The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1912-07-17

will be found elsewhere.
The investigating committee will meet
again on Thursday at Columbia.
Below is q portion Of the proceedings
culled from the daily press:
Augusta, Ca, Jul y12.-Backed by
William ]. Burns, the detective Of
international fame, and the dicta-
graph that has played such an i'm
portant part in the conviction Of
grafters in the United States, Thomas
B. Fielder, the Atlanta attorney today
began his official attacks on the rec
ord of Cole l.. Blease, governor Of
South Carolina.
I'VE are going to clean out the
Augean stables today" he said
William ]. Burns, the detective
who put the Los Angeles dynamiters
behind the bars, uncovered dyna-
mite conspiracy extending across one
isde of the United States,and has fig
ured in the apprehension Of more big
criminals than any other one man
in the United States, was quoted from
the witness stand as declaring that the
San Francisco graft case was in
fnitesimal compared with the con-
ditions which have existed in South
Carolina"
Charges Startling Conditions
Piece by riece Fielder, in his >testi-
mony charged alarming and startling
conditions of official corruption in
South Carolina. For five hours or
T IRE he was on the witness stand and
IN a connected story made the charge
of unlimited graft, Legislative "syndi-
Gates" controlled by Blease as sena-
tor, of money demanded by the syn
dicate" to block legislation, Of par
dons alleged to have been purchased
from the governor, one in Charleston
having cost $4,000; of corruption
money collected from railroads for
engineering out of the legislature
bills the railroads didn't want, Of a
frame-up made in Atlanta by Blease
and Hub" H. Evans with Bluthen-
/ tha l& Bickert, a wholesale whiskey
: house, for adding rebates to the cost
of whiskey sold the State dispensary
so the rebates could be turned over to
the board of control by the whole
salers; of $4,000 il one lump sum
paid into the hands Of Cole. l.. jBlease
and Hub Evans by Monroe Bickert,
when the deal was first framed On
/ the occasion of a visit to the liquor
house in Atlanta; Of the schedule OF
protection tax levied on the Char!s5-
ton blind tigers by Blease, and OF Ills
share with Chief Constable Stothart
in that monthly tax.
Fielder gives lot of the dictagraph
information Wilson gathered on the
Charleston istuation.
In With "Tigers"
/ Referring to Wilson's temporary
residence in Charleston while he was
posing as gambler and blind tiger
and gathering the leaders of the call
ing from all parts of the country, Mr..
;; Fielder said that Wilson was so well
!, liked by the tigers" that he came
near being elected a delegate to the
State convention from Charleston.
HE obtained a history OF Charles
ton from Beersheba, found out al
about how to obtain protection and
got the whole history of the seamy
side of the city," said Fielder, referring
to Wilson.
"A bill was introduced in the South
Carolina legislature prescribing
penalty for the delay of non-deliyery
of kilograms.
81 went over to Columbia to make
an argument in opposition to the pas
sage of this act.
II went down to the Jerome hotel
t where Senator Coleman L. Blease was
, stopping. He said in a very modest
, way that he controlled the Legislature
:, and that if my company was with hin
to come across with the quid proqu