Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-09-06

TILlMAN VS.. BlEASE.
Interesting Analysis Of Senator'S Ae-
eusatien Of Governor.

Interesting Analysis Of Senator'S Ae-
eusation Of Governor.
Governor Blease's reply to Senator
Tillman's last letter is in many re-
spects the better Of the two epistles.
Despite provocation to use bitter Ian
guage the tone Of the governors letter
is temperate and dignified. It Is much
the best thing of the kind he has done
since he became governor. 1t is a far
more effective reply than one would
have been which retorted in kind to
Tillman's epithets. If Governor Blease
in all his utterances, both as governor
and as politician. will stick to the
plane Of his reply to Tillman he will
command respect even from those who
will give 1t unwfllingiy. There Is no
use for Tillman to complain. He taught
Blease and, II the scholar was so apt
as to excel his teacher at his own game
the teacher should be proud Of his pu-
pill. If Tillman's success was not
largely due to his arraying Of one
class against another, neither was
Bease's. II Tillman did not teach that
all newspaper men, without regard to
individual character or reputation, are
liars when 1t comes to politics. then
Blease did not profit from the learn
ing of that lesson by the masses. There
are many men Of both factions that
think a rebuke Of Blease's methods
comes with poor grace from Tillman.
There are also many men Of both fac
tions who think Blease was helped, not
hurt, by Til'man's eleventh hour atatck
on him, after repeated public assur-
ances that he was neutral In the gu
bernatorial campaign this year. He did
not know anything about Blease when
he wrote his attack upon him that he
did not know when he was assuring
Blease and the public in general that
he was hands off, as between Blease
and Jones. Tillman's letter to Editor
Sims was generally regarded as an at
tempt to aid Jones, yet 1t really helped
Blease, for 1t wound up by an assertion
that, unless the newspapers quit pub
fishing such stun as Mayor Grace's at
tacks and 'the dictagraph slush" they
would elect Blease. Having spent all
his political life in indiscriminate at
tempts to impugn the veracity of all
newspaper men, in South Carolina and
everywhere else, 1t Is impossible for
Tillman in q moment to undo that evil
and unjust work. The full fruitage Of
that false teaching ought to be appar-
ent to Tillman In the refusal Of thous-
ands of his former followers to believe
he wrote the letters against Blease
which appeared in the papers over his
own signature, even though fool
10 hnwavQr
mendacious its editor might be. would
dare to publish a letter as coming from
Tillman which he had not written.
Having spent his whole political life
in discrediting the newspapers, through
which only he can promptly reach all
the people Of his state, Tillman now
complains because when in an emer-
gency he employs the newspapers to
reach the people he cannot do so be-
cause he himself taught them distrust
Of that medium of communicating with
them.
Recurring to that concluding para
graph Of his letter to Editor Sims. has
it ever occurred to Senator Tillman
that his eleventh hour attack on Blease
was largely based on Grace's attack
and the "dictagraph slush," informa-
ton as to which he obtained only from
the newspapers? What information as
to Stothart did he have except such as
he obtained from the newspaper re-
ports Of Grace's attacks upon Blease's
chief constable in Charleston? What
information as to Sam Nichols did he
have that he did not obtain from the
newspaper reports Of the "dictagraph
slush?" And yet, his main announced
reasons for his attack on Blease were
Stothart and Nicholls.-Greenville
Piedmont.