Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1892-03-31
SITUATION ! Il nj On RH|libilNiBD. III i b
AN INTER VIE WITEHW!'!|.. W.
c. BENFT, abb VfLHE, &
he REGARDsTHE s. II POLITICAL 8 STU
ALTON AS SERIOUS. s
FARMERS MOVEMENT I'M DANGER

AEA1QSG IulUhll1 OuG Ii Asu<flAeJ
Against the Movement Which
He Leads They Cannot Sne.
ceed IL the Farmers Stand To-
egetheF. 81: IS
.ABBEvILIn, s. C., March %
Special to the Registe onsid:
erable interest having been aroused
by recent ntterancss sof Hon. ~, ",
6. Benet, a represent ativs e -of d tha l.,
Register called on him to-day for
the purpose Of securing an inters
view. s ~ ~
aMr. Benet," said the reporter,
..since your leadership of the fight
in the House Of Representa- atiyes
for the Agricultural College yon
have beeh prominently identified !!
with tho Farmers Movement.
Would you object to giving me an
interview upon the political situs-
tion in this state?n 5z',
"Not at all. The political sitna.
tion I regard as very serious: The
Democracy Of South Carolina ia is
great danger Of dissolution. The
strong hatred of Governor Till.
man which possesses many Of our
leading men, and which is more
than two years old, and dates from
his Bennettsville speech of seven
or eight>years ago, seems to have
deprived them of political eye
sight; and they appear to be bent
i'll their blindness on defeating
him, no matter at what cost to the
mocratic party. Z
-Deep-seated antipathy to the
Farmers Movement is another
strong motive in the hearts of
these men. Add to these the die.
appointment and mortifcat ton at
their own,oysedr-whs u lining defeat two
years ago, and the triumph Of TIE
2:
comprehend the state Of mind
which has brought about the call
ing Of this March convention.
aTbe Thirteen who called the
convention are, with one or two
exceptions, representatives of the
class who controlled this State
from 1875 to 1890. Their power
was overthrown in 1890 by Till
man and the farmers. Loss OF
leadership is never pleasant. De-
feat by political enemies Of an.
other party is bad enough, but de- e
feat by the uprisen mass of their
own party is notifying, not to be
borne, and never to be forgotten OF
forgiven.
"Tillman was q new man. he
came unbidden. He had not been
put. in training by those who ar'
ranged the biennial races for pablile!
Office. He was not of their set
They had never met him in society
OF in off cial circles, He had none
of the customary and. approved
credentials, no war record, no Wal
lace House fame, no South Caro-
lima College diploma, not even :
Citadel comradeship; yet, he woE
the race, the rest were nowhere
And, worst Of all, lie captured ths.
crowd, that well-drilled army .,
the Democracy 10 r that had 50 doc.lelJ
obeyed the commands Of the olt
political leaders for fourteen year
and more-they, almost in a body
went over to Tillman and chos'
him their leader.
aThis was a grand surprise. Blu
it is a great mistake to suppose j
was only a campaign incident. /
was a revolution. 1t changed com
1pletely the title to political power
lit took it from the hands of a fe,
and placed it in the hands Of tn
people. And there it will stay j
the people are true to themselves
"Political power now flows in
new channel-a channel 80 dee.
and with current 60. strong tha
y % s