Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-07-19

l despise it's somebody trying to dowr
| somebody when they are doing the very
: same thing. Now, personally, / have
got the western spirit-everybody 1!
liberal, everybody believes in treating
everybody right; they like good fel'
low.
As to Blease's Habits.
Mr.. Nichols: My people have always
been In politics. / have been In poll
!, tics, and l have known the governor
and I have gone out and got drunk
with him, and although he's the gov
ernor, II anybody in South Caroline
would walk up and say, governor
!, let's take a drink" he would say, "yes
SIR" Evans is leading the fight against
Blease this time, and that kept us from
going into partnership. We had check
, ed up our books and were ready to
, form q partnership, and he switched
over against Blease, and told him, u
wouldn't form partnership with you
under any circumstances so We quit
was in the office the other day and
talking about a young fellow here
drinking too much, he says, Sam, he's
the biggest sot you ever saw"-he's the
fellow that ran against Lyon for at
torney general-he says, Let me tell
you something, Sam, a mans damn
fool to take a drink before he's forty,
and a damn fool after that If he don't
do it."
Mr. Porter: like a man that's
broad-minded. In our western country
we can't accomplish very much with
out showing that we are right; we
overlook a good many faults, and we
realize that, in order to do business,
everything must be harmonious, and
we have got to show that we are right.
Now, that's my personal feeling, that's
the way feel personally, but, at the
same time, I realize that I'm In q
| strange country, and I would like to
show you that's the way feel; and,
of course II you think 1t worth while,
we would be willing to make a satis-
| factory donation to the expenses Of his
campaign.
Mr.. Nichols: Well, I've been in your
country a great deal more than you
have been in mine, and-I don't know
why. but I've taken a peculiar pleas
ure in being with you. You take your
town, a good deal of moneys always
used in politics. Now, down here.
there's very little; of course, there's
rule, a man runs for office. his person.
al friends elect him or his personal en-
emies defeat limits a personal mat
ter every time you get in a campaign.
Mr.. Porter: I admire him for some
of the things you have told me, and l
want to go on record as doing what
ever Is right. ..
Mr. Nichols: The governor will make
report Of every pardon that's grant
ed from now on. Cole has got a book,
Nwo hundred and some pages, he's
granted 80 many-he calls 1t his Par
don Book; and in that book he puts
the whole record, just enters the whole
thing, he puts down who the pardon Is
presented by, who asks for 1t, and
gives the reasons for having granted
It; IL he refuses 1t, 1t don't go in the
book-just those he grants-and In
this matter, when the petition comes
up he'll just put in that we, Mr.. Porter
and Nichols & Nichols, presented the
petition, don't you see? Just let 1t go
down in the record-in other words,
the only way I would take the case IS
with you as associate counsel In the
matter, and the record would simply
show that Nichols & Nichols, Of Spar
tanburg, and Mr.. Porter, Of Chicago,
asked for the pardon. There's a man
here, his brother came to see me, his
brother killed a man, and they sent
him up This fellow came to see me,
said he believed the fellow was crazy,
and they had the doctors to examine
ffim-they went to the supreme court
with it-and I got some doctors with
good regulations to examine him; they
knew nothing about his sanity at
the time he did the act. Well,
at any rate, they employed me to
make an effort before the governor,
and we had over 5000 names to the
petition to the governor; / says, Il
won't ask the governor to pardon him.
but I'll ask him to commute 1t to life
imprisonment" and among the names
was our senator; 1t was recorded In
his pardon book, Honorable John D.
Cleveland and a great many other par
ties, respected citizens of Spartanburg,
came and asked his pardon, also Sena-
tor Carlisle" he put that In his record
that way, and we got that through that
way.
Mr.. Porter: Well, I think under
stand the situation pretty thoroughly.
Mr. Nichols: Here's the situation:
They have fought Blease about a good
many things he has done, and, of
course, they are right about some OF
them; he has made some mistakes
any man who does as much as he has
he will make mistakes; he has, made
mistakes, and they have fought him
to the point where he don't care, but
he wouldn't do anything that wasn't
right, and / wouldn't do anything that
wasn't right.
Mr.. Porter: No, no, and I wouldn't
be a party to it if he wasn't.
Two Wealthy Prisoners.
Er Nr;oboI,. Tbara ORC two men in
the penitentiary now serving life SEN
tences, one worth about 100000 and
| tn other and his relatives about $780,
900; either one of those men would
give every cent of II to get out, because
they realize that If Blease isn't elected
they'll never get out; they have gone to
him with petitions, both of them, and
he has refused both of them. He says,
Il have pardoned people, turned them
out, but you name any man that ever
had a cent that turned out" He says,
II have pardoned men from the peni-'
tentinary that never had suit OF cit1-
zcn's cothes to go home;" he says, "un-
under the law we give them a suit OF
citizens clothes when they get par
doned, and instance after instance
who he would call the names-'I have,
out of my own pocket, given that man
railroad fare; now, can that kind Of
man buy a pardon, and If they could,
couldn't these two men buy out?" And
If we do get this thing through, we
have got to take absolutely that base
here's man that was convicted, he
didn't have money to employ lawyer
in other words, whatever Is done
must be done between us. The reason
they are fighting Cole they can't ham
die him. We have had a ring for twen-
ty years-and l have been in it, lot of
others have been in it-still that's true.
They can't handle Blease, he won't be
handled, and that's the trouble, that's
why they are fighting him.
Mr. Porter: If you want me to make
any contribution to his fund / would
be glad to do 1t.
Mr. Nichols: You just tell your peo-
pie this, that think We can get the
matter through, if we can agree on 1t;
now, what the terms will be, I'm not in
position to say.
Mr. Porter: Well, you take your
| time and see; I think 1t will be better
for you to think the mater over little
bit, but I'll be back in the fall.
Mr.. Nichols: When / see you in Chi
cagO or New York I'll make you
| clean-cut proposition; what we will get
him out for: I'll say to you represent
ing these people, 'I'll get up this pc
tition. and I'll have 1t signed by.a GER
In,