The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1912-08-24

Gratis of South Carolina in pri-
mary election Tuesday will nominate
a state ticket, one United States
Senator and seven representatives to
Congress. Nominations are equiva-
lent to election.
All of the present representatives
are candidates for denomination and
several of them will be named with
out opposition. Senator Benjamin R.
Tillman is opposed by N. B. Dial OF
Laurens and w. Jasper Talbert, OF
Parksville. Owing to the condition
of his health Senator Tillman has
taken no active part in the campaign
| Nevertheless, his friends believe that
he is certain to defeat his two OPP
ponents in the primaries.
The bitter fight for the Governor
ship between Governor Cole L.
Blease and Judge Ira B. Jones is
monopolizing public attention to the
1 exclusion of all other contests to be
settled by the primaries. There is
but one issue; Shall the administra-
ton of Governor Blease be sustained
and continued or be condemned and
ended. On this issue the entire state
| is divided into hostile camps. while
the bitter charges hurled at Cover
nor Blease by his political enemies
have Attracted the attention of the
entire country
Governor Blease is regarded as
result of the old dispensary system
which was established in South Caro-
lima by Tillman, and which has caus-
ed innumerable scandals in the past
few years. AS member of the leg
islature, he was in close association
with the commission which ran the
dispensary system and It Is charged
that he shared the large rebates which
wholesale liquor houses were forced,
it is alleged, to pay on all purchases
of liquor from the dispensary.
The disrensarv system became so
notorious that the state decided to
abolish the commission. In winding
ND it's affairs. however, the state en-
tered suit to recover from wholesale
liquor houses in various cities
large sums of monev alleged to have
been paid in rebates. In all these
cities the name of Blease, who was
then State Senator. was mentioned.
Several criminal prosecutions were
brought against officials, but no one
was convicted
Blease ran for Governor two wears
ago and won. although opposed by
almost every newspaper in the state
and the charges agains him were
placarded everywhere. After the in
auguration he started out to punish
his enemies. At the outset of his
administration he began issuing par
dons on scale never before known
IN the South. More than 400 pardons
have been signed by him since he
became governor.
Governor Blease had warrants
sworn out against Attorney T. B.
Fielder, of Atlanta, who represented
South Carolina In winding up the af-
fairs of the dispensary commission,
but the Governor of Georgia refused
to honor requisition papers. To
protect himself, Fielder hired Detec-
tive William ], Burns to prove the
charges against Blease.
Detective Burns and his men offer
ed a legislative committee testimony
to show that Governor Blease had
received money from the pardons
granted and had accepted money
from the blind tigers for protection
and had signed or vetoed railroad
legislation which came before him
for a consideration. Attorney Sam
uel ]. Nichols was named as the
agent of Blease in these transactions.
Burns had used the dictagraph on
Nichols and it's records were offered
as evidence Nichols admitted that
he had dealings with Burns men,
but said that he was drunk and that
the records of the dictagraph were
the sayings of an intoxicated man.
Many thought that the revelations
would put Blease out of the running
for second term, but he has turned
them to account by saying that they
are lies told by the aristocrats to
discredit a man whom the common
people elected Governor. His friends
contend that the statements about
the Governors personal character
are the ISLANDERS of his political
enemies. They say he has headed a
vigorous administration according to
his own way of thinking, and that In
in that degree has it displeased and
angered his opponents. They point the
! ideas of state economy: that he sue