The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-09-04

way as you have done. Again Tillman
said many harsh and bitter things on
the stump. because he was tantalized
and howled at worse than you have
ever been. but he lways tried to tell
the truth, and never under the great
est provocation did he threaten to
make anybody sweat blood" or i'm
dulge In indecent speech blackguard-
ism or vulgarity on the stump. 1t IS
! not the business of Governor. nor
1 ought 1t to be permitted to him to
threaten his constituents. The law
is for the protection of every man and
and not for the Governors friends
only.
| The one thing which gave Tillman
the most concern was dealing with
petitions for pardon-the life, death
and liberty Of the poor wretches for
whom the petitions were filed. Blease
Is charged with selling pardons
through his lawyer friends and shar-
ing the money. Governor, you know
whether there IL any shadow of rea-
son or foundation for this? I do not,
but for your own fame and good
name. as we'll as for the good name
OF the State. you ought to clear this
charge up. You cannot afford to treat
1t with silent contempt for 1t will not
down that way. Tillman was accused
Of grating In the dispensary. but no
proofs were ever adduced or could
have been produced. His most effec-
tive defence was that those who
charged him with stealing would have
stolen II they had had the same op-
portunities as he had.
Blease is charged with having voted
In the Legislature as a lawyer for a
fee rather than as the legislative
Representtive Of the people. / have
not examined the records and cannot
say whether or not this Is true. 9th
ers can determine for themselves and
convict or acquit you according to the
evidence. When the question was ask
ed by the infuriated Tillmanites, who
felt that they had been betrayed by
their old leader, What induced him
to do this?" some Of them in their
rage shouted. ''he has been bought"
Who In South Carolina knows what
Fthe price Of a Tillman Is? In Wash
ington, where he has worked for The
last eighteen years for the State AMI
nation. he has had opportunities al
most innumerable to get money for
official action. When he was in charge
OF the railroad rate bill. where there
were hundreds of millions and evan
billions Of dollars worth Of property
involved, and slight change in the
law, which Tillman could have aided
to obtain, meant untold money for
the railroad interests, no one ever
limited nor did any one ever believe
that he was approachable as a bribe-
taker. 1t has remained for some crazy
South Crolinian. drunk with Blease-
, ism. to hurl this suspicion at an old
man lowering on the brink of the
grave. a man whose purity in private
life and whose purity as a servant Of
the people has made him above suspi-
cion.
On the night of the election / had
dream In which something told me
"Blease Is elected" Becoming fully
awake. i thought over all the conse-
quences as the people dreaded them,
and considered what was best to be
done In the event the dream should
prove true. 1 thought Of your threat to
make the people sweat blood" and
OF what II really meant or could pos
sibly mean. The only Interpretation
chat occurred to me was that the Gov
ernor would make a general Jail de-
livery by emptying the Penitentiary
and turning the convicts loose upon
society. You nave that power. sir. 1t
was given you for purposes of mercy
and not for the punishment of your
fellow citizens. Tho Governor takes
an oath to see that the laws are exc.
cuted In mercy" There Is In tho
Constitution nothing which permits
him to trample the Inv under foot on
the pretense Of mercy. and nothing
but vonality and greed of money can
make him place the pardoning power
In the hands Of a lawyer who charges
big fees to obtain pardons. AS for
pardoning the criminals by wholesale.
nobody but lunatic would do such a
thing and nobody but n lunatic would
threaten 1t. Let me beg you to be-
uhnf 10 Il