The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1918-08-15


who may feel disposed to support
Blease for the senate, and in doing
so we want them to remember that
in setting forth his public record
we are doing so from a sense of du-
ty and not With any desire to perse-
cute any man. Good people have
been misled by him in the past
and are being misled by him now,
and we believe they love their coun-
try and their State, and should not
support any man for public Office
from coroner up-who is not saying
and doing all in his power to sup
port our government and our brave
boys who are offering up their lives
on the battle fields in France for the
protection of the men and women
and children at home, for everyone
knows that with France and England
out of the way Germany would have
then attacked the United States. The
kaiser plainly said as much to Am
bassador Gerard. But we did not
start out to argue that point.
The record of Blease as governor
is we'll remembered by all, or should
be. The State was kept in continual
turmoil during the whole four years
he was governor, but an allusion to
his objectionable pardon record
should be mentioned briefly. How
he pardoned notorious criminals of
both races, and open scandals about
the sale of pardons became stencil
in the nostrils of people all over the
country. Time and space will not al
low us to mention these many in
stances. but no doubt our readers
recall them.
But let US speak more particularly
of what he has said and done in the
last two years. Two years ago, af-
ter he was defeated for governor, he
said openly that his followers were
not bound to support the nominees
of the Democratic party; he predict
ed the election of Hughes, the Repub-
lican nominee for president, and he
had been opposed to the nomination
of Wilson. Just before the general
election he made a speech before an
assembly Of negroes in Columbia, and
in that speech he assailed the DEM
ocratic party, being introduced by
Republican. The negro newspapers
made much of his speech, devoting
columns of their space to a report of
it. His organ, the Charleston Amer
ican, criticised President Wilson
most severely and predicted that
many people in Charleston would
vote for Hughes, also stating that
Democrats who participated in the
primary could vote for Hughes with
out violating their oaths. John L.
McLaurin charges that Blease en-
deavored to sell out the Democratic
party to the Republicans and that
John K. Aull, who has been Blease's
private secretary, went to Washing
ton and called on John G. Capers to
enlist his aid in the matter. If Blease
voted for the Democratic nominees
we do not know it, and we are not
charging that he did not, but we
have not seen the statement made
that he did. Certainly w. P. Beard,
who was running a paper at Able
Vile at the time, and who is now
serving a term in the federal prison
for disloyalty, ran Blease's name at
the head of his columns as an inde-
pendent candidate for governor, and
votes were cast in some parts
of the State for him. Blease did not
repudiate this action. Beard now ac-
cuses Blease of wishing to go into
the Bull Moose party and only de-
sisted because he saw his supporters
would not follow him, and that when
he got into trouble Blease deserted
1,;,, HI cove he "Stan0S hy his