The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1918-07-04
STATE CAMPAINERS
START BIG ROW
CLAIMS EFFORT WAS MADE AT
BOLT IN 1915.
Replies Made by All Those AssaiIcd
by Candidate From BEN
ncttSvillc.

News ana Courier received a state
inent from ex-senator John l.. Nc
Laurin making a bitter attack upon
Robert \. Cooper, candidate for Gov
erncr upon Cole l.. Blease, candidate
Tor tn" United States Senate, and
upon Jno. X. Aull. Governor Bleasc's
secretary while Governor and Mr..
Mcl.aurin's secretary while he was
Warehouse commissioner and at pres
"nt manager Ol the Columbia Bureau
o. the Charleston American.
The article was released for publi-
cation sunday morning. For reasons
which it considered sound The News
and Courier did not publish it. but
the Columbia State did. Yesterday
The State published long replies from
cX-GOvernor Blease, from Mr.. Aull
and from MIR. Cooper.
In his statement Mr.. McLaurin
denounced MIR. Cooper very bitterly,
calling him coward" and cha
racter assassin." claiming that Coop
or had been showing people Il letter.
given him by Aull, Blease's former
secretary and political li.utenan;
which charged that he tMcLaurin)
"endeavored to sell out the Demo
cracy OF South Carolina in the fall
Ioi 1916 for the sum OF $4,000"
McLaurin ridiculed the suggestion
inat the people of South Carolina
would suspect him of selling his hon
or at any price. 1t has been his plan
IL this campaign, he went on to say.
ts. Il
I" the Democratic party" who had.
h. claimed, laid d trap for Blease.
Referring to the establishment of
the warehouse system, McLaurin
said that to win this fight he made
concessions to the Blease faction
and agreed to the selection of John
Il. Aull as secretary if the bill went
through The bill passed and Aull
was appointed. In the spring of 1916
Blease according 10 McLaurin, came
to him in person, and also wrote him
asking for his support for Governor
|SainSt Manning. This McLau-in de-
c!ir:d, saying that he expected to
support Manning 5ecasue Manning
had been standing behind the ware
house Development From that
da,e' McLaurin says, Il noticed a
dilfcreno. in the attitude and con-
due; OF Aull. and before long | Wa.
,noraiiy certain he was in my office
as tool and spy Of Blcase"
After the second primary OF 1916
there was talk, McLaurin says, of a
Dolt, and he claims that Blease ask
ed him 10 run as an independen;
candidate. He refused and says that
Blease asked him to put up the mon
ey To finance an Independent ticket.
He refused this also, but suggested
tnat Biease might be able to get the
money through John G.. Capers, who
was high in the councils OF the Re
publican party. This was absurd"
McLaurin says, but Blease appar-
entity took the bait, and in order to
.luii 10 take dictation for letters on
this subject addressed to Cooper"
rhe letters were not mailed, accord
ing TO McLaurin. but says Aull
though: they We're, and filed carbon
copies.
IL" claimed that Ble&sc tried to
get him to put his name on the
.luahcs Iicke;. telling of an inter
view Eie.ise had in a Chicago paper
predicting Hughes election, and then
tells oi visit which he paid John
Capers in Washington, in company
with Aul'. He quoted a letter froA
Capers. dated June %, 1918, re-
lating To this interview cnaracty T.