The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1918-07-05

t.nlSn6d IL he was gong 10 OHdIlotie
and give it to the press. That also
did not affect me. but in all these
statements that we're coming to me
on authority which | did not question
my name was constantly being "unG
In, and l knew that the charge to be
made, and which had been made, that
/ had played any double part, Or had
anything to do with any Washington
conference, or any bot from the par
ty, was absolutely and unequivocally
false, and I was getting tired OF being
drawn into the political mess which
Senator McLaurin was stirring in the
pot which he always has handy, it
seems, down in Marlboro. In order
to put both Senator McLa'lrin and
The Tribune on notice, wrote the
editor of The Tribune, about the time
I calculated Senator McLaurin was
to start for Charlotte TO give out his
great political annun citation, and told
Cheshire that I thought it would be
better for him to come to Columbia
and make certain statements face to
face rather than to be publishing
them from long range, and also warn
ed him that none of the newspaper
men involved is subsidized by a can
didate for governor, as you are, and
none of them is supporting man
who, in the face of his previous rec
ord, went to Washington, after the
! campaign of 1916, and offered TO
carry the state Republican IL $1,000
for each county was put up by the
Republican committee.
That's all I said, and it was In a
letter to Cheshire, in which I did not
mention the name of McLaurin nor OF
Capers, nor did say anything about
any correspondence between Nc
Laurin and Capers, of which l learn
ed only this morning. AS the matter
in controversy was the incident here
in Columbia, with regard to which the
newspaper conference had taken
place in the office of Governor Man
nings secretary, participated in by
the News and Courier and State re-
presentatives and myself, and at
which Governor Manning stated what
he felt would be the injury resulting
to South Carolina if the fisticuH
should be published at that time-in
which I agreed furnished a copy
of the letter to the city editor OF The
State, the Columbia representative OF
the News and Courier, and to Cover
nor Manning. 1t was from ,one of
these sources that Mr.. Cooper must
have secured the copy of the letter
and not from me.
Had Mr.. McLaurin requested copy
! of the letter, I would have gladly
furnished it to him, and he would
have saved Mr.: Capers a search OF
his files and saved himself all that
; far-fetched rigamarole about letters
to Mr.. Capers, dictated to me, and the
originals of which he says he de-
stroyed, in order that Blease might
be led into a trap through me.
That is about all there is to the
whole matter. Mr.. Capers' statement
to "My dear Mac, as to any over
lures made by me is absolutely false.
Mr.. McLaurin's statement that l was
keeping Blease informed as to any
thing going on in Mr.. McLaurin's Of
flee is also absolutely untrue. AS
have no doubt that Senator McLau-
rim was endeavoring to use me as a
tool; but he succeeded only in so far
as securing from me the best work
!of which I was acapable for him and
the state warehouse system.
AS to any change in my attitude on
account of McLaurin's frequent
changes of position in the guberna-
!1torial race of 1915, that IS simply an
evidence of the senator's Imagination
which too often leads him to- believe
that those who are trying to serve
him have some double purpose. My
recollection of the senator's position
in the race is that he wrote MT.
Blease urging that the Blease candl-
;dacy should get out of the race in
favor of Manning; that he then play
ed to the Manning regime until Man
ming threw hin down in the state
convention, and Fred Dominick and l,
in that convention, came to the res
cue of the state warehouse system.
Then he came out actively and open
!lv for Blease, and made speeches IN
his behalf. When Blease was defeat
cU, u6 IuGu uIOpo 4iSciSS' @AS ~N~o>~
has petitions circulated asking hin-
self to run for governor and in reply
to one of these, signed by certain
members of the Anderson delegation,
he takes occasion to eXcoriate these
gentlemen who had paid him the
highest compliment they could;
cuses out Tillman and Blease and sets
out to create McLaurin faction in
South Carolina. He then has the
idea of running for governor. Later
he concludes he can beat both Till
man and Blease, and sets about feei-
ing his way, towards an entrance into
the senatorial campaign. Before the
| lists close, however he drops back TO
to the gubernatorial fight, and no"
in his latest political address, if any
body can figure out what he is dr1V-
ing at, they can do more than 1 can.
II happen to recall that in the cam
paign of 1914 ne sent Beard around
the state, in the interest OF Manning.
Ill.,. 4bo ,>oonlo tbofi H0oDpT had