The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1912-09-18

"! s!a:ssd ~ I s. the Possonce at Manning as Sec
oad Class matter
"A RECKLESS STATEMENT
n editorial, criticisins tn e
Manning resolution, adopted oy
the State Executive Committee:
under which the frauds alleged
ito Rave been committed in The
frss primary are to be investi-
gsssd by a sub. committee, the
fos!owing statement is made in
TIE Manning Times Of the 4th
Instant:
.sAfr. Manning comes from a
eoenty.5 that polied nearly fifty
per cent more votes than ever
before, but it went for Judge
Jones, of course the Sumter vote
w2s with any irregularities-lt|
went for Jones'"
The statement that Sumter
county s'polled nearly fifty per
cent more votes than ever be-
fore. is tasle. The Manning
Tines is either reckless in its
gument, or is Indifferent to the
facts, which could have been ob-
tanned with little trouble. Sum-
ter county polled zoos votes in
1908, which was largest vote poll
ed since Lee county was cut of,
until this year. On August 9th.
1912, 2.282 votes were polled in
the county. This was an increase
Of Is 1-2 per cent-not nearly so
per cent as the Manning Times
asserts. An increase. of l3 IL
per cent is not abnormal for four
years, and any attempt to create
the impression that fraud was
perpetrated in Sumter county on
august 9th will fail. The Man
Riae Times has preached many
sermons on the subject of fair
ness, but in this instance it is
convicted by the records of fall
ipg to practice what it h a S
preached. -
The above is taken from the
Sumter Item of last Friday, that
newspaper did not have the fair.
ness to reproduce the editorial
of The Times in full. but took
only such a part of it as it
thoaght it could use to give vent
to a little howl, had it reproduc-
ed The Times editorial in full 1t
would have permitted its readers
70 know the attitude of the auth.
or Of. the resolution to create a
subcommittee to Investigate
frauds which he characterized as
criminal" !" The Items readers
would have known that Mr..
Manning after offering the reso-
lGtion and making the speech
that charged fraud, asked to be
excused from serving on the
committee, they would have seen
he:put himself in the position a
certain class. Of patriots (s} did
before the outbreak of hostilities
between the States, when they
vent about urging the men to
offer their lives upon the affairs
Of their cc,ntry, but when the
roar OF cannon and the rattle of
nusketry began, the men who
we're so eloquent in demanding
the services of others to resist
an invasion from the enemy,
either bought a substitute, or
creased themselves out Of the
service" The custom is, when
a resolution asking for a commit
tee to Investigate is introduced
aud it is adopted, the author of
the resolution is appointed a
member Of the committee. and
usually made the chairman, but
in this case Mr.. Manning sssecur-
ed "a substitute
With regard to the statement
made by Us that Sumter polled
nearly so per cent more votes
shan ever before, we admit that
we did not go away back to as
certain what the vote of that
county was before 1910. but took
ne figures as we found them in
the table, furnished by The State
which were f,553, and in 1912
2,271, an increase of 718 votes,
and merely assumed that mas.
much as the county went for
Jones it would not be contended
the. increase was due to fraud.
nor DO we believe there was fraud
IN Sumter county, but where the
increase Of votes was found IN
countles that went for Blease, Of
course, that increase was due to
fraud.
We notice The Item took good
care to quote from the returns of
1908, but it seemed to forget that
there was an election IN 1910,
and another in 1912.
In our Judgment The Item was
50 partisan before the primary
that it cannot see things right,
ana it's partisanship does not
seem to have abated since Blease
WOE the fight over Jones, how
ever. it is not the first time The
Item has had to gnaw on the file
of disappointment, and by this
time it should be able 70 sit up
and look r,iaaSant instead Of Snap.