Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-02-05

I feel that the public should know all
the facts in connection with this mat
ter. 1t is my purpose during my term
in office to keep the people of the state
fully advised regarding the conduct OF
affairs in my office, and with that END
in view, l am giving out this state
ment.
No thought Of who would be your
| assistant, or, in fact, Of anything con-
nected with your office had entered
my mind, until you yourself volun-
derson meeting during the campaign
last summer and stated that you
| thought that 1 would be elected; and
that if 1 was elected and you were re-
elected, that you intended to act In
entire harmony with me and that your
, office would do all in its power to
further the success Of my administra-
ton. / was surprised and pleased at
| this evidence Of interest on your part
and thanked you warmly for 1t, but
had no further conversation with you
about the matter until / had received
the nomination in the second primary.
At that time you had already been
nominated for reelection in the first
primary.
When my nomination was assured,
recalling your voluntary statement at
Anderson, I phoned you, asking you
to meet me at the office of Mr.. Christie
Benet in Columbia This you prompt
ly did, coming to his office as soon as
telcphoned you. In Mr.. Benefits
presence l called to your attention the
conversation had after the Anderson
meeting and you reiterated what you
had stated before, and you then to my
surprise, offered to let me name the
assistant attorney general. This l
fatty declined, stating that l had no
desire to do so. You then stated that
you would appoint no one who was
not in harmony with me In the plat
form on which l was elected n that
you would submit to me names Of
the men whom you were considering
and would appoint no n who "a
Objectionable to me. You then stated
that Mr. F. D. Dominick would not be
your assistant again; that you had
considered Mr.. M. p. DeBruhl, but
thought his health was such that you
had other names under Amusement and
would confer with me again in regard
to the appointment.
I heard nothing further from you,
but on the morning Of my Inaugural
ton I phoned you asking for an ap-
pointment with you for 5 o'clock that
afternoon in my room at the Jerome
hotel. At the outset OF my admins
tration / was in urgent need OF legal
advice on a number Of matters, in
Guiding the pending asylum investiga-
ton, the order to disband the militia
and other questions. You came to my
room at the Jerome hotel at 5 o'clock
that afternoon and again discussed
the matter with me in the presence OF
Mr.. Benet, who had been present at
the former conversation. At that time
you stated to us thai to your great en-
barrassment you were not able to get
Mr.. Dominick to resign; that o a
asked him to resign last summer and
again since the campaign; that you
had had mutual friends to go to him
and state hat he was embarrassing
you and your ondu of the office by
insisting on retaining his position as
your assistant; that you have not been
able to make him consent to give up
the office, although you still hoped
that he would do so. You stated that
Mr.. Dominick's work was not satisfac-
tory; that he had often been absent
from the office without your consent
or even knowledge; that he had on
occasions left the Office on Friday
morning and stayed away until Tues
day night that this was not satisfac-
tory to you nor to the conduct of the
business of the office, but that you
we're powerless in the matter. You
stated that when the campaign oegan
last summer you had gone to him n
asked for his resignation on the
ground that you were in the cam
paign yourself, that he was a cand1-
date for congress and that inasmuch
as you had t make the state tour
with the campaign party, the office or
the attorney general would be closed
unless your assistant was there; that
he had declined to resign, which lac
caused you great embarrassment anu
had forced you to leave the state cam
paign party a number OF times 10 at
tend to matters in the office which alb
solutely required attention.
l have never intimated to you or to
any one else that 1 wanted you to APP
point any particular man, nor do 1
now do so. You have an absolute
right, legal and otherwise, to appoint
whom you please; but in view OF the
voluntary statements and assurances
YOU had made me, I was glad to dis
cuss the appointment with you; Whlle
in view Of the appointment OF MT.
Dominick, I have a right to protest,
not because of any personal feellng
against him, but upon the GROUNDS
that Mr.. Dominick, having been the
law partner of the former governor,
his campaign manager and his close
c%onidant and partisan, political n
otherwise, would be opposed to the
carrying out of the oranges in our
government which tn .ople by their
vote, last August, { ed done. In
considering appointn S DISTINCTION
must be made betwe, i o ofhces
where the duties are of an admins
trative character and those where the
duties are advisory. In the one case,
differences as to political association
are not especially important; In the
other, lack of sympathy and conVlc-
ton necessarily prohibits co-opera-
ton
I am disappointed that you do not
seem to realize the absolute necessity
Of every branch of the government
cooperating fully with complete con-
fidence, in order TO put into erect the
expressed mandates Of the people.
In frankness, I can but feel that
YOU could not be uninf1uenced by the
opinion and association Of MI. Domi-
nick in matters submitted to your Of
fee when you have admitted to me
that you had asked him to resign, but
were not able to make him do So.
l am giving W the correspondence
for publication.
Yours truly,
(Signed) Richard /. Manning.
February 4.