The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1890-05-15
IMPRESSIONS FROM ANDERSON.
A Candid Review of the Situation by an
Eyewitness.
+ Editor \. p. Williams in Greenvll'e
News

trv. where he must find his strength
when the contest becomes close and
hot and the time for voting is near
This section is the home Of the ideas
Captain Tillman claims to represent.
He brings no new doctrine here. The
farmers of Anderson, Abbeville, Green
Vile, Spartanburg and Laurens were
fighting for economy, lower taxes,
fewer office holders, no public luNuries
and fair apportlonment and had 1ound
strong allies in the Pee Dee country
before Captain Tillnlan appeared as a
portentous figure in the political SKY.
For four or five Years they have been
happening the faith and concentrating
their strength for reform with Tillman
as an incident. On the answer to the
question whether they will exchange
that for Tillman with incidental reform
Captain Tillman's political fortunes de-
pend.
For these are the people who stick
quiet people, SLOW TO think and act
sometimes, cautious and shIrwd, but
once enlisted in i cause sure to be found
in the last rally for it, to be trusted to
hold al unbroken front at the centre
when the lines in advance Of them
have been broken down, the tlanks are
waverlng and the enemy is coming on
headlong and apparently Irresistible.
IfCaptain Tillman can capture ana
hold the Piedmont belt he will have 4
force telling in aggression and a citadel
for defence. The Anderson meeting
gave the first opportunity for study
from direct, immediate and collected
observation ofthe question whether this
important advantage will be his.
| always try to be entirely frank in
dealing with the public. | earnestly and
strongly hope to see Captain TiIlman
beaten and | intend to do all | can do
to beat him.
Admiring him as I do for some of
bis qualities, respecting his rights ana
liking him personally, [ regard the
methods used by his friends and HIM
selfas unwise, unfair and undemocratic.
During the ten years | have controlled
The Greenville Daily News the paper
has steadily and consistently favored
and fought for the ideas represented by
what is called the Farmers Movement.
| love those ideas and believe in them
with my whole heart and soul and
value the Farmers Movement as the
means for giving them effect. | believe
if Captain TillmaT and the horde of
lesser men clinging to bis coat tails and
clustering on his shoulders to get INTO
| power with him are allowed to ride
this Movement they will break it down
| and destroy it. This statement Is made
that those who read what have to say
Of the meeting at Anderson may allow
| for possible bias and understand that
the wish may be father to the thought.
| made, however, q strong and ear
nest effort to observe the proceedings
with even judgmenta and impartial eyes
| Nv opinion is that the newspaper man
in his professional conduct ought to he
without sentiments, emotions or preju'
| dices-a machine for recording facts lis
they occur and for studying causes and
following them logically to effects; and
l try to live up to it.
After study and observation made
with this effort to be impartial, | came
from Anderson with the distinct I'M
preston that Captain Tillman had lost
ground there during the day. There
appeared to ME to be cooling OF the
| ardor rand the lessening Ofthe confluence
| of his friends in the crowd and more
disposition than there was at the first
to accept the fact of there being two
sides to his candidacy and occasion fol
some sober thought.
In the first place, there are 3,oM
white voters in Anderson County at
rough estimate. About $500 votes were
cast there in the primary of two year:
ago. Taking out women, boys and the
scattering visitors from other counties,
it is safe to say that there were not more
than | 900 Anderson voters at this meet
! ing. That is not such an outpourlnS as
Anderson would show in bright wea
ther and with the roads good if hel
people were as intensely interested III
| Captain Tillman's cause as they are
supposed by some to be.
There is no doubt that the crowd was
largely in favor Of Tillman. The only
means we on the stage had Of fjudsing
was by the cheering and the volume OF
| that for Tillman was from twice tt
three times as loud as that for Colone
Earle. Yet it must be remembered that
it was Tillman meeting, called by
Captain Tillman's friends to hear him.
The significant factor Of the meeting
to my mind, was the large number o
men who said nothing. They sat in row
after row-solid, ruddy, sturdy, com
Portable looking farmers; the kind O
men whose influence in local election:
is eagerly sought by politicians, whose
quiet weight tells heavily on public
sentiment in their neighborhood. They
were interested listeners; they hearc
all that was said, caught every poin,
that was made, laughed at everything
| funny-and give no token, by word ol
act, so far as could be seen, of how they
thought or who they favored.
Five or six men in crowd can make
a good deal of noise. One or two hun
dred can do power of cheering anc
emit a great volume Of sound. The
! impression made Oh me was that Cap
tain Tillman had in the crowd from
one to two hundred determined, active
and eager partisans who will support
bis claims on every occasion and make
a great show of strength and force
that there were thirty or forty or may
be fifty as determined and active
against hinl-most Of them probably
young men from the towns-and tina
the bulk of the solid farming vote
while favorably disposed toward linn i:
in a condition to be controlled one way
or the other by events between thi:
time and election time and considera
ton of past events and present reasons
Colonel Earle spoke under many dis
advantages. He began with the knowl
edge that the crowd was agains
him and he was embarrassed by The
open hostility Of some of Captain Till
mans more enthusiastic partisan:
who appeared to be willing 70 shou
him down altogether but for the con
servative influence Of those arounc
them and the demands of Captain Tilf
man and Chairman Latimer for free
speech and fair play. Yet there was
an appearance of being impressed by
him in the crowd-not delinable il
words or figures but nevertheless dis
tinct. The shouters seemed to me t
he somewhat subdued toward the close
and there was Il noticeable absence o
anything like the eXultation or salts