The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-10-10
CONCERNING MES
SAGE.
Governor Blease Sends Special Mes.
sage to Senate Concerning Handling
of Former Communication.

| OF FORMER Communication.
| Columbia, Oct 1.-THE governor
did not like the way in which the To-
cal morning paper headlined the story
or his message to the legislature yes
terday, and he told the senate so this
morning through a special message.
| only part of the message was read in
the senate yesterday by Reading Clerk
Stokes, who said Stenographer Black
burn, Of the governors office, had
marked the passages which he could
read and marked out the ones to skip
Mr.. Stokes having gone down to the
governors office before the senate met
to get copy Of the message.
The understanding in the senate
yesterday was that only that part of
the governors message read was to
be printed and the Journal came out
this morning with the expurgated edi-
ton. But the chief executive did not
like it, as his following message
shows:
state of South Carolina,
Executive Chamber.
Message No. 3.
Gentlemen of the Senate: I sent
to you two messages on yesterday, and
stated then that did not propose to
send any other messages or make any
further suggestions to this session of
the legislature, but that l was going
to leave to their good judgment the
passage Of such laws as they thought
would relieve the present condition of
our people.
This morning, upon picking up the
Columbia State. / find in big head
lines: "Chief Executive for Stay Law
Sends Plethoric Message to House,
Expurgated Edition to Senate" and
then in referring to the message, this
newspaper says: In other words, the
senate received an expurgated and the
house an unexpurgated edition.
II cannot allow this to pass. I sent
to each house identically the same
copy, printed at that, and each copy
was in full and each copy just exact
ly alike, and how this newspaper, or
anybody else could make that kind of
statement l am at a loss to under
stand.
II enclose you affidavits from my
private secretary, who prepared the
copies of the message for delivery to
the general assembly, and from my
stenographer, who delivered the copy
to the senate.
"To prove, Furthermore, that had
no desire to conceal anything 1 had
the document printed, and have al
ready mailed out numbers Of copies
from the governors Office, printed in
full.
1T does seem to me that there
should be an end to this misrepresen
tation Of myself by a hostile press, and
really. if the majority Of your body
were my friends, would ask for an
investigation, but as / know the ma
jority Of you possibly would smile and
be pleased at the misrepresentation. /
simply call your attention to it in this
manner. Very respectfully,
"Cole l.. Blease, Gvernor.
columbia, S. c., Oct. Z, 1914"
w. S. Stokes, reading clerk of the
senate, made the following statement.
which was ordered printed in the Jour-
nal:
Before the beginning Of the session
Of the senate l went down to the gov
ernor's Office, as ] usually do, to get a
copy Of the governors message that
/ might look it over before the senate
convened Mr.. Blackburn, the gov
ernor's stenOgrapher, went into the
governors private office and returning
took a printed copy of the message
from the case and said he could fix it,
and proceeded to put together most Of
the pages and to draw n heavy. black
pencil across the parts which could
not be padded, and handing it to me
said: When the governors message
is sent up just put it on your desk and
read this copy | did as requested
and read only those parts left un-
marked.
wv. s. stokes, Reading Clerk"
The senate ordered the full mes
sage printed.