The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1891-05-19
PHASES OF OUR POLITICS.
THAD. e. horton WRITES or our
POLITICAL SITUATION.

Observation-Disclosures Chit Chat
that hay or May Not Come to Pass.
CoLUMBIA. 3. c., May Io.-OutwardIy
the political situation In this State is
quiet, but n does not need to &c very
far belo " the surface to find the same
elements OF diecord that made the last
campaign the hottest and bitrerest ever
known.
The lines between the Tillmanites
and the anti-Tillmanites are as clearly
drawn as they eve were. There has
been no burying OF the Ratchet, no
making up of old quarrels since the
new administration came in. The
policy OF the administration does not
3Beem to have been cast with any view
to winning friends from the opposition,
and with the exception OF u few indi-
yiduals, 1t is probable that there has
been little change in the ranks of the
two factions since last summers hot
fight.
In the endeavor to find how Gov.
Tillman's administration is pleasing
the people, ] have been met with just
this state Of affairs. The men who put
Tillman In the g~ubernatOrial chair are
disposed to yield unquestioning sup.
port to his administration. The men
who Fought to keep him out Of that
chair are inclined, as q rule, TO criticize
bis actions very closely and to freely
impugn his motives. The vinegar and
gall OF the last campaign are too fresh
In memory to permit Of perfectly un-
biased judgment on either side.
There are, of course, many exceptions.
A considerable element Of the opLosi-
ti0n to Tillman are disposed to hold off
and give him q chance to show what
ha non do nIin pptnn him ft,l1 nro1tf fNr
his good deeds and ~excusing what seem
to be errors rather of judgment than of
heart.
/ think / find here, however, q pretty
general admission that the Tillman adj
ministration has not differed radically
n way or the other from preceding
administrations. 1t has been q clean
sweep. About all the Gins" are outs,
certainly, and rs many "ouC" are in as
ting along remarkably well. There has
been. no financial u%pheaval, in fact
South Carolina was never more pros
porous. Its industrial development has
not been checked n iota, and the in
flow Of capital and new population Is
increasing. None of the "tales of woe"
sung 80 lugubriously by the extreme
opponents of Tillman have been real
lied. No sensible man expected that
they would be. Only a return to carpet
bag rule would check the States mate
rial re-awakening.
what of the next campaign?"
1t is a long way off yet, but 1t is being
discussed.
When / asked Gov. Tillman about it
he said 1t was too far off to talk about
1t now.
ut will be a bitter fight. will it not2"
/ queried.
ut couldn't be bitterer than the last"
he said, with a laugh.
Since the defeat of Wade Hampton
for the Senate there has been a feeling
throughout the State that the next
campaign would largely turn on that
incident, and that either Gen. Hampton
himself or some man representing him
would be put forward as the anti-ad
ministratiOn candidate for the guber-
material nomination.
There is hardly a doubt, according to
my bust information, that that is ex.
actly what will be done. The situation
may change completely before 1892, but
unless 1T does 1T is more than likely
that ii Hampton himself does not OPP
be one whose election could be consid-
cred a vindication of Hampton.
is taking 1T for granted, as every
body-Tillmanites and artists doing,
II q Tillman Will be II candidate for re-
election. OF this there can be hardly
a doubt. | asked the Governor if he
Would run again, and he. of coarse, de-
clined to say either "yes' or mo-" but
the logic OF the situation makes it al
most certain he will.
The State officials decline to talk
ABOUT the next campaign for publlca-
tion, but l gather from conversations
with various administrator leaders
That they look for last years struggle
to pc repeated inthe coming campaign,
with perhaps added heat and bitter
ness, and that they expect the fight to
DO between Tillman and Hampton.
said a prominent Tillmanite to me:
II a tell you now that the cam
paign In this State next year Will be
between Tillman and the Alliance prin-
clples on the one hand and Hampton
n Cleveland on the other. / other
words, the Farmers Movement will
fight to re-elect Tillman or Tillman's
candidate, and to send a delegation to
the national convention pledged to sup
port no candidate who opposes free sill
yer, while the opposition will battle to
ayenge Hampton's defeat for the SEN
ate and to capture the delegation for
Cleveland
The seme speaker pointed to the re-
CChU IidAlpCOn OYdClOn at uguSta on
Memorial Day, and the coming Column
Dia Centennial, at which Gen. Hamp-
ton will be the chief figure, as steps in
q carefully prepared programme to
arouse the old soldier sentiment and
the rs fever ia preparation for the
next campaign.
n may be taken as the Tillmanite
horoscope. What l can learn from the
other side leads me to believe that 1t is
In part q mistaken one.
There Is no evidence that the demon
Strations in favor of Gen. Hampton are
the result of any political PLAN. They
are certainly to be attributed in a large
measure. to his rejection by the Till
mantle Legislature, but that they have
any political Significance for the future
seems more than doubtful.
There is at present no organization of
the opposition nor any definite nucleus
for one, and 1 do not think that any
plan OF campaign has even been form
ulated. much less put in operation,
Gen. Hampton's friends are divided as
to the wisdom or expedlency of calling
on him to endure the strain of a heated
campaign. Many of them consider
that the humiliation of a defeat under
the circumstances would be too great
to take any risks on, and favor putting
forward a candidate who would repre-.
sent the principles Gen. Hampton
represets and whose election would
amount to HamptOn'a yindication