The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1913-04-18
An Interview with Gov. B(ease.
JAMES B. NEVIN, in Hearst's Sunday American.


come into South Carolina thousands
of cotton factory votes-they are for
Blease, to a man!
Looked On As Dfsturber.
The ancient oligarchy-somebody
handed and it hath
handed me that sonorous term in Co.
lumbia, and it hath "smug ring
hates Blease 1t looks upon him as
a rank intruder, an outsider, dis
turber of the peace-in short, most
unwelcome "buttinski."
1t doesn't distress Blease in the
least, however, that such is the case.
"a mans a man for a that,"' and
Blease believes that the vote of an
intelligent, honest, and well-informed
cotton factory hand named Brown is
quite as we'll worth having as the
vote of Reginald Montmorency, Regi-
nald and his ancient and honorable
ancestors to the contrary notwith-
standing!
And right here, let me say that the
trouble with Blease-such rrouble as
there is with him at all-in SO far as
the things he says are concerned is
not in the substance of his utterances
so much as in the occasional form
thereof.
His most famous PRONUNCIATION,
perhaps was delivered few months
ago in Richmond, at the governors
conference.
Here is exactly what he said:
I would never order out the
militia and ask the home boys of
South Carolina to shoot down
their friends and their neighbors
to protect a black brute who had
assaulted a white woman our
State, and I will never do so.
If the constitution of my State
causes my State to blush and al
lows her women to be forsaken,
then I say, to hell with the consti-
tuition.
Now, be fair to Blease. There was
a pretty rough way of saying what
he had in mind, to be sure-stlil,
haven't you heard thousands and
thousands of good men and true say
in substance exactly the same thing
in potter and more chaste language,
perhaps, and without references to-
hell or any other unpleasant place
but he same thing, for ali that?
That ''to hell with the constitution"
was seized upon, and used to Blease's
discredit and undoing in many locall-
ties--and yet when you come to judge
the substance and not the form OF
what he said, and how he said it, and
the circumstances of it, why-Well,
lust be fair to Blease, anyway IN
reaching conclusions.
The things that Blease says he said
in Richmond are sworn to by the Of
fetal stenographer of the Richmond
gathering, and he produces the signed
statement of that stenographer to
show precisely what he did say.
Scores Prevailing Costumes.
Going on from this topic to an
other, the governor said this:
eft is not so much the black brute
in life that makes the fearful and the
fate of the women in the South, we
will handle the black brute as they
deserve-but it is the sinister, per-
suasive, ingratiating evil influence OF
fashion that causes me to tremble for
them. When I pass along the streets
today and see the costumes, fash
ioned in Paris and in efete Europe,
that our woman wear-costumes that
are destructive of that sweet modesty
we love so in our women-then is
when I fear for them. We can, and
we will, protect our women against
those deadly foes we can put our
hands upon, but our women them
selves must protect themselves
against themselv
Anything revolutionary vol nt, Or
rambunctious in th2t? Maybe so
and yet thousands and thousands Of
people are saying the SAM thins
every day.
When the governor of South Caro-
lima looks out one window Of the cap
ital he sees statue of Gonzales, the
man killed by the famous Jim Till
man. Blease helped defend Tlllman'
and the shadow of that tragedy hangs
over South Carolina still-even as
the staying of Carmack hangs over