Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-10-01
GOVERNOR TALKED OF PARDoNs
Told Spartanburs Herald What He
Had Thouoht of Subject,


During his visit to Spartanburg last
week Governor Blease was interviewed
by a reporter of the Herald, who quot
ed him as expressing himself on the
subject of pardons as follows:
AS one Of the reasons given for the
governors liberal exercise of the par
doning power was that many cases
worthy of clemency had been allowed
to accumulate in the penitentiary
governors in this respect. Mr.. Blease
Vas asked if he had weeded out most
IF these meritorious cases.
There are some left" he answered,
but not great many. / have in mind
negro named Carolina, or something
like that, who has served twenty-three
years of a life sentence. That man
has been kept in the penitentiary for
no other reason than because he makes
such toothsome pickles that the peni-
tentiary officials are unwilling to lose
his services. On that account they
have resisted his efforts to get a par
Uon. l intend to act in his case, how
ever, as l believe that a man, after
having made a good prisoner for twen-
ty-two or twenty three years ought to
lie gwen anotner chance outside OIL
prison walls.
There are some prisoners in the pen
itentiary who have been there so long
that they have been forgotten by peo-
pie on the outside. So far as their
friends or relatives are concerned
they are dead. There was one prison
er, Bachus Horlbeck, a Charleston ne
gro, who had been in the penitentiary
so long that when he was released he
felt strange and i'll at ease, and actual
ly returned to the penitentiary and
asked Captain Griffith, the superin-
tendent, to give him work, and that
man is now, although a free man,
working behind prison walls.
II believe in giving a convict who
has behaved himself in prison, anoth-
er chance in the world. But it would,
of course, be out Of the question to
unlock the penitentiary doors and turn
everybody loose. / have seen all the
prfso soners in the penitentiary lined up
the white men on one side and the
negroes on another. And / am sorry
to say that on the whole the faces Of
the white men were meaner and more
vicious than those Of the negroes. The
faces of some of the white convicts
are so sullen and mean as to be abso-
lutely repulsive. 1t would be out Of
the question to pardon these fellows,
for they would be more than likely to
kill the men responsible for their
conviction, or burn down their houses.
Governor Blease said he believed
the people approved of his pardon
record and that instead Of hurting
him II had actually helped to re-elect
him..
Speaking of the charge that it was
impossible to get pardon except
through certain lawyer friends of the
governor, Mr. Blease remarked that
Joshua Ashley, of Anderson county,
farmer, had probably obtained more
pardons than any other man. Mr..
Blease also remarked that he had
granted a number Of pardons at the
solicitation Of men who opposed him
in politics, mentioning Frank Tomp-
kins, attorney for Judge Jones; Chris
tie Benet, secretary OF the Demo-
cratic state executive committee, and
T. B. Butler, mayor Of Gaffney, as po-
litical enemies to whom he had grant
ed such favors.
In this connection Sam ]. Nichols,
who was present during the converse
ton, stated that although he had been
spoken of as the one man through
whom pardons could be obtained In
Spartanburg county: as q matter or
fact he had been interested In only
three of twenty-seven cases OF eXecu-
tive clemency in this county.
The governor discussed the reports
that the lawyers designated as par
don brokers' were paid for the par
dons. Mr.. Blease said it was no more
than right that these lawyers should
charge fees for their professional SER
vices in drawing up and circulating
the petitions for the pardon.
He said If he had been rewarding
his close lawyer friends by throwing
a big pardon business their way he
would have directed all applicants for
pardons to his brother, Eugene, or his
former law partner, Fred Dominick.
But as a matter Of fact, he said, these
men had not asked him for single
pardon, except that Eugene Blease
has transmitted the application OF
others in a couple Of cases.