The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1913-06-03
PUT EMPTY BOTTLES
IN GOVERNORS ROOM
AFTER GOVERNOR HAD LEFT
YORKVILLE HOTEL.
The YOrkville Enquirer RecOunts Some
Facts Connected With Campaign
Last Summer.
Special to The Herald and News.

or more empty bottles were placed IN
the room in the hotel il Yorkvllle
which Governor Blease had occupied
in the day of the State campaign meet
ing last summer, after the governor
had left, in order to lend color to
sfalse report that the governor had
been drunk, is among the startling
statements contained in an editorial
in the Yorkville Enquirer of May 80.
The editorial, in full, follows:
"Charges Of Drunkenness.
"Just what is going to be the out
I come of Col. Roosevelt's libel suit
against the Ishpeming, Michigan
newspaper will not be known until
the Jury renders its verdict; but 1t
is fact that if the jury shall find that
the Ishpeming paper knowingly made
an unfounded charge of drunkenness
with intent to gain political advantage
it should pay the full penalty
s'In this connection we are remlnoeo
of certain slip of the Enquirer some
eight or nine years ago in which this
paper made in good faith similar
charge against Hon. Cole. L. Blease'
then candidate for governor, which
charge we have since had reason to
believe was u-.true, and which on that
account, has been a source of much
regret to US.
upon the arrival of the campaign
party in Yorkville that year, and while
the party was here, there was c1rcu-
lated circumstantial story to the et-
feet that Mr.. Blease had gotten beast
" drunk at the previous campaign
meeting and was so drunk on his arrl-
val in Yorkville that he had to be help
ed from the train and carried TO his
hotel. In the following issue of the
ENQUIRER, and without suspicion OF
anything but the truth, We described
how Mr.. Blease was in the habit of de-
scribins himself to his audiences as a
man who took a drink when he felt
like it; but never used liquor to excess
and immediately afterward was as
liable as not to be as full as a goat.
"The article, which included our
honest impressions of all the cand1-
dates then running, some compliment
tary and some otherwise, was copied
in several Of the papers, and there was
a good deal of talk about it; but there
was no suggestion of grounds for libel
so far as we ever heard, and we never
thought Of such a thing until one day
several years afterward, MIR. Robert
Latham, then news editor of the News
and Courier, recalled the article in a
general conversation with the writer,
thereof, and suggested that it came
dangerously near being libelous. At
the time Of the conversation referred
TO, the editor Of the Enquirer still
had no other idea than that the article
was warranted by the facts, and was
resolved to stand by it to the limit.
Although during subsequent cam
paigns, the Enquirer continued to sup
port Mr.. Blease's opponent-Governor
Ansel twice and later Mr.. Feather
stone, Mr.. Blease never said anything
about the matter either from the
stump or in the form of a legal ac-
ton. and we were warranted in con-
cluding that the reason lay in one OF
two things-either the drunkenness
allegation was true, or it was not the
policy of Mr.. Blease to take up his
time in legal rows with the newspa-
pers.
During the campaign of last year
the Enquirer having decided for rea-
sons that it considered satisfactory
and justitiable that it had nothing to
Gain for its readers or State either in
mixing up ir factional fight where
it was unable to give either side its
full approval. contented itself with
giving ooth sides as fair treatment as
it knew how, and without showing any
preference to either This attitude
gave considerable concern to many
extreme anti-Blease politicians, who
believing it would be impossible for
rs to hold such position, devoted
themselves with as much energy as
POSSIBLE to the task Of driving US from