Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-06-18

that there can be found in any voca-
tion OF profession more earnest, hon.
est and patient seekers Of truth, enc
mics of wrong, and defenders Of right
than among the newspaper men OF
South Carolina
| They know their duty, and, know
ing, dare maintain" to a larger and
deeper degree than Is generally appre-
ciated. 1t Is a painful duty to expose
the wrong doings of our fellow men. II
Is duty to the public which none but
the brave could perform. We say this
OF the scores Of newspaper men and
women in South Carolina whom we
know to be true soldiers Of just
cause, and who would be In the fore
front Of any battle for liberty and JUS
tice, whether fought with musket
sword or pen.
| And when we are asked to publish In
our own paper, at our own expense to
our thousands of readers, the state
mept that we are part Of "a cruel, sell
fish, diabolical scheme to plunder this
state" we cannot let the charge go
unchallenged.
| What the newspapers say and do is
In the open. They publish their be-
liefs and thoughts to the world. What
they have to say about man Is print
ed where he and all his friends can
read 1t.
wherever a paper Is subsidized. or
controlled by sinister motives, the
honest papers and the people soon find
1t out and point It out, and the Offend
ers lose the respect Of their fellow
newspaper men, just as a farmer who
steals his neighbor's cotton loses the
respect Of his fellow farmers.
1t was not known for time that c.
w. Creighton and L. M. Green were
drawing pay from the state as the
governors secret detectives while writ
ing and working In the interest Of the
governor. But the truth soon came
out, thanks to the great body Of hon.
est newspapers In South Carolina.
Newspapers, as class, should not
be condemned on account OF the sins
OF few. It would be just al fair to
say that all farmers are gamblers be-
cause some Of them engage In the fas-
cinating game OF cotton futures, or
that the heaven ordained institution OF
marriage Is a failure because here and
there, a matrimonial bark has been
wrecked on the rocks Of marital mis-
fits; or that all church members will
ultimately become atheists and bias
phemous because few have fallen by
the wayslde.
Instead of being plunderers of the
| state, the newspapers, as class, have
been the chief exposers and enemies OF
plunder and graft. When the negroes
and carpet baggers were plundering
the state after the war, and some of
our politicians were hobnobbing with
the negroes for the purpose Of sharing
in the plunder, the newspapers raised
cry that was heard from the noun
tains to the sea, and the good white
Democrats of the state got together
the plunderers from power.
When the state dispensary was -en'--
ing with rottenness and graft the like
Of which had not been known since the
days Of negro domination, II was the
newspapers that first turned on the
light. With the help Of Lyon and Chris
tensen, they exposed the grafters,
while Cole L. Blease, as q member Of
the investigating committee, was do
ing everything In his power to pre-
vent the light from being turned on.
and trying to keep the facts from
coming out.
Mr. Crosland's yarn about Jones be-
ing caught, tied, bucked and gagged by
the corporations Is too flimsy an ex-
cuse to be believed by anybody who
IL
events In this state.
Like q lawyer who has q weak case
1.-The facts are against him He has-no
proof to sustain his allegations.
II he means that some men who are
supporting Jones, or who were dele
gates to the state convention or men,
bers Of some committee, have stock In
some bank, railroad, telegraph COM
pany or cotton mill, then indeed Is he
hard pressed for reasons with which to
fight Jones. Because a man Is inter-
ested In great Industrial enterprises Is
no reason why he should be disquali-
fed from good citizenship or from
membership in the Democratic party.
Because Thos. B. Gibson, d. d. Nc
Coll. ]. N. Drake, J. B, Green. John I.
McLaurin, Don Mcqueen and others
are stockholders In cotton mills and
monsters to be held up by demagogues
as bug to scare the factory
operative and poor laboring man."
When 1t comes to the test, they will be
more Of a friend to the factory opera
tive and poor laboring man than the
men who try to frighten them into vot-
ing for such men as Blease. And the
same can be said Of Lewis w. Parker,
Leroy Springs, and others who have
done so much to develop the resources
and industries of this state and Civ,
employment to thousands of honest
working people.
If interest in q corporation disquali-
fles man from membership or lead
ership in the Democratic party, wha.
does Mr.. Crosland say Of Willie Jones,
who for years has been chairman Of
the state executive committee? He Is
hn 81 hn ID nft
at the head Of a great banking insti-
in many other corporations, including
the notorious Seminole Securities
company" in which hundreds of peo-
pie lost hard earned money. 1t was
Cole l. Blease who nominated Willie
Jones and got him elected two years
ago. and wanted him reelected this
year.
Blease himself has been a corpora
tion attorney and for the worst
trust on earth, the whisky trust. He
was the salaried representative Of a
wholesale whisky house that had deal
ings with the state dispensary while
he was a state senator. When a wit
ness who knew Of this was on the
stand, Blease, as a member Of the in
vestigating committee, and his friends
on the committee, outvoted Christen-
from telling what senator was employ
ed by the whisky house.
Afterwards Blease stood up in the
senate and said he would stand by
his friends Of the dispensary commits
sion. even though they were convict
ed.
And when John Black was convict
ed and sentenced to serve q term In
the penitentary for defrauding the
state in liquor purchases, Gov. Blease
first reduced his sentence to fine, and
then gave him an absolute pardon.
Can Mr.. Crosland prove his asser-
tion that the telegraph and telephone
companies would control Jones?
There was one bill in the last legis-
lature which sought to give some relief
against the telephone companies. 1t
was to require them to give connec-.
ton over a toll line when the local
line was out Of order or busy" in
stead Of charging toll between points
where subscribers had right to talk
without charge. The bill passed the
houses of the legislature by over
whelming majorities. Who prevented 1t
from becoming law? None less than
Gov. Cole L. Blease who vetoed 1t too
late for it to be passed over his veto.
All these things are matters OF pub
lie record, which cannot be success
fully contradicted. OF course they can
be denied and called newspaper
lies" before people who do not know