The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1912-07-16

votes.
q went over there. l said Blease
has not vetoed that bill, he merely
said he thought he would veto it. He
hasn't acted. l will call him up over
long distance phone. called him up
over the phone and 1 said to him:
Governor, what about that interur-
ban bill? We had an awful lot OF
trouble getting that through the
house.
'He says: L am going to veto the
damn thing l says: oh, don't fly off
your nut said: wait minute
| says: I want to talk that bill over
with you before you finally act On it
one way or the other. l want you to
hold the matter in allegiance until you
hear from me. Of course, don't want
you to do anything you oughtn't to
do, but l want you to give me hear
ing on the matter
"He says: I don't mind hearing you,
but don't want to do thing for that
crowd that is trying to get it through
He was sore on that crowd, you know;
so I says: 4 will come up on the first
train. Don't veto it until l can get
there He says: L will hear you on
it, but 1 tell you frankly, Sam, think
I will veto it. I says: All right, it's
up to you. You are governor, but
am going to explain our side of the
proposition.'
so l went to Columbia. Everything
was up in the air. He had told me he
would not do anything with it until
he heard from me. So l went and saw
the governor. Abney was leading
counsel for the Southern railroad. He
was Blease's cousin and lived in the
governors mansion. I says: 'Blease,
here is the situation. Don't veto it.
You are either doing this thing for one
of two things; you are either trying to
take a shot at Smythe, or somebody
has approached you representing the
Southern railroad. Now, those are the
two things We have got confronting
the road, and after 1 had talked with
him half an hour he saw which propo-
sition was the stronger. So we went
into executive session, you might call
it.
81 stayed there four days with him,
and Cole. told me every morning, L
will let you know in the morning
whether 1 will sign it. Then he said,
4 won't sign it. I had an awful tine
about it. Finally we got through and
1 said: Cole, are you going to sign
that?' He said: No, 1 am not going
to sign it, and 1 says: When are you
going to sign it or veto it?' He says:
L can't sign it. 1 says, I want to tell
you, Cole, people who fought you are
giving me hell for supporting you. If
you don't sign this bill, I'll be damned
if l don't raise hell
What does it mean to you, Sam, if
l sign it?"
THAT doesn't matter a damn. That
don't make a damn bit of difference.
If l came to you on a personal matter
and you refused to sign it, that would
be different matter"
"But you didn't put it up to me that
way. You put it up as a matter of
right and wrong"
Il says, what does it mean to me
personality l says, to me personally
it means about $4,000 year. That's
about what it means to me- l says,
but that has nothing to do with it. I
just want to tell you that you are re-
fusing to sign it for one Of two rea-
sons-which one l don't know. You
are either refusing to sign it because
you don't like Lewis Parker, Smythe
or Smith, and you are trying to fay
them over the head, and in so doing
you are faying the best friends you
have ever had. You have lost sight
of the fact that you can't beat their
brains out without beating ou: brains
out. You are either doing it FOR tnat
or you are being paid by the Southern
railroad for not signing it. That is the
Il got my hat and walked out OF the
Office. l walked through his private
Office into the general ocfca He SAYS,