The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-12-24
MANNING, S. G. WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER "a, 1913
GRACE gets angry
WHILE BEFORE COMMITTEE ON
WRALEY CONTEST
Offers TO fight POST

Offers TO fight POST
Grace's Methods Dtspleases Demo
Gratis on the Committee, and He IL
Warned by Members Grace Says
Many Votes Had Been Bought 70,
Blease In His Fight for Reelection
The washington correspondent o1
The News and Courier says: Re.
peated clashes between Mayor John
P. Grace, Of Charleston, and Chair.
man Post, Of the House elections
committee, which is considering the
protest filed with Speaker Clark
against the seating OF Representative
R. S. Whaley, characterized the hear
ing held Monday by the committee to
give Mayor Grace an opportunity to
rebut the evidence submitted by the
congressman in reply to the evidence
previously put on record by the
mayor.
Chairman Post often stopped Mr.
Grace's line Of questioning or discus
sion, or told him not to argue, or OBJ
jected to the prompting Of witnesses.
At one time the statements Of the
chairman with regard to converse
ton which Mr.. Grace had with him
about the conduct Of the case were
directly contradicted by the mayor,
who beligerently suggested that the
question Of whose word was best
could very easily be settled outside Of
the committee room.
Mayor Grace appeared before the
committee with two witnesses, John
I: Cosgrove, who took nearly all Of
the original Grace afidavits, and c.
]. Bresnihan, who had assisted in Sc
curing some Of them. He put these
witnesses on the stand In rebuttal Of
the Whaley afidavits charging that
the Grace affidavits were improperly
procured and unworthy OF credence.
Cosgrove made a better witness than
Rresnihan, but on the whole their
testimony, subjected to the cross-ex-
animation OF the chairman, did not
seem to impress the majority Of the
committee. Cosgrove said at first that
he had not been Influenced by any
consideration Of employment in TAX
ing the afidavits, and later admitted
that he was regularly employed in the
Office Of Logan & Grace at 500 a
month. He admitted that he was
personally unacquainted with num-
Der Of the: men whose afddaVits he
took.
Bresnihan was several times called
down for answers which impressed
committeeman as impertinent. Once
he was admonished for prompting
CosgroEe. He admitted that he was a
city employee. Cosgrove said that
the blind tiger situation in Charles
ton was a violation OF the statutes,
but declared that it was inherited by
Mayor Grace from Congressman
Whaley's brother-in-l' ", Mr.. Rhett.
The questions Of the .Aairman OF the
committee and Of Representatives
Crisp, Of Georgia, and Stephens, OF
Mississippi, who did most Of the ques-
tioning for the majority Of the COM
mittee, indicated decided failure to
approve Of the Grace policy Of deal
ing with the liquor problem.
The two Republican members OF
the committee plainly showed SYM
pathy with the Grace side OF the case,
and did all they could to encourage
it's SPONSORS. Several times 1t appear
ed probable that the committee would
direct Mayor Grace to leave, because
of the objections Of Democratic COM
mitteemen to his method Of state
ment as a lawyer and as a witness,
but the stormy session was brought
to a close without the threatened OBJ
lection.
Mayor Grace took the stand after
Cosgrove and Bresnihan had test1-
fed. He made bitter attack on MI.
Whaley and some Of Whaley's rebut-
tai witnesses; defended his own
course and likened himself In his sit
uation before the committee to Christ
before Plate. He did not deny that
he had himself bought votes, and said
that no jury could be made to convict
on the charge of vote-buying In his
State. He said that Hughes had
spent more than $4,000 in his fight
with Whaley for the nomination and
admitted that he would not have sub
mitted a protest to Congress II
Hughes had won. When pressed as
to his reasons for this distinction, the
mayor acknowledged that he regard
ed Whaley as a perjurer and hypo-
critic.
It was brought out while Mr.. Grace
was on the stand that he had endeaV-
ored in vain to induce Senator Till
man and various members OF the
South Carolina delegation In the
House to take the initiative In nnoV-
ing for an investigation Of Mr.. Whal-
ey's right to his seat. Members OF
the committee laid stress In their
questioning on the character OF the
witnesses from whom the Grace af1-
davits were obtained, expressing sur
prise that there were not among them
any professional men or merchants
farmers or manufacturers.
Mr.. Grace admitted that he had
spent large sums of money in his own
local campaigns, and declared that
many votes had been bought for