Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1916-05-17

THE STATE POLITICAL pOr
SINNERS Il Bit--t3Ome Inside Infor-
nation Gets Out.
(News and Courier. }

tNewS ana Courter.)
Columbia, May t3.-The Blease
delegates In tho State Convention will
meet IN caucus in Columbia on Tues
day night preceding the State Con
vention for tho purpose OF selecting
nominations for tho various Offices to
oe hlled by tho convention and to
pass on the platform Of their candi-
date for Governor. The name OF Gen,
willie Jones, OF Columbia, will be-
proposed Tor State chairman, and
Candidates will also be presented for
president and other positions which
will be filled.
This Information was obtained here
to-day from authoritative sources.
The caucus will be called at a desip.
mated place and this faction will con-
slider plans for the approaching cam
paign.
Among other nominations TO bo
presented by this caucus to the con-
vention will be the Democratic ma
tional committeeman from this State
for the place now held by United
states Senator b. r. Tillman, hut
they want some one whom they do
not consider partisan. For the same
reason they will present Gen. Willie
Jones for State chairman, AS they do
not want John Gary Evans.
IT Is not likely that the Biease
men viii make any nominations for
delegates to the National Convention,
Seventy or Eighty.
The best information obtainable Is
that there are between 70 and 80
blease delegates among the member
ship Of the State Convention. It Ia
thought that Solicitor Cooper will
nave about the same number, and lf
this Is the case tho Meaningless will
TALL short Of majority. However,
another estimate gives Governor MAN.
ming over 200 Of the 33S delegates,
which would insure his control OF
the convention. If the Cooper and
Blease delegations combined control
there may be some surprises In the
positions to be flied.
State Chairman John Gary Evans
VIII be nominated for reelection, and
SO will Senator Tillman. When Gen.
Willie Jones is nominated against
Governor Evans and some man la
placed IN nomination then the stand
or the convention on the issues will
be made known. OF course, If the
fight is straight between Blease and
anti-Blease, the latter will control
The fight on Senator Tillman and
State Chairman Evans will make the
proceedings Of the convention inter-
esting. Undoubtedly the Blease fol-
lowers will also oppose Representa-.
tive II. p. Cothran and w. p. Pollock
Tor president OF the convention. II
Manning does not have majority
then the Cooper contingent will de-
eide the issue by whichever way they,
| vote.
| MCLaurin's Plan.
IT looks as If the request of the,
warehousemen for an hour to be al
lowed to Senator John l.. McLaurin at
each OF the campaign meetings is
doomed. Former Governor Cole T..
Blease stated to-day, in response to a
direct question, that he was opposed
to allowing any man to speak who
was not a candidate, and he favored
this rule being followed strictly. He
did not call Senator McLaurin by
name, but stated emphatically that he
was opposed to any such request, and
said his influence would be against 1t.
If the Blease caucus goes against this
request from the Warehousemen--
and that they will do so Is quite
likely-it Is not thought there will
be very much fighting over this
proposition in the convention, which
would mean that Senator McLaurin
would be forced to run for Lieuten-
ant Governor If he wants to speak,
and would have only the same time
allowed the other Lieutenant Guber-
Material candidates. Former Cover
nor Blease said If others than regu-
lar candidates want to speak at the
campaign meetings he didn't sec why
they wouldn't do SO before or after
the meetings were over.
Another interesting bit of infor.
nation leaked out here to-day re.
garding the recent caucus OF the
warehousemen In the. State system
which, 1t will be remembered, was
held behind closed doors. This was
that the caucus stood: Manning, so;
Blease, 43; Cooper, 4; neutral, 4
1t was stated that as between Man
ming and Blease the four neutral ant
tho four Cooper would go to Blease
making the warehOusemen stand
for Manning so, Blease 51---a ma.
jority Of one for the former Cover.
nor, This poll was made by one who
attended the conference.
| q