The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-09-01
SOUTH CAROLINA POLITICS OF A KIND !. ID MAKE MEN FIGHT Cole Blease Has Good Chance to Become States Gov
 ernor Again SAM NICHOLS HAD
 LIVELY CAMPAIGN Something About Methods of Run- ming for Office Which Have Won
 Nationwide Reputation
 for State
By c. NJ. STANLEY


 Chick Springs, s. C., August 3i.-tSpe-
 cial) )-Former Governor Cole Blease and
 Governor Manning were the highest men
 in Tuesdays primary for governor of
 South Carolina, and will take part in the
 "run-ofr" week from Tuesday. This
 means some more of South Carolina's fa-
 nous brand of politics.
 Blease's two opponents together got
 several thousand more votes than did the fire-eating former governor, but the arti- Bleasites are in trepidation lest they have another period of ridicu1e heaped upon their state by the nation-at-large as their governor performs his antics. All the newspapers say the campaign which closed last Tuesday was the most quiet and peaceful in many years. If this Is so. the Alabama visitor is full of wonder as to what happened In past years. The Blease fighting spirit seemed to be rampant. In this county Green ville) alone last week there were three or four fist fights among candidates for office. The newspapers also say the cam didates this time spent more money for newspaper advertising than ever before,
 and have read lot of these advertise
 ments simply out of curiosity. What the candidates ahye to say in print about each other would start fight most any where
 And you can scarcely conceive the num- Der of unprintable stories in circulation | about various candidates. I have talked to scores of good. honest. intelligent South Carolinians who have shaken their heads over these stories, for if half the things were true that have been said about the candidates. they should all be in the penitentiary.
 In addition to these derogatory and immoral stories which have been circu- lated the Catholic and anti-Catholic ques- tion has also figured extensively in the campaign. especially in this congress sional district and county. Catholic and anti-CathoIic writAs have appeared in the newspapers, and in anonymous clr-s culars and pamphlets which have been spread broadcast.
 1 Among the documents given wide cir
 culation was one which gave the pur- ported oath of the Knights of Columbus with all its terrible maledictions and with which many of our voters of Jefferson county are familiar. The circulation of this oath brought out the publication in the newspapers of the actual obligation taken by Knights of Columbus. certified to by three eminent Scottish Rite Ma sons who were granted the fullest au- thority by the Catholic order to make an investigation. The man against whom
 the charges of Catholic sympathies were | brought most forcibly came out of Tues- days primary winner.
 SAM NICHOLLS' CAMPAIGN One of the most spectacular campafgns of all was that for Congress from this district. Congressman Sam Nichols, the l youngest member of Congress had two opponents. and they kept things lively.
 Nichols will be remembered as the man about whom Hugh Roberts. The Age Heralds Washington correspondent re- gently wrote very interesting article 1 because MT. Nichols has a number of relatives and friends in Alabama Rob- l erts' Age-Herald article figured very ex-- tensively in the campaign. for 1t was re ia | produced as an advertisement in every newspaper in the district and some of 1 the things Roberts said about Nicholls
 legislative and physical prowess became
 live topics in every city and hamlet Of 1 the district
 l They have a peculiar system of cam paigning in South Carolina. Mass meet ings are arranged under the auspices of
 the county democratic committees and
 all candidates for office appear on the same platform and tell the voters why they should be elected. These meetings are attended by thousands and in Green vile and Spartanburg as many as 30 or 1 4a speakers would be heard at one meet- ] ing. It is claimed, however. that these
 meetings are losing their old-time popu- tCoatiaueA os page Twsb