The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1912-09-06
The Fair Deal.

ernor Cole. L. Blease has been re-elect-
ed: but with such close figures as have
been marked up, the issue is still in
doubt, and final settlement remains for
the official counts; but what we want
to say is that whether Governor Blease
or Judge Jones be declared to be the
winner, we sincerely hope that during
the next two years, he will get fair
deal.
It. is not the purpose of these re-
marks to make apology for anybody.
We have yet to see the public official,
some of whose acts are not proper
subject of criticism and even censure;
but in like manner, every public Of
fetal does some things that are right
proper and worthy of just commenda-
ton. When men, from prejudice, in
terest or any other consideration allow
their sense of justice to be blunted to
the extent that they are not able to
see the difference between right and
wrong they are inded ma bad way.
With all the fairness there is in us
and with due respect to the opinions of
others, we want to say that it has been
our observation that Cole. L. Blease
has never had faif deal at the hands
of majority of the South Carolina
press We do not mean to arraign the
press as such or as whole. We know
the men who make the papers too we'll
and we appreciate the situation as a
whole too we'll for that. The prepon-
derating newspaper opinion, especially
| political opinion, comes from very few
papers There are several daily news
paper editors who do their own think
ing and who express opinions of their
own, but on some things political the
majority of them are either conscious
| ly or unconsciously Influenced by the
opinion Of others, and often they are
led to conclusions that would not be
theirs if they were more careful in
their own consideration of existing
facts.
1t has been our deliberate opinion
for nearly two years that, Governor
Cole. L. Blease has not been getting
fair deal at the hands of the newspa-
pers of South Carolina. He has not
been getting a fair deal at the hands of
correspondents who have been sending
matter out of the State. He has been
deliberately misrepresentedl and ridi-
culed in scores of instances, and as the
result thousands of people are hon
estly holding absolutely incorrect op-
inions of him We do not want to be
understood by this as holding Cover
nor Blease up as model in any par
ticular, but We do say that there are in
the State many public men who are al
most as prominent as Governor Blease
and who are held by people opposed to
the governor, to be above reproach
from every point of view; but who are
really no better men than Governor
Blease from any point of view.
In view of the manner in which
Governor Blease has been treated by
the newspapers, we do not blame him,
for the attitude he has maintained to-
ward the newspapers. Some of the
papers have treated him fairly, it is
true; but, it has not been practicable
for him to distinguish between them
and his denunciation of newspapers as
whole has been in large measure
justified. And there has not been as
much small malice in this denuncia-
ton as has been made to appear.
There was practical politics in it.
Realizing as he did that the newspa-
pers were unalterably opposed to him,
and that they would not give him
fair deal under any circumstances,
it was to his interest to speak of them
in way that would impress the pub
nc with the fact that they were his
bitter enemies That idea was most
conspicuous in his famous inaugural
address, and equally conspicuous in
that message WITH which he accompa-
MED his veto of the libel bill.
We do not want to be understood as
seeking to change anybody's politics.
The other fellows politics is none of
our business. The only thing we are
driving at is that the, first duty of a
newspaper is to print the facts, all the