The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1912-03-12

question by Senator Carlisle, Mr..
Brice further stated that as far as he
knew the charges against the other
members of the Ansel board were also
false.
Mr.. :}rice was asked to give the
source Of his information that Cover
nor Blease had been insympathy with
the liquor houses and the grafters. He
said that he had heard Mr.. Blease on
the floor of the senate state that re-
gardless of what evidence could be
produced against the members Of the
board of control of the dispensary, he
was their friend and would defend
them even if they were sent to the
penitentiary. Mr. Brice said he had
heard Senator Blease say the State
dispensary was not wrong and he
wanted it continued and did not want
any legislation that would alter its
status.
Mr.. Brice said ne had read evidence
taken by the Lyon-Christensen inves-
tigation commission, Of which Cover
nor Blease, as senator, was member,
and that his "acts and conduct on this
commission, some of which he had
seen personally, his spoken and writ
ten words, caused me to believe that
his sympathies were with the other
side entirely. After he was governor,
and following out his declarations on
the floor of the senate, a man proven
guilty beyond a. shadow of doubt had
been pardoned" On questions by
Senator Sullivan, Mr.. Brice explained
that this man was the one whom the
governor had said he would go to the
penitentiary with and wear stripes
with if he were convicted.
Adding as reasons for his belief that
the governor was on the side Of the
grafters, Mr.. Brice said: "In the sen
ate when the proposition was made to
appropriate $4,000 for the prosecu-
ton of these men for stealing, ne
(Senator Blease) opposed it vigorous
ly: he resisted it in every possible
way"
DR.. Murray on Stand.
DR.. w. J. Murray, Of Columbia,
chairman of the Ansel winding-up
commission, was the first witness be-
fore the Investigating committee Fri
day. He told of the organization of
the commission and the beginning OF
the auditing of the dispensary's ac-
counts. He told Of the disposition by
the board of the immense over-stock
on hand in the dispensary. He went
into details Of the work Of his board
in winding up the affairs. He said
that every gallon of the stock had
been disposed Of, being sold to the
Geer Drug company, Of Spartanburg;
Bruce & Doster, of Greenville, the
Murray Drug company, Of Columbia,
and the county dispensaries. He said
that in this transaction Of million
dollars there was no error, and he in
vited the investigators to inspect his
accounts. Governor Blease, in mes
sage last year, had asked the investi-
gators to find out what had been done
with this alcohol.
DR.. Murray said that he had paid
out large sums in the wlnding-up BUS
mess out Of his own pocket.
AS to the governors charge that
money had been received by the COM
mission and of Sunday work by them,
DR.. Murray explained that a slight
mistake had been made Of one day in
one of his vouchers and that Cover
nor Blease had taken this day to be
Sunday. He offered an affidavit from
Mr.. Thorpe, book-keeper for the dis
pensary, showing that the money for
that extra day had been returned. The
error had been made by calculating
the month as having 81 days when
that month had only 80. The error
was fully corrected. No charge had
been made for Sunday work.
DR.. Murray spoke of the dispensary
as a "miserable affair" and said the
man who makes the insinuation that
any members Of the commission had
acted wrongly in managing the affairs