The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-08-07

EGGS THROWN AT CHARI.ESTOX
MAYOR IN SPARTANBuRG.
Mill Operatives Refuse to Permit
Speaker IL Make Himself Heard.
Police Failing to Preserve Order
County sheriff Tries In Vain To
Queil TtImult Grace Declares
spartanburg Police are Worse
than thos, Of New York and Ad-
vises Mayor Pro Tenn Leonard to
Resign.

Spartanbu-g. August 3.-Rotten
eggs were thrown. Blease men shout
ed and the police force failed to pre-
serve any semblance of order tonight
in theatre filed with tweive hun
dred representative voters of Spartan
burg and one hundred mill operatives
who had congregated in the building
TO hear Mayor John +. Grace. of Char
lesion. who attempted to speak. Af-
ter trying from $50 to IL O'Clock to
get hearing and during this time
speaking only about fifteen minutes.
the Charleston Mayor gave IL up as
hopeless task. and the hundred mill
operatives who had howled him down
congregated outside of the building
and continued their rowdy tactics.
Mayor Grace quit trying with the
statement that he would see Blease
tried. convicted and put behind ,he
bars >of the State Penitentiary.
The meeting opened at $50 o'clock.
,. L. Johnson. mayor Of the city. some
say. was out of town; others say he
was not. AT any rate. Alderman o.
w. Leonard. mayor pro tenn. attempt
ed to preside and made q failure. He
managed somewhat to get through his
introduction and then Mayor Grace
arose.
"Hurrah for Coley." and I'VE want
Blease." who are you?" go back
TO Charleston" Your eyes are too
close together" and the like resounded
from the gallery where perhaps
hundred Blease supporters were con-
gregated. Mayor Grace. who was suf-
fering from a cold. several times got
start. only to be stopped on the COM
pletion of a sentence. He appealed to
the men who live within a stones
throw OF Cowpens and Kings Noun
; tain. where their ancestors fought for
liberty. to accord him the privilege of
free speech. for which their fore
fathers had died. Such a plea. Of
course. had no effect on the men In
the gallery and the jeers continued
After some time. Mayor Grace was
permitted To utter few ser noes,
while some OF the leaders OF u nowl-
ing down brigade were outside. II is
said. lie assailed Blease's reference
the Constitution. when the Governor
IL said by Grace To have said. To hell
with the Constitution" He appealed
TO the mill hands on this ground and
pointed out that Ira Il. Jones sat on
the Supreme Bench. which upheld a
decision giving one of their number a
verdict of $1,000 against Lewis w.
Parker's mill because the mill black
listed him and prevented him from Sc
curing work.
Then the howlers down returned.
Bitterness was growing fast. The
would-be presiding officer asked every
citizen who would volunteer to he
sworn in as a special officer to come
on the stage. Hundreds responded.
But the sheriff Of the county appeared
and In lieu of a police force said he
would keep order. He did for few
minutes. but then pandemonlum again
broke loose worse than ever. This con-
tinued until Mayor Grace stopped try
ing
ON one occasion. some one threw an
over-ripe egg on the stage This was
quickly followed by another. Mayor
Grace dared the "nigger" who threw
II to come on the stage. He then apol,
ogized to the several negroes I'm the
gallery for referring To the monster
who threw the egg rs member of
their race.
Grace assailed Bleasc's record hut
only got him as far as the alleged
stolen essay I'm college before he was
howled down. The Spartanburg police
force came I'm for much bitter criti-
cism for the part II played. The
Charleston Mayor reiterated that this
could never happen In his city. and on
more occasions than one advised May
or Pro Tenn Leonard to resign lie
said the Spartanburg police were,
worse than those In New York
Several lights occurred outside the
building. one young man soaked "a
Bleasite I'm the face and both were ar
rested. The young man put up bond
and the friends Of the other contrib
utcd To his bond and then paradcd
him around the streets as hero.
while the police department looked
on.
SPARTANBURG STIRRED ~.