Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-08-25

! closer contact, round him TO De
! Great Man.
Lihcolnton, IN. c. Times, August %.
The following letter written by Cy-
clone Mack and addressed to the editor
Of The Pee Dee Advocate. the newspa-
per in Mack's home town of Benefits
vile, S. c., will give the people of This
section some insight into the political
situation in the state of South Caro-
lima and the situations overcome by
Blease during the time that he was
governor of the state.
The letter follows:
Mr.. Editor:
In your issue of July Goth, / wrote
defending the pardoning record Of
Governor Blease. / suppose If there Is
any one man in South Carolina who
has suffered for steadfastly defending
and supporting Cole L. Blease / am the
| man. ."
When Blease and Featherstone were
running for governor | worked over"
time for Featherstone and was very
bitter and prcjudiced against Blease.
Why? Because up to that time look
ed upon the Columbia State" as the
source of wisdom and veracity. L
thought it was almost infallible and
could say no wrong. l was like thou
sands of people In So3t!; Carolina to-
day who know not why thoy hate Blease
and are so bitter against him. But
now know that this corporation sheet
with its hireling editor listening to his
the Victrola has crystalized hate in
their hearts as it did in mine. l didn't
know that the Columbia State" was
raised up to fight Ben Tillnan and the
Reform party that was, trying to re-
deem the state from Ring Rule. Thou
sands of people in South Carolina to-
day don't know why it is that this pa
per has continually bounded and tra-
duced, maligncd and vilified, defam-
ed, slandered and poured out concen-
trated damnations on him all these
years. They believe what the state"
has taught them that Governor Blease
is vile, hard-hearted, disreputahle
reprobatc, drunkard, sponsor of har-
lotry q gambler, and an inventor OF
evil things, who has changed the truth
Of God into a lie, and for this cause
God has given him to vile affections.
No, that is not so, but / will give it to
you in n nutshell. 1t is not because
the state" loves South Carolina, and
the interests of the people, but it is be-
cause Cole L. Blease defended and
worked for Jim Tillman for killing
Gonzales for doing the very same thing
to him the state" has been doing for
Blease ever nce-misrepresenting,
defaming, comforting and trying to as
sassinate his character.
was pastor of a little church in the
suburbs of Columbia. Very often the
chaplain of the penitcntiary would get
me to so over and preach for him.
never saw such misery, squalor and
suffering in any place in my llfe.. 1t
was a shame to civilized country.
The hospital was full of poor unfortu-
nate people dying with tuberculosis
which they had contracted in that dir
ty, filthy, Unsanitary knitting mill
South Cardinals tubercular Incubator.
Poor unfortunate men and women for
whom the Lord Jesus Christ had died,
| hirpd ont tD rOntrartorS IN grind otit
dividends for Northern capitalists, and
If they didn't make their tasks they
were taken down to the leather house
and numerically beaten. The people
of South Carolina will never know
how those convicts were overworked,
beaten and mistreated until they stand
ut the judgment bar of God and see il
flashed on the canvass of the universe.
[ was preaching there one day and a
poor woman, with broken heart, be-
gan TO sob in n quiet suppressed way.
Almost Immediately n great big white
livered, cowardly, soulless brute in the
form of n guard jumped up and ran
over to her saying, Hush, hush, or I'll
break your damned head" / was told
by different parties that woman one
day was beaten and then kicked every
step of the way from the leather house
to the mill She died that afternoon.
OF course the Pharisees will say it
wasn't the whipping and kicking that
killed her, but the toothache. | have
bent down over the poor emaciated
fellows with their eyes sunk in their
sockets Of their heads and their breasts
caved in, and tried to talk with them,
but they were so nearly gone they
could only look up with their poor pit
iful faces and grunt.
One beautiful Sunday morning after
| had preached, was about to leave
when an odd negro, his head ripening
for the cemetery and on the crutches
of dccrepitude, came to me and in a
voice trembling with weakness and
age, he said, preacher man, l have
been here thirty years in this awful
place. am old and very near eter-
nifty. | was never in court house in
my life until got into the trouble that
brought me here. My wife, three chill