Sunday, 25th May 1913 Knew It Was Coming, Declares Cole Blease

Sunday, May 25th, 1913

Columbia, S. C., May 24.—(Special.—Governor Cole Blease, on whom the dictagraph [sic] was first sprung in the south, and by a strange coincidence through the instrumentality of Colonel T. B. Felder, feels that his time has come, and recent events are pointed to by him as his complete vindication.

"'He that putteth on the sword by the sword he shall perish'—or words to that effect—is my biblical authority for the paraphrase that ‘he who uses the dictagraph against another and fails to prove anything by it, by the dictagraph himself shall be crucified,'" said Governor Blease in talking of the Atlanta situation today.

"And the worst part of it all," continued Governor Blease, "is that this same man, A. S. Colyar, is the identical sleuth hound turned loose by Felder on me to injure me among my own people—Colyar, this proven criminal and madman. He was the man chosen by Felder to wreck me, and now he turns up by wrecking Felder, and the strangest part of the whole thing is that Felder, now in his own defense, is forced to the dernier resort of proving that the man he sent to get evidence against me is too contemptible to be worthy of either confidence or belief. My own vindication, therefore, comes from Felder himself. Who would have thought it—and this so soon!"

"I do not suppose anybody that knows Tom Felder would be surprised if he is guilty or if this is a scheme worked up by him to get a little cheap notoriety and advertising.

"However, I presume that the members of the Atlanta bar will immediately furnish certificates of character for their darling Tommy and show that he is above suspicion and a gentleman of the highest character, with unblemished reputation as a man and attorney; and if a court of Georgia should order his arrest, that General Anderson will forthwith call out the militia and have him released, as General Anderson, his former partner and lifelong friend, knows of his character and reputation, and will not for a moment allow his Tommy to be interfered with.

"I am satisfied that poor little misled Joe Brown has had his pardon clerk ready fixing up a release for his innocent darling in case of any conviction.

"And as a matter of course the gutter snipes who went over to Augusta from South Carolina will hurry to offer their services to go on sweet Tommy's bond, and also to appear in the courts, along with ‘Seaboard Bill,' and his friend, J. L. Lyon, who have heretofore been his bosom friends in his defense; all save Chairman Carlisle, who, I suppose, will be too busy ‘moneying' to leave his own state just now.

"Consequently, all will be well. Birds of a feather flock together and, of course, if the lead buzzard rings his bell the congregation will assemble."