The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1917-06-26
THE DIFFERENCE.
Charleston American.


TO "a. letter which We publish else
where. 1t is called by the author an
open letter to Collie" and is in the
main remonstrance with Blease be-
cause. he opposes the highhandet;
methods of Governor Manning in tae
conservation machinery. lncidenta,-
ly, Mr.. Richardson is afraid Brother
Grace is leading you (Blease) into
treacherous paths"
Brother Grace" has held executive
Office himself. He has never held as
strongly as Governor Blease to
the policy OF sticking to ones
friends" Time and again he tried
to swerve Blease from it. but without
success. That was simply Blease's
fixed rule of politics.
Whatever differences OF OPINION.
however. may exist as to the propri-
ety of sticking to ones friends in
the administration of public trust,
and putting aside the fact that Man
ming was elected on platform that
expressly denounced it, even the most
superficial thinker will discern the
difference between the appointment to
a purely routine Office and the set
ting up Of machine which is to
handle nothing less than the question
of life or death.
Let US admit that Governor Man
ming was right in trying to force his
personal friend Lyon upon Peoples as
assistant attorney general. Of course
we do not admit it, except for the
sake of argument For Dominick had
held the office with eminent satisfac-
ton, as Peoples two reflections would
indicate. But let us say that Man.
ming was right in practically ordering
Peoples to put Dominick out and Lyon
Cor was it Christie Benet?) in.
Let us suppose also ne was right
in defying the law in refusing to COM
mission the namesake of the writer
of our letter-Richardson. Also that
in every one of his rankly partisan
and factional appointments to office
high and low he was right-though
utterly contrary to his platform. All
those things were more or less harm
less. His pet attorney general could
only at worst give him the benefit"
of his limited knowledge Of the law.
His private game warden could only
succeed at worst in making game OF
the job
But the conscription machinery, un-
der which young men are to be drag
ged from their families and sent to
the front, is the awful machinery OF
life and death. No man of proper
sensibilities should seek to control
it Congress wisely foresaw that It
would be a solemn duty rather to be
stunned than sought, and so fixed
automatically how it would be ad-
ministered, thus imposing upon GER
tain public officers, already in exist
ence. its mere execution. In every
state but South Carolina, the chief
executives, following the instincts
of nature and humanity, gladly pre-
ferred to let the machinery of death
alone, happy in the thought that the
Young men who died in France would
be the victims of blind fate, drawn
without factional or personal dis
elimination, for the field Of duty. It
was only Manning who conceived 1t
to be his privilege to claim the dis
tinction for South Carolina among
the sisterhood of states that her boys
who go to the ranks of death shall
be picked by .factional machinery.
How natural, therefore, was it for
Blease at this juncture to for once
depart from his own policy and to
insist that as the Federal government
itself had left itt blind chance.
Manning must not be allowed to leave
it to his friends. For Blease is at the
head of the Reform Party, number
ing more than half the white people
of the state. Should that great body
of citizens, always preponderantly
lajority in the militia, and always,
therefore, manifestly willing to serve
the state or nation - should it be
shufled by Manning's chicane out
of whatever was the fair burden OF
citizenshipan d incidently branded
as the only bedv of citizens in this
whole nation un orthy of confidence?