Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-01-21
GoyERNoRsHIP OF S. CAROLINA
After Two Eyentful Terms Resigns
Five Days Before Expiration of
Term; Impeachment Talked.


Columbia. S. c., Jan. 14.-Cole /,
blease today retired as South Carroll
uas governor five days before his
second term of two years would have
ended. His resignation, sent to Sec.
retary of State McCown, was snpnla
clented by brief message To tbo oon
eraI assembly Informing the men6oro
>-aC II also was rendered to them.
some members of the house of rem
aesehtatlyes and senate cheered the
uounceLnent OF the governors resie.
A4aelon. No formal action was naceS.
sary and by direction of the Drasi5.
u's omcers in the two houses the nee
ton 10 Ald-
Lieutenant Governor Charles A
SInleh was Immediately sworn lin &C
CEe states executive to serve ont +bo
Inexp1red term, Chief Justice Garv of
ne state supreme court, administer
ns tne oath of Office. Mr.. Blease and
several state officials then accomnan.
'eo MI. Smith to the governors Office
l'eGrande G. Walker, president of The
senate, automatically succeeded To the
lieutenant governorship.
No previous intimation of +bo o.o-,
slnor acCon had been given and no
IeasOh Ior II was assigned. The pres
Hh[ legislature is chiefly composed Of
''en who are his political opponents
ana II was said that proposals to in
sCitute impeachment proceedings
against him were made at a meetine
0f legislators Tuesday night, but thai
40 action was taken.
In Red Ink.
L hereby resign my office as gov.
ernor of South Carolina. was tha fu1l
communication of Governor Blease to
the secretary of state 1t was written
by hand and in red ink. Both the
governor and his friends refused to
add anything to the brief statement
Inc message to the general assembly
was equally teFse, it simply saying
1 tender my resignation to YOU as
gCFernor of the state of South Caro-
Iina,"
-Governor-elect Richard ]. Manning
will be inaugurated next Tuesday. He
las been political opponent of Mr..
Elease and defeated Lieutenant Gov
ernor Blease for the democratic nom.
tration last August Mr.. BIease al
that time was defeated for the demo
cratic nomination for United States
senator by Ellison D. Smith, the in
cEmbent.
Picturesque Figure.
Governor Blease, sometimes called
the stormy petrol of South Carolina"
was accounted one of the most pictur.
esque figures in American public life
Original in conception and daring in
execution, his administration has been
marked by many unusual actions
Numerous grants of clemency to state
prisoners, public statements which
we're constructed to mean that he was
opposed to using state troops to pre-
vent the lynching of negroes when
they attacked white women and the re-
cent disbanding of the South Carolina
National guard helped make his Off
cial career notable
II love the pardoning power he
once said. 81 want to give the poor
devils another chance. I hope to
make the number an even thousand
before | go out Of office"
Records show that the governor sur.
passed even his own expectations. just
before retiring today he issued twenty
seven clemency grants. Four men
sentenced to life Imprisonment for
murder received commutations Most !
of the remaining number we're given |
Today's action made
total of 1,708 prisoners granted elem
ency during the governors four years
administration.
THOUSAND PardOned.
Full particulars recently were grant |
ed approximately 1000 prisoners who
had been paroled, this ac-
ticn restoring their citizenship. Sup
D. J. Griffith, of the state
penitentiary, said tonight that less
than one hundred prisoners are now
held there. /
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