The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1890-07-31
What DO Tillman and his Lieutenants Seek
Hesides OFFICES:

and his immediate corps OF assistants Is
are only using the people for their
own personal advancement-for their
own selfish purposes. The mass Of the
people are Enthusiastically seeking the
bubble welfare, partly through the lift
ing of burthens which they think bear
too heavily upon themselves, partly
the establishment Of public
which they believe will give
all of us a more wise and equal gov
eminent than we have hitherto en-
loved. I therefore give the people
at large credit for entirely honorable
and proper motives. It is their right
to protect themselves; it is their duty
to further public Interests, consequent
ly, they deserve praise for every honest
effort to compass these two ohjets.
But in their anxiety about these
things they have allowed themselves
to be captured by vague, Intangible
suggestions of benefits to themselves
and to the State in general, have al
lowed themselves to he charmed by
"words without knowledge" have
allowed themselves to be excited by the
most unfairappeals to their prejudices ;
have allowed themselves to be bound
to the support of men who intend to
use them merely rs the means OF rldlng
into distinguished and money-paying
offices. They ought to have learned
by this time what these men are work.
ing for. | believe they will finally
awake to comprehension OF the stu.
alton. The danger is that they will
awake too late, and that like the vision
which showed King Priam the confla.
grafton of his empire, their senses Will
disclose to them their errors when all
hope OF remedy is past.
| know that our people have had a
poor opportunity to lnvestlgate the
Stuatior For years band OF blatant
demagogues, with Tillman at their
head, have been crying to them that
they were robbed and prosecuted, and
there was no counter argument made.
I know that unfavorable seasons have
shortened their crops; that lne11lclent
labor has prevented them from reaplng
the harvests they ought to have had;
that an outrageous tarifrha compelled
them to pay nearly twice as much as
they ought to have paid for nanufac'
tured articles; that every crop has oeen
produced at great expense, at great
risk, and with infinite care and worry.
I also know that the pending political
campaign, instead of bringing before
the people a clear, rational, fair discus
sion Of practical questions, has involved
them in perfect cyclone Of wrath,
personal abuse, windy platitudes, APP
peal to envy wicked prejudice, all
clothed in words "full of sound and
fury, signitying nothing,n so far as
their interests are concerned.
But perhaps will be pointed to Ill!-
mans platform, as many call 1.-THE
platform of the March Convention,
gotten up by G. ". Shell and his com
mittee. How many items III this plat
form have been really discussed in the
campaign? Not one! Gillman has
abused the railroad commissioners as
much as he dared and he has grumbled
and insinuated considerably against the
department of agriculture. But he has
never pretended to show how we are
to improve either thing. He has raved
about aristocracy and oli@arcny; but
there is nothing in the platform about
those two things. He has complained
of undue representation of the lower
counties in the Legislature; but there
is nothing in the platform about that.
He may have claimed in his speeches 4
re-apportionment Of the State conVen-
ton; but I am not aware OF 1t. And,
By the way, how would that Tighten
any mans burthens?? All the other
matters, both of his platform and of
public interest, he ignores. He says
nothing of the Clemson College Ono
doubt because he knows it is securel;
he SAYS nothing of constitutional con-
vention; he says nothing Of the man
agement of the phosphate interests OF
the State; he says nothing practical
about reducing salaries or reducing
the number of offices, although Civ
ing us very plainly to understand
that he is not willing for the
governors salary to he lowered about
the management either of the rail
road commission Or the agrlcultu'
raj department. In fine, he has gone
back to the fanatical howlings of the
Shell manifesto. because he counts
upon carrying the people through en-
element and class prejudice, and not
upon the strength of improvements
which he has to suggest in our laws or
customs.
But Mr.. Tillman dilates at great
length upon aristocracy and rings. He
wishes the people to believe that they
have been in the hands Of tyrants and
robbers, for he imagines that they will
thus be induced to take up a new set OF
men, to wit, himself and his travelling
company and his henchmen. And
right there he disclcses his whole de-
sign. 1t is fight of those out of office
against those who are in office. Il is q
fight to place Tillman and his associ-
ates in the offices which another set
has held. ] put the question to my
fellow-citiZens Of Newberry County,
and I put it in all serousness-do you
know single prominent man in the
Tillman party who is not an office
seeker? I do not mean by this to ques'
ton the disinterestedness of jealous
workers in the Tillman cause; for, un-
fortunately, the leaders have excited a
great many honest, patriotic, pure, un-
selfish men to work for them. But do
you know even one leader in this move.
ment-one man in close intimacy with
Tillman-of whom you can undertake
to say that he is not seeking an office:
either with Tillman, or through Till
man, or before the people, or through
the next Legislature" Look around
YOU and answer.
Tillman makes constant and bitter
complaint of what he calls ''political
leprosy,n and he defines the disorder to
be greed for office. In view OF the fu-
rious rush for office made by him and
his chosen satellites and booners, it
would seem that his crowd have caught
the disease, and have 4 very bad case
of it. }. +. J. CALEWELI'.
July 18th, 1880.