The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1922-09-07

| IllC oS<1SS NioRSAASSAy NAAA sAAS Sf~-'
bar? And those fathers have lived
to see their daughters welded to
drunken, gambling men who have
made their lives hell on earth? And
their sons to disgrace their family
and bring terror to the community
in which they live? Who knows but
God himself; that ten years ago when
Blease was in his prime in turning
loose convicts and annulling the de-
cisions of the courts that the three
poor human beings that butchered
that taMcab driver who were only
ten or twelve years old at the time
Blease began his pardoning of con-
victs did not hear some one in their
home or someone else boasting of the
great deeds that the governor of the
state was doing in turning out men
who were guilty of murder and all
the crimes in the decalogue, and that
germs of murder were planted in
their young hearts then, and who
knows but that there may be thous-
ands of other murders and criminals
who got their first conception from
some "noble" pardoning act Of Gov
enor Blease! There is way which
seemeth right unto a man, but the
end thereof is the way of death"
The vilest criminal and the great
est saint can't get away from the
eternal consummatIon of Gods laws.
Though I take the wings Of the
morning and fly to the end Of the
earth, God is there, and though l
make my bed in hell etc., God is
there" If Blease's pardon record is
righteous, and you seem to think
that it is; why not urge him to tell
the people that he is going to, if
elected governor of the state open
wide the penitentiary and jails and
cut the shackles off of every convict
and close up the court houses? as
he is a great sticIler for cutting out
useless Offices, a great economist.
Why in this way he could save more
than a million dollars annually to his
rich corporation taxpayers in the
state.
Rev. Baxter McLendon, and Cole
Blease, both. of you are outspoken
men, come out in the open and tell
the poor "down trodden" taxpayers
what you mean to do. To the Chris
tian Ministry and Christian men and
women of South Carolina, the clock
has struck, the hour has come for
action; will you act? 1t would be a
thousand times better to raise our
children on bread and molasses with
a God fearing character and as law
abiding citizen than to rear them in
affuence and wealth with an utter
disregard for the laws of God and
man.
Rev. Baxter McLendon, these are
perlious times in which we are iv-
ing; the honesty, moral and social
life of the state is at stake and no
man in the state understands the
situation more fully than you should.
You know that there are thousands
of men in the state who would de-
stroy the prohibition law, that stand
ready to commit murder, who stand
ready to rob stores and banks and
steal automobiles and anything they
can lay their hands on. Now, elect
a man as chief executive of the state
who has an established record that
he is utterly opposed to law enforce
ment (and as far as I know he has
made. no statement to the public that
he intends to make any change along
that line if elected.) If the Chris
tian Ministry and the Christian men
and women sit quitely by and allow
such to take place, they will not de-
serve any better. If we elect to have
good government, we have it, if we
elect to go to hell or heaven, we get
it, but lest you forget, my friend
Rev. Baxter McLendon, my text l
will repeat for yours and my benefit
and for the benefit Of men and women
everywhere who perchance may read
this article, "There is a way which
seemeth right unto man, but the end
thereof is the way of death"
Respectfully,
C. P. Hodges.