The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-05-14
A TALK WITH TlLLMAN.
What He has to Say About the Next CAM
psIgn.
From, the atlanta Journal.

| FROM the Atlanta journal.
COLUMBIA, S. O., April 30.-Governol
Ben. Tillman was looking spruce, COO
and comfortable in a new light alpacs
summer coat when found him in hi
Office at the Capitol this morning.
He was looking better than when saN
him last, on the day of the memorable
"March Convention" last year, when ht
was put forward by the assembled farm
ers as their candidate for Governor. Hi
ruddy, clean-shaven face had grow1
fatter, and there was lack of the anx-
ious expression Of that former day, which
indicates that official life is agreeing witt
the Governor. His single eye had los
none of its penetrating brightness. HI
spoke with the same quick, firm, bu
slightly rough tone, and with the same
brusque manner. There was, in fact
little change that I could see from The
plain "Ben" Tillman of a year ago.
In response to my request for an ex-
preston of his views on the Third Party
movement, Governor Tillman said:
"This movement seems to have attract
ed great deal of attention throughout
the country, though, so far as know
very little notice has been given it il
this State. 1t is true that some ambigu-
Gus utterances of Col. Talbert, our State
Alliance lecturer, have been construed al
declarations in favor of the third party
scheme, but I don't believe anybody o.
influence here has come out square!y fol
it, or that Talbert himself is in favor of it
"so far as am concerned" continued
the Governor, "and I believe speak fol
the great body Of the farmers in the State
T am Democrat, pure and simple.
believe in fighting for reforms inside the
party lines, but never outside of them
and believe any attempt to organize 8
third party in this State or in the South
would be an absolute failure.
$50 long as the fear Of negro domina-
tion hangs over us We white people here
in South Carolina can never afford tc
split. That fear is always over us, like
the sword of Damocles, to warn us to
fight out our differences inside Of party
lines. To seek redress Of grievances in 8
third party would be to wreck our whole
political structure and bring upon us
evils far worse than those ne sought tc
escape.
aIt seems to me-" added Governor Till
man, "that the Independent movement
| in this State in the last campaign ought
to show the futility of any movement
outside the party ranks or of any appeal
to the negro VOTE"
"Will South Carolina be represented
at the coming
THIRD PARTY CONVENTION.
| in Cincinnati ?" asked.
"There may be some volunteer dele
gates from this State," answered the Gov
ernor, "but if there are, they will &c
there as individuals, and they will repre-
sent nobody but themselves. They GER
tainly will not represent either the ALI
ance or the Alliance sentiment in tht
State.
"I am convinced that the farmers o
this State are unalterably opposed to any
and all third party schemes. So long 81
they have negro rule and Federal inter
ference staring them in the face, th'
instinct of self.preservation tells them t.
stick together and to work out their sal
vation as Democrats and inside the rank
of the Democratic party.
"Yes, sir" replied the Governor, earn
estly, "you may put me down as absolute
ly and unequivocally opposed to thi
Cincinnati third party scheme and al
similar schemes. I am and always hav'
been South Carolina, Edgefeld, dyed.
in.the wool Democrat, and I expect Il
do my fighting, IS I have done it in tn
past, strictly within the party ranks.
"Instead of running off after this Thirt
Party will.o'-the. wisp," said Governo
Tillman, "what the farmers of Soutl
Carolina expect to do is to try to get
Democratic candidate for the next Presi
Dental campaign who will represent tn
reforms they advocate and who will b
pledged to their support In othe
words, while they don't want an Allianc
candidate for President, they want tn
Democratic candidate to be man who i
in accord with the ideas of the Allianc
on the great issues of the day, such as th
free coinage of silver and the reform 0
the tariff
"What," [ asked the Governor, ID
you think were the causes of the Demo
cratic victory last November?"
"There were, it strikes me-" he answer
ed, "three factors that contributed 10 tha
tidal wave-the Mckinley bill, the fire.
coinage or fnaucial issue and the fore
bill. And as they were the issues in tn
last campaign, so they will be in th
next.
"Hitherto the New England and Mid
die States, the creditor States, have COZ
trolled the financial policy Of the Gov
ernment and have robbed, imposed o
and squeezed the South and West be
yond endurance. Furthermore, bsin
the manufacturing States, they hav
controlled the Governments tariff polio!
: and managed thereby to burn our candl
at both ends Against this oppression
the people of the agricultural States, th
West and the South, have. .reyolted.
"In the South ne are practically unite
on the three issues of tariff reform, FIRE
silver and the retaining of State contre
of all elections, and those will be th
issues, in my view, in the next Preside1
tial campaign.