The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-06-11
DR.. Macune and the Ocala Investigation.


DR.. Macune and the Ocala Investigation. !,
To the Editor Of The Herald and !
News: Some of our alliance friends !
seem exceedingly anxious to obllterate !
the unfavorahle impression Of DIR. Ma !
cune, created by that " aiLewashing !
committee at the OcalaC aCOnVention, and !
the subsequent exposure of it by l. ). |
Hall, President of the Farmers and |
Laborers Union Of Missouri. At this
we need not be at all astonlshed, for the
facts in the case, as distinctly stated by /
Mr.. Hall, must be exceedingly damag-
ing 70 the reputation of this, the most
prominent leader of the alliance, II not |
clearly disproven. But am somewhat
astonished that able and Intelligent
alliancemen should undertake his vim
dication if they are not convinced III
their own minds either that the facts
alleged against him are not true, or that
they will bear some satisfactory eX-
PLANTATION. A weak defense on an
effort at defense, that falls short
of it's object is often worse than ST.
lence. Two such efforts to vindicate |
DIR. Macune I have recently read in the
columns of a contemporary, from two
prominent alliancemen of our State. !
to asJ11u even me appearance o1 per
sonality will designate them as Mr..
A. and Mr.. B.-Mr. \. informs US that
he has made inquiry as to the personal
character of Dr. Macune, and finds that
he is "Christian gentleman" which
I quite agree with him is 4 very high
compliment. But then no one, so far
as 1 have seen, has made any attack
on DR.. Macune on account Of his rell-
gious views. Only the professors in
our State University are subjected TO
investigation as to their religious opin-
ions. DR.. Macune may be for aught
the writer knows, most excellent
"Christian gentleman" But that
proves nothing SO far as the charges
preferred against him by that terribly
wicked partisan press" are concerned.
1t has not been so very long since we
had an unusually pious Christian Vice
President of the United States, butwho
Notwithstanding his piety and zeal in
the good cause, fell a victim to the
temptations thrown in his path by
"Credit Mobilier." Our present Post
Master General is represented as most
jealous "Christian gentleman" But
that has not prevented him from im-
posing on the South, some very ohjec-
tionable and most unfit postmasters;
and Senator Hampton has charged him
with doing something even worse. If
1 am not mistaken there are also quite
a number Of most pious bank cashiers
and eX-Sunday School superintendents
now filling cells in northern prisons for
having yielded to the temptation OF
money.
I am of course not intimating that
DR.. Macune is this kind Of "Christian
gentleman" but only showing that
Mr.. AS argument is not conclusive;
that on the contrary it falls far short Of
the mark at which it was aimed.
Mr.. BIS. attempt at vindication seems
to me also to fail of its object quite as
completely as Mr.. AS. His idea seems
to be to vindicate DR.. Macuhe by
showing upn Mr.. Hall. Now Mr.. Hall
may be a very unamable, and for aught
I know, unreliable sort Of person;
though his chief fault seems to be oppo-
sition to the sub-treasury scheme, and
an indisposition to use aCltiteec0sh. But
the character of Mr.. Hall is not the
question here. It is not Mr.. Hall who
was being investigated by the Ocala
convention, and who is still being by
the Bipartisan press,' but DR.. Macune.
The question was, and still is, did DR..
Macune accept from Pat Calhoun an
annual free pass over the Richmond
Terminal railway system, and besides
a loan of $1,000 in money; and then,
after receiving these favors, support
Calhoun for the United States Senate?
This is the question and the only ques-
ton. Will Mr.. A. or AEr. B. answer
this question categoricalIy, yes or no.
Mr.. Hall says that DR.. Macune finally
..imitted before the Ocala committee
that he had received these favors at the
hands of Mr.. Calhoun, after at first at
tempting to evade the admission and it
is of public notoriety that he did sup
port him, and that very strongly for
the United States Senate. If this be
true, your intelligent readers, alliance
man as we'll as others, who have a
spark of independence Of thought left,
can decide for themselves whether or
not DR.. Macune is fit and reliable
men to represent the alliance in the
various and high positions he now
holds. Be it remembered that one of
the leading and fundamental principles
of the alliance is war to the knife on
monopolies, especially on railroad mo-
Be it remembered too who
Pat Calhoun is. I have not a word to
say against Mr.. Calhoun as an individ-
ual. | have no doubt he is an able,
and patriotic gentleman.
But what does he represent, what did
he represent in this case? He was then,
and is still believe, the general attor-
ney of the Richmond Terminal Rail-
road Co., the biggest railroad monopoly
in the South. And this company in
it's turn is under the control of Jay
Gould, the most powerful, the most
and consequently the |
most dangerous railroad monopolist in |
the whole country. Mr.. Calhoun then |
was and is the paid attorney Of Jay |
Gould, and has been characterized by a |
prominent Georgia Alliance man as the |
''brightest flower in the garden Of mo-
Lnpo!y.n Such is the man DR.. Macune
is accused of having sold out to for a
mere mess of pottage-a loan of 5000,
md free railroad pass, and tried his
Utmost to send to the United States
Senate. where there are already so
many millionaire representatives of big
llcnopoiies. Is such a man a reliable
Z aoresentative Of the alliance? That is
he question. Aud I submit that it is
lot answered ty abuse of Mr.. Hall, or
" the assurance that DR.. Macune is
Christian Gtntlemen.' CIVIS.