Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1912-07-24
THE GOVERNOR MAKES REPLY.
Condemns Burns and Fielder and Sub
.t mits Some a Aflitiavits. Z

Stigaung committee proceeded in yio-i
lattofl5 iof the law which created IT.
that5 ~ took testimony from fugi-.
I've from justice, ina locality where,
he IVA tn esse were immune from in-i
dictment for perjury, Governor Cole
~. 2Blease, at the state campaign
meeting here to-day, denied specifia,
cally in detail thes charges
brought tahagainst him II. tho evidence
snbmttted last Friday aud Saturday,
tHAdgusta, by Thos. !. b. Fielder and
the3Burns detectives. .N<
2&F In addition to his attacks upon
Fielder, whereby he sought Ito prove.
his unworthiness of belief, the Cover
nor also paid his respects toaDetect-
I've Burns, to discredit ~whom he
quoted, from a magazine article writ
ten by Samuel Gompers, labor leader,
statements which tended to show that
when the Burns agency failed to dis
cover wrong II manufactured a case.
Synopsis
Of Governor Blease'S statement. in
reply to the charges brought by Thos.
B. Fielder, Is as folloWssS
"Damhable Conspiracy"
"As your Chief Executive, it is my
duty to defend my State and my peo-
pie. Therefore, shall at this time
and in this manner lay bare before
you the damnable conspiracy to cause
the people of South Carolina to lose
confidence in my honor and to tar
nish the proud name of the greatest
commonwealth in the realm" said
Governor Blease in his statement.
The Governor takes up the charges
one by one, disposing Of them with
anldaVits in several cases. His reply
covers forty-seven tyDewritten pages,
and the Governor demands" that the
newspapers publish it in full, else he
says hef~will charge that they were
leagued with Fielder and the investi-
eating committee.
Says Probers Exceeded Authority.
The Governor first discussed the
act creating the investigating com.
m1ttee and charges that they have ex-
ceeded their authority and power in
probing into the Charleston graft.
charges and in taking the testimony:
fzFeIder.and Burns atfAugusta.E sIle
dubs the committees act as "unlaw-
full"
Taking up next what he terms
'Felder's motives" the reply charges
that Fielder is a fugitive from justice
and knew of the Governors informa
ton that Fielder had been guilty of
attempting to form a conspiracy to
cheat and defraud the State. He re-
fers to Felder's charges made against
him, when he promised to write a
BOOK, as threats that were Jokes"
ne charges that Fielder, having
nothing and being unable to find any
thing against him, hit upon the plan
4
VIM. }. Burns and his associates, re-
ferring to them collectively as "plen
~ OF money and scoundrels."
"Body Buard" and "Pan Bearers"
The Governor says that If Fielder
was afraid to come into South Caro-
lima he would have appointed as his
BODY guard those brave men, II. b.
Carlisle, G. w. Sullivan, J. II. Cliff
ton, +. M. Cary and j. j. Evans, and
OF this gallant company / would have
made w. F. Stevenson Commonly
known as Seaboard BID as captain.
| am sure that these six men could
nave protected their friend, Col. Eel
der, and had they failed in their ef-
forts and had he been assassinated, 1t
would nave happened that the proper
number of his best friends were pres
-.
He charges that the Fielder crowd
was afraid and the investigating
committee went to Augusta to "get
something on him." and put him
in hole" He charges also that
another reason why Fielder would
not come to South Carolina was
that he could be prosecuted here for
perjury, and that he knew in Au-
gusta, where the committee was
without authority, he could not be so
prosecuted.
Calls Fielder "Bribc Ta1cr."
He assailed Fielder as "a bribe
taker and perjurer." He charges
that Fielder had to have the assist
ance OF seven other lawyers and of
w. f. Stevenson before even
friendly committee TO "hclp him
bring out his malicious and dirty
He disposes Of the charge that he
received part Of F. H. Dominick's
fee for calling off the election for
Hayward county by stating that the
election was called by Governor An
sci. and that he decided against the
side represented by Fred Dominick.
lie gives as witnesses to substanti-
ate his statements ID. S. Henderson,
OF Aiken; r. H. Welch. Of Column
bia; Geo. T. Jackson, Of Augusta.
and Fred II. Dominick, of Ncwberry.
Without affidavit he denied hav-
ing been in any legislative syndi-
cate in 1900 and gives as references
the members of the General Assem-
bly, at that time. He also denied
ever having met Fielder or having
any dealings with him in 1900, and
said that he was not even mem
Der Of the State Senate then.
Affidavit from Club" Evans,
He says that the charge that Mon
roe Bickert, in Atlanta. Maid him