn, as en-