Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-07-09
The Lancaster News.

The Lancaster News Whlcn seems 70
be more concerned about the affairs Of
The Enquirer than 1t is about it's own
affairs or the affairs of any other pa
per in the state, quotes a part of what
the Rock Hill Record said recently and
comments as follows:
This is a very severe but just ar
raignment of The Enquirer which re-
produces the Records editorial and
makes a miserably poor defense Of its
position. We endeavored sometime ago
to pull the editor of The Enquirer out,
but gave up the job in disgust. The
Enquirer has announced more than
once that it had no advice to give it's
readers as between Blease and Jones,
and yet by .insinuation and inuendo 1t
throws the weight of its influence to
Blease For instance, 1t quotes from
the Anderson Intelligencer, one Of the
few Blease papers in the state to the eff
feet that The Enquirer Is coming nearer
state campaign than any other news
paper. Not long since the editor de-
Tended Blease's pardoning record by
saying, editorially, that Heyward's and
Ansel's record, in this respect, was just
as bad as Blease's; and in the last issue
of The Enquirer we find this trium-
phant crow for Blease: Now that 1t
has become evident that Governor
Blease is at least breaking even, in that
portion of the state where it was gen.
orally supposed that he was weakest,
some of his most strenuous opponents
are beginning to trim. And 1t has al
ways been So" The surprise Is that
among such an intelligent class of peo-
pie as live in the go4l old county of
York, a public journal would dare take
such a fence-straddling course as The
Enquirer has taken. But you are not
fooling everybody, even in your own
county, Mr. Grist. There are many pa
triotic sons of Carolina who are taking
note of your position in this campaign,
and will remember it long after the
smoke of the battle has cleared away.
The issue of "Bleaseism," however
much you may try to belittle it, is Sc
rious matter, more serious than any
that has confronted our people since
'76. 1t Is due to the people Of York
county that The Enquirer should come
out in the open and espouse Blease's
cause instead of pretending to be neu-
trail and all the time helping the cause
of "Bleaseism."
We have long been of opinion that If
the press is to he useful it must be
truthful, and while it may be in the
power of an editor to deceive people
temporarily, nothing more quickly
operates for the extinction of this pow
er than the free exercise of it. If the
News has not already made this dis
covery it will learn.
If as the News claims, The Enquirer
is throwing any influence to Governor
Blease, that influence must surely he
coming through reports Of the cam
paign meetings made by correspon-
ents of daily papers that are confessed
ly hostile to the governor. We do not
deny that we have printed considerably
more of such matter than has the
News, and included in this matter was
Governor Blease's Bishopville speech
which we do not remember to have
seen in the News at all. If we are mis-
taken and the News will call our at
tention to the fact, we will make
prompt acknowledgement.
If The Enquirer has done anything
by insinuation or as the News asserts,
inuendo, the fact has escaped us. We
simply do not believe anything of the
kind. On the contrary, we think we
have been very plain and outspoken in
every thing we have said. including
our expressed determination not to in
tentionally assist the other fellow in
pulling his chestnuts out of the fire.
Reproducing from the above:
For instance, it quotes from the
Anderson Intelligencer, one of the few
Blease papers in the state, to the effect
that The Enquirer is coming nearer
telling the truth as to the issues of the
state campaign than any other news
paper"
What we quoted from the Intelligent
Ger whose owner had recently resign
ed from the governors staff, was this:
THE Yorkville Enquirer comes near
er giving both sides of every question
than any newspaper of which we
know"
When we quoted the comment of the
Intelligencer it had not occurred to us
that there was any special reference
to the issues of the state campaign"
and it occurred to us that the explana-
tion of the foregoing mix-up must
arise out of a consciousness, on the
part of the News that The Enquirer is
also doing pretty clean work as to the
state campaign.
Again, the News remarks:
Not long since, the editor defended
Blease's pardon record by saying edi-
tOrially, that Heyward's and Ansers
record. in this respect was just as bad
as Blease's."
If The Enquirer's ever defended any
body's pardon record we are not aware
of it. What we really said was this:
1T is true that Blease's pardon rec
ord has been tremendously emphasize
ed and we would not like to he called
upon to defend it-certainly not with
the information we have. But what
about the pardon record of other gov
ernors? Hayward had sickly, very
sickly record. that would look almost
us bad if subjected tO the same pub
licitv. and Ansrl granted pardons that
would never have been granted except
for tho jnportunitipS of pOwerful