The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1912-05-22
JOHN p. GRACE
DESERTS GOVERNOR

to the Eject that Grace Is no Long,
er "Blease Man,"
common Sense, a weekly paper
published in Charleston and owned by
Mayor John p. Grace, came out with
lengthy statement in it's Saturdays
issue criticising severely the action of
the state convention in unseating his
delegation from Charleston. Toward
the latter part of the article the fol-
lowing appeared:
up to this time, although Mr..
Grace's intimate friends have known
that he has had no intention whatever
or supporting Governor Blease in the
coming election he has for good and
sufficient reasons not seen fit to make
any public virtue of that fact. He has
been sincere in this attitude, not be-
cause he has ever had, or ever could
have any honest admiration for Cover
nor Blease; but because as bad as
Blease is, he has nevertheless granted
to Charleston, a degree of local
freedom which she has not enjoyed for
many years. The only thing which has
made Grace utterly shrink from a
proper appreciation of this great boon
to his constituency is his knowledge
that 1t is a freedom purchased for
money and his sincere conviction that
at least portion of such miserable
money goes to Columbia The man
who takes it there was a delegate of
the Bernwel! delegation. What do the
good people of Charleston think of
that anomaly? There are situations
in which a public man is sometimes
placed where his conscience weighs
very heavily against eNpediency for his
constituency; in other words, when he
suffers things to exist and men to
prosper, not for his own sake, but for
the sake of those whose destinies he
feels he is called upon to direct. We
know that this has been Mr. Graces
feeling towards the political and i'm
moral mess which has existed in
Charleston for a long time He has
hoped that he would get assuranc es
from the Jones people that they would
tolerate certain local freedom in Char
lesion, without being paid for such
toleration lacking which he has alone
refrained from throwing whatever in
luence he might have in favor OF
Judge Jones. Such assurances have not
been forthcoming. If he were little
enough to be governed in any ms tier
by mere personal resentment, the ac-
be enough to make him wait no long
er; but, however bitter and distaste-
ful 1T might be, he would turn again
to Blease Such however is impossi-
Bile. He still hopes that Judge Jones
ana his leaders, in that broad spirit
OF toleration which he we'll knows has
once again taken possession Of South
Carolina with reference to Charleston.
VIII see ft to regard the peculiar con
ditions in Charleston and promise re-
lief therefrom. The long and short
OF 1t is, that we are authorized by Mr..
Grace now and for the first time pub
licly to declare that he is not n Blease
man. But whether or not he can
take any part for Judge Jones still
remains to be seen. Mr.. Grace has
earnestly hoped to bring to Charles
ton honest, legal relief, from a most
deplorably lawless situation, and he
mas been frank enough to avow such
sentiments openly in Columbia, in the
halls of legislation. He does not wish
to profit through the political jugglery
or moral question, as have for so
many years those who now hold polit-
lcal power through a widespread pros
titution of law. Have the people of
Charleston forgotten through whom it
was that all our troubles began? O
tempora! o mores!"