Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1912-09-04
A, SOUTH CAROLINE, ,wEIhSEsDAY, SEPT 4, 1912

aLuledHSelll WHICH ScneLHlng tOlu me
"BleasW is elected" Becoming fully
awakeM thought over all the conse-
quencssEa as the people dreaded them
and considered what was best to be
done mH the event the dream should
prove tkde. / thought Of your threat
to make the people "sweat blood"
and Iof{Rhat it really meant or could
possiblyamean. The only interpreta-
ton thftN occurred to me was that
the Goysrnor would make a general
jail delivery by emptying the peni-
tentiary$ and turning the convicts
loose ,uHon society You have that
power, Isir. 1t was given you for
purposes of mercy and not for the
punishment Of your fellow citizens.
The Governor takes an oath to see
that the claws are executed in
mercy..| There is in the constitution
nothingSwhich permits him to tram
pie thewaw under foot on the pre-
tense oeSmercy, and nothing but We
nalityS ahd greed Of money can make
him PLACE the pardoning spower in
the hands of$a lawyer who charges
big feessto obtain pardons AS for
pardoniiig the criminals by wholesale
nobody;but lunatic would do such
thing and nobody but a lunatic
would threaten it. Let me beg you
to beware what you do and say here
after. PUT, bride on that unlicens-
ed tongue of yours. You owe it to
your friends, you owe 1t to yourself,
and yonEoWe 1t to the State.
haYeSbeen trusted by the people
as well3as you. They have shown
their loYe. and confidence in no un-
certainsWay and l therefore claim the
right ,toaWarn and to offer to help
you inFall matters of pardons If you
will defgn$to ask my advice Nobody
In South Carolina will doubt the JUS
tice OF fNahy pardon recommend.
This is a thankless burden am will
ing to assume for the public well
fare, andsISd do not expect to do any
of the Jdrndgery of it, but l know
men I can trust whose honor and
patriot1sm are not only above suspi-
cion, butswl1o have the respect and
confidence Of ltheirfellow citizens.
will enliststhe help, If * can, of these
to examine the petitions in order to
help yen, but YOU shall not ,tif,I can
prevent 1T, carry Sout your threat to
make the people OF South Carolina
"sWea'tal God because 80 maYly of
Them ~ az not been .'bamboozlsd and
q e 81 u iir 1Stnag gic
Afleafs. Consider, Governor, what It
means to turn loose criminals, mur-
derers and cut-throats, and then con-
slider the infamy of boldly and open
ly Offering to pardon any man who
would kill certain people. Don't you
see to what criminal folly you have
been led to give people the right to
think that you will pardon men who
assassinate your enemies? Such an
Infamous idea never entered any but
a crazy mans brain.
In your desperation, attempting to
reply to my indictment Of you in the
Ferguson letter, you were unscrupu-
lous enough to say:
81 fear no evil from Senator Till
mans letter, except that possibly his
mind has become more diseased Of
late than 1t was when had my last
talk with his confidential physician"
Every one knows that you alluded
to Dr.. BabcOck. And more knightly
gentleman or more loyal friend to
me never breathed, and | know you
had no authority for it. He is not
the type Of doctor who discusses his
patients and their ailments with Tom,
Dick and Harry.
Mind Is Stronger.
| want to say to you that | know
since my last stroke Of paralysis in
February, 1910, my memory has
been very much impaired, but the
other parts Of my brain have gradu-
ally and very perceptlbly increased
in efficiency and vigor and am now
fully capable Of doing as good work
as ever did. The only reason why
have felt unwilling to make
speeches In the Senate and on the
musings this summer Is because !
know | cannot speak with any force
or vigor without turning on the full
voltage or the dynamo. Under av-
cltement the blood rushes to the
brain, for that Is the way the mind
works. Dr.. BabcOck had warned me
that TO attempt to make a speech
would mean grave danger al. the
probable bursting Of blood vessel,
followed by paralysis or death.
Therefore | have refrained and re-
strained myself, though at times the
temptation has been very, very great.
But, Governor, while my memory is
poor the moral fibre in me Is as
sound as 1t ever was, and my patriot
ism burns with an even brighter
flame than when my health was Wig
orous. And my conscience Is in fine
working order, too, can assure you.
When | told my wife that | in
tended to write an open letter to You
and outlined some Of the things |
intended to say, she pleaded with me
thus: "Blease is not wholly bad
man. He Is passionate and has been
tantalized, abused and misrepresent-
ed until he has lost all sense OF re-
sp0nsibility and self-control." Rec
ollcct, Governor, this same noble wo-
man has been your advocate with
me until your recent statement came
out about what occurred last spring
In Washington. She knows you told
an untruth and has never forgiven