The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1918-08-02
SUFFRAGE HANGS ON HIM.
Senator Benet's Vote Expected To
Decide Question-Is Blease's
;. Worse Enemy.
(The Sun, Baltimore, July 22.)

Washington, July 21.-Hopes Of
the advocates of the Federal amend
rnent for woman suffrage in the
Senate will, in all probability, be
realized or will die with the decis-
ion of Senator Christie Benet, of
South Carolina, who was appointed
to fill the state vacant by Senator
Benjamin R. Tillman. Senator Benet
has not declared his position on the
suffrage question, and has been in
several conferences with Presidnt
Wilson, and the suffrage advocates
are hopeful that the Federal amend
ment was the topic of these, confer
noes.
Senator Benet's vote for the
amendment, it is declared, will give
the Federal amendment its necessary
two-thirds majority. His vote against
it,, it is asserted, will kill it if the
ballot is taken as the Senate now
stands.
The, South Carolinian holds two
distinctions. He is the "baby" OF
the Senate, being only 80 years old.
He is also the leading antagonist in
South Carolina to Cole Blease and
has led the many fights that South
Carolina has waged to blot out
Bleaseism. And in the past few
years Benet and his anti-Blease
forces have been coming out OF top.
It was more on account of his repu-
tation from one end of South Caro-
lima to the other for fighting Blease-
ism that Governor Manning picked
him to take the place of Tillman and
occupy the seat once held by the
brilliant Hampton. /
Known To aBltimoseans.
Senatoe Benet is known to many
Baltimore people through his bro
Their Hugh Benet, n of the right
hand men Of Bartlett Hayward Com
pany, The big munition manufacture
iers. Hugh Benet is an engineer. Het
is also shell expert and is only 251
years old. When this country en-.
ter.i the war. Hugh .Benet started
to enlist, but was prevailed upon hy!
the BartIett-Hayward people to re-
main in his present job, where, he
was told he could be of vastly more
service to his country than being one
in a billion units in Franc" The
, BartlettlHayward people later had
the War Department to exempt Mr..
!. Benet from the draft on account Of
his skill as an engineer and shell
expert. Another brother, DR.. George
Benet, of Boston, is now in Europe
with the American Medical Corps.
Senator Benet's enlistment as al
soldier was only blocked by Cover
nor Manning's appointment of him
as the successor of Tillman. He had
come to Washington, preparing to-
\ enlist in the tank service when he
\ received word that he had been NAM
\ ed to the Senate. When his appoint
\ mnt was announced, the leading edi-|
! torial writer of South Carolina re-
ferred to. him as possessing "a SOL
dier's heart"
Thorn In Blease's Side.
Senator Benet, young as he is,
has been the thorn in the flesh Of
3 Cole Blease. He had charge of the
first campaign against Blease for
, governor and lost it, but did not
/ give up. He took charge of Gov.
Manning's first campaign and won
it. He against directed the fght
against Blease two years ago and
beat him out. The young South
Carolinian is now on the firing line,
working day and night to keep Cole
Blease out of the United States
Senate. , o.. .. .
Senator Benet is a candidate for
. the short term. N. B. Dial, of Lau-
rens, a brilliant South Carolina law
yer, is the candidate for the long
+ term, upon whom the anti-Blease
forces have concentrated since death
+ removed Senator Tillman from the
race. Under the South Carolina law