The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-06-09


icularly since the campaigner can
lsually beat the metropolitan news
PAPER to the audience.
Then, 100, in South Carolina, pol
tics is more than politics. 1t is re-
.reaticn, a part Of life, thing in
which the citizen at large has a big
interest. medium through which
he men express themselves. For this
,eason a political fight is usually as
welcome in rural districts of South
Carolina as genuine circus. Men
gather at the county seat from vii
ages and country-sideS far away. Au-
,omobiles are parked with rare aban-
ionment. but there are Yet remain
;ng in this state many buggies and
arm wagons and they are in evidence
1t these political meetings. Another
unusual feature Of the South Carroll
ia political gathering is that scores
If negroes are there. not thaI they
.xp2c. 20 vote, but they wan: 70 hear
he ;c%es that they fee they VIII hear
:rom the candidates.
Al some centra. place. a platform
s erected and the candidates appear
IN it to tell the opening jok@ about
themselves or their opponents, for
the fort;eth time II past campaigns
generally the opponents OF Blease
nave spoken first. One after the 9th
AZ they have their say and then the
lime arrives for Mr.. Blease to speak.
Instantly there is a wave Of anima-
sion. Any stranger could pick out
Cole Blease from those who oppose
1im, for their faces are expectant.
Tel 'em about it, Coley," shouts q
nan out in the crowd and instantly
he Blease men, scattered widely all
through the audience, shout back such
enthusiastic answers as, He'll tell
en-" and "Lawsy-massy, amt he a
manw
Mr.. Blease runs his fingers through
ais long bushy hair, takes sip OF
water, smiles, as his fighting jaw
Done gets ready for action, and
aunches into his speech, with his
sleeves rolled up and a dare for any
contender plainly written on his
banner. He denounces his enemies,
.ither personal or political, lauds his
friends, declares he has nothing to
apologize for and never did and new
er will apologize and the cheers OF
MS friends drown out the remainder
Dof his battle-charge 0arrage.
Then Mr.. Blease takes fling at
he 'shoatiIe press and that general
Y includes all the larger newspapers
Of the state and the South, not to
mention The nation at large. He at
,acks high taxes and those in office
Who impose them, gives his opinion of
he creation of new Offices TO be filled
with political Neposes, declares un-
living devotion to the laboring mans
.ause, and 60 on, until the driving,
dynamic concluding rhetoric is again
drowned out in the cheers OF ms
friends. He knows the chords to play
upon.
It would be a long story to con-
tinue this narrative to its logical
conclusion. Mr.. Blease is in class
by himself. He would have made
good as an actor. He might have
Nshcne in the business world as cap
tain of industry, or possibly he could
nave oeen wearing the shoulder
straps of lieutenant general. But
ne chose. the law and the political
hustings for his very own and these
mistresses have never found him
Stacker. He is spellb;nder but ne
is not any more like the late Senator
('sPitchfork Tii!man than Senator
Tilaman was like the dignlfed and
arudite General Wade Hampton.
The one thing that has caused the
comeback of Mr.. Blease in the politl-
cal domain of South Carolina politics
is the after-the-war reconstructlon'
Incidental hard times, due to the cot
ton boil weevil, and high taxes, Mr..
Blease is opposed to the hard times,
the high taxes and the floods, OF
course, but so is most everybody else
Only Mr.. Blease is smart enough to
capitalize on those distressing condI-
tions. The Coal Blaze announcements
is causing South Carolina to wake
up. take a drink, ask what o'clock
and show no evidence Of droWs!nes5'
And that is what makes the mare 60
in this former stronghold Of revolt
against what its citizenship considers