The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1912-06-28

never, be said say thai any one he had
prosecuted had been convicted at the
bar Of public opinion. He had too
much respect for the justice of South
Carolina. It was a great mistake to
decry the action Of any court or any
public officer.
Judge Jones Record.
one year as chairman of the ways
and means committee of the house
Of representatives, five years as speak
er Of that body, 13 years as an as
sociate justice of the supreme court
and three years as chief justice, he
had been called upon to come out and
endeavor to change the administration
Of the governofship of South Carroll
ma. That Office, he said, was too high
to be sullied.. -. 80.
Don't place in it," he implored,
"any dishonest man, any crook, any.
friend Of thieves and grafters."
| Judge Jones took notice again of
the charge by Gov. Blease that by
certain votes in the legislature he
had shown himself in favor of social
equality as between white and black.
"Any one" he said, "who suggests
that I stand for such equality in the
slightest degree tells as malicious
falsehood." He told of his activities
in the Hampton campaign for white
supremacy and said he was one Of
the leaders in calling the constitu-
tional convention in 1895, of which
he was unanimously chosen vice pres
ident, which convention for one of its
chief objects the framing of suf-
frage provision which should forever
make impossible the control of the
State by negroes. Such an evil impu-
tation as this the governor had
brought against him was the cheap
est sort of political claptrap, he said.
Judge Jones attacked the govern
or's pardon record, dwelling on his
disregard of the constitutional and
statute provisions regarding reference
of petitions to the board of pardons,
and the governors action in the Bas-
com, Wash Hunter and John Black
cases.
"Shall governor listen," he said,
"only to the means that come from
the criminals home? Or for that
matter, shall he listen exclusively to
the means that come from the home
of the victim? What of all the homes
of South Carolina? What of the iso-
lated homes of the farmers?"
Judge Jones here referred to the
governors action in pardoning, after
only five months, negro sentenced
in Lexington county, to IL years i'm
prisonment for burning Senator Cros-
sons barn.
"Hear me-" he exclaimed, mot for
my sake, but for the triumph of de-
cency in South Caroolina."
The governor, he said, ought not to
be controlled in the exercise of execu-
tive clemency by petitions, and what
of the counter petitions, in the Bas-
DOM case, though Solicitor Wells had
contemplation signed by many
prominent people, the governor tele-
graphed, when the solicitor sought
hearing: "You can come if you wish,
but I've already decided to issue the
pardon" Moreover, not merely the
people of the immediate community,
but vast number of people in other
parts of the State have an interest
in this matter. Something had been
said, Judge Jones continued, about
free passes. Gov. Blease has neglect
ed to tell the people that he himself
voted to repeal the statute against
free passes for State officials and leg
islators and also voted against reso-
luton to require railways to file list
of pass holders. The governors eff
fort to amend the constitution so as
so bar from public schools children
of men who had not paid poll tax, his
veto of the act to prevent unnatural
lied foreigners voting in the prima-
ries, his parole of Stobo Young in the
Seminole case and other matters pre-
viously mentioned were discussed in
much the same terms as heretofore.
Gov. Blease was greeted with tu-
multuous applause from admirers,
some of who came from Lee, Sum-
ter, Dillon, Marion and Williamsburg
counties. He began his speech by
reading the statement above men
toned with regard to an alleged TAX
ing to himself by Judge Jones of the
credit for the reasonable time" opin-
ion of Mr.. Rucker in the timber lands
cases. The governor read also sec
on dstatement as follows:
Blease's Statement.
"Inn 1908, while was a member of