The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1914-11-20
BLEASE SAYS THAT
WILSON Is WEAK
EXPLAINS WHY HE PARD0NED so
MANY CRIMINALS
Interview Given While Returning
From Conference Of Gov
ernOrS.
Greenville News.

Greenville News.
w. NJ Moore returned yesterday
from Cincinnati where he went the
first of the week on business While
out there he saw Governor Blease
wo was interviewed by a Cancinnati
Times-Star reporter and waen the
governor delivered himsel: of the fol,
lowing:
president Wilson is a failure as
chief executice of tee United States.
'He is a weak man. He Its no
backbone. If he is nominated again
he will be defeated and a Republican
president will take his place.
81 was for Judson Harmon of Gin
cinnati :or president at the last
Democratic convention ana l am for
Harmon again for the nomination. If
Harmon is noinated he will be cleo
ted"
'rThis is the view of Governor Cole
l. Blease, the governor of South
Carolina, W.o was a visitor IN Gin
vinnati Friday. He stopped here on
his way home from the conference of
governors and said he intended to call
on Mr.. Marmon. He wore a black
sack coat and black hat with a
broad brim and looked the typical
southern governor. Wilson used all
Of his political patronage in my State
to defeat me, said Governor Blease,
referring to lis recent defeat at the
primaries when he ran for the Demo
cratic senatorial nomination. ''Wil-
son ought to have annexed Mexico to
the United States long ago, and ended
the carnage down t.ere. He would
have much more reason to annex
Mexico than we mad to annex the
Philippines. But Wilson is afraid He
is a physical coward. If he were slap
ped on one check he would turn the
other That's good enough Chris
tianity all right, but it's mighty weak
craftsmanship. Wilson is good
SCHOOL teacher but poor president.
1.-The ambition of my life was to be
governor of my State. l have achieT-
ed that and am going back to the
practice of law
why did you pardon about 1000
negroes and 500 white men from
your penitentiary?"
<I pardoned many negroes because
negroes often fail to get justice at the
white mans court house 1 am for
justice Or the negro, although
strenuously opposing social equality.
Many w2ite men too are sent to the
penitentiary merely because they do
not have influential friends to keep
them out. Rici offenders get leniency
and mercy in the courts.
Another reason l pardoned many
was to get rid of the hosiery factory
at the penitentiary., Tl2is factory
gave Il ousands of prisoners con-
sumption and helped to spread the
disease over our State while We were
fighting tuberculosis with State
funds. The private individuals who
made money out of the life blood of
tie convicts in the hosiery factory
foug me, but l said 1 would pardon
every prisoner unless the legislature
abolished the factory and when l had
pardoned about 1900 men tie legis-
lature finally said We'll, l guess that
fool really means what he says-so
they abolished the factory Now the
reduced number of prisoners work at
the healthful job of road building
Regarding the cotton situation
R!ease said: "Our State, at the wish
of cotton raisers, passed law forbid
ding farmers to plant more than two
thirds as much cotton as last year
while there was some doubt as to t~e
constitutionality of the measure.
signed it so we could try, but it will
not do much good unless farmers Of
other States follow silt.
eve also passed law providing
for a State cotton warehouse. Our
trouble is that the farmers have not
learned to raise diversified crops We
raise too much cotton, and ought to
raise more hogs, beet, corn, wheat,
oats and rye"