Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1914-07-22
POLITICS IN THE
GREAT PIEDMONT.
About 1000 Hear Aspirants for Senatorial Honors
Speak--The Crowd Appeared Decidedly Unfav-
orable to Governor Blease--Smith Clearly the
Favorte-- Jennings and Pollock In Trim.


Thursday to hear the Senatorial cam
paign speakers. All four Of the Sen
atorial aspirants were present, and
the speaking began about half-past
10 O'Clock, the meeting being held in
the Court House grove, where
speakers stand had been erected
and seats arranged to the front.
County Chairman James VI. Moss
presided, making a few Introductory
remarks, in which he said that he
felt sure 1t was unnecessary to ad-
moniSh an Oconee audience that
good order was desired and would be
maintained. Its the empty wagon
that makes the most noise," he said,
and he hoped that it would be found
that there were no empty wagons in
this Oconee audience. The best of
order prevailed throughout the meet
ing, and each Of the four candidates
received respectful hearing and
perfect attention.
The meeting was opened by prayer
by Rev. Geo. NJ. Wilcox, of the Pres
oyterian church, whose appeal was
that the candidates who would ap-
pear before the people might prove
worthy men, inspired by the desire
to be righteous servants of the peo-
pie, guided in their service by the
will Of God, and that the people
might choose intelligently and con-
scieutiOusly between. those who
sought to represent them in the high
councils OF the nation
The crowd assembled has been va
riously estimated from 500 to 1900
people, and we think that a safe esti-
mate is 1000. This figure, we be-
lieve, would not be more than ZOE
off of actual count of those present.
giving a range in estimate from 900
to 1,100.
If we were to Judge the sentiment
of the assemhlage we would figure
the crowd as ranging from two
thirds to three-fourths as opposed to
Governor Blease for the Senate, and
fully half heartily in favor of Sena-
tor Smith for reelection. That esti-
mate, we believe, is conservative.
Messrs. Jennings and Pollock made
telling speeches, gaining friends and
adding supporters. AS the crowd
stood, we believe that conservative
estimate of it's division among the
four candidates would be 20 per
cent for Blease, so per cent for
Smith, with 25 per cent to be divided
between Messrs. Jennings and Pol
lock.
l.. ID. Jennings,
Of Sumter, was the first speaker, and
he opened his remarks by saying
that this was his first visit to Oconee,
and he was delighted to meet and
speak to such an intelligent and rep
resentative audience. you will
not" he said, ''hear national issues
discussed here to-day because there
are no national issues to discuss.
This is a campaign on personal is
sues, and they are sharply divided.
You voters Of Oconee are to decide
to-day whether you favor law and
order and decency, or will longer
stand by men who oppose law and
order, favor race track gambling in
violation of law, truckle to the blind
tigers, and set at naught the work
Of the courts and juries of the State"
He stated that he was heartily in ac-
cord with the National Administra-
ton at Washington; that we have
now Southern man in the Presiden-
tial chair--a man in sympathy with
the South and Democracy, and we in
sympathy with him. Governor Blease
is out Of harmony with the National
Administration, and even if he
sought to be of service to the peo-
pie OF South Carolina, if elected, he
would go to the nations capital ham
percd and handicapped because he
was at war with the departments and
out of sympathy with President Will
son. Mr.. Jennings said that he (Jen-
ningS) favored and would work for a
division of the national funds now
going for the irrigation Of arid lands
in the West so that just proportion
thereon would come to the South for
the building of highways and post
roads throughout the country.
Gong from these questions OF ma
tional scope Mr.. Jennings talked of
the primary rules recently adopted
at the State Convention, and stated
that they were, in his opinion, the
best rules ever adopted in this State
and calculated to purify the primary
system to such extent as to make the
results Of the elections representa-
tive OF the will Of the people. Frauds
are practically impossible under the
new rules. The looseness Of the old
rules were so fragrant that frauds
had crept in until results in the
past elections have not in reality re-.
flected the sovereign will of the great
body OF voters Of the State, and in
the last election 1T was charged by
both sides to the conflict that each
had committed fraud. He did not
know as to that, but certainly these
wholesale charges Of fraud were suf-
ficient grounds upon which to base
a conscientious revision of the party
rules. and they are so simDle an1 rea-
sonable that every voter who is en-
titled to a vote has but to comply
with reasonable restrictions to get all