Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1892-07-14
THE EDGEFIELD MEETING

A00 Ah1oWAhS oCoSA1pAoh VI oAS
campaign meeting of last Thurs
day isfrom the Columbia Register,
and is 30 graphically given that We
publish it!entire, leaving out the
speeches in the courthouse which
would take up too much space:
EDeEF1ELD, S. c., July 1.-THE
sullen roar of the coming storm
could be plainly heard in the dis
tance. Before it burst at the home
IF Ben Tillman, where he is known,
the abuse and vilifcatlon and
slander which had been heaped
upon him created such storm of
indignation in the breasts of those
who had known him for many
years that one might as we'll have
tried to calm the stormy waves of
the deep sea as the surging crowd
masaed in front of the. speakers
stand.
At Florence was heard the first
roar of the approaching storm; at
Orangeburg its blast grew louder;
at Aiken there was the ominous
calm that comes after the first rush
and but marks the near approach
of a amore deadly fury.
For some time it has been ex-
pected that the Edgefeld meeting
would be .riotous. All know the
love and veneration in which Till
man is held at home; and. those
who were at all acquainted with
the temper of the Edge6eld people
knew that they were not the sort
to quietly and tamely endure the
insults and lies and ISLANDERS and
vilifcation and abuse that have
been heaped upon a man, whose
hands are tied, by towards and by
men whose one object and aim in
life is to lower this man of the peo-
pie, whom the toiling masses of
Edgefeld and of the other counties
or the State have chosen to be their
Governor, and to take the place of
men for whom they no longer had
any use, but who had so long en-
ioyed them that they had come to
regard them as the birthright of
their class.
To the courage, GOODNESS and
magnificent self-control of Tillman
| is due the fact that the streets of
Edgefeld are not rod tonight with
the blood of her sons. If ever the
grandeur of the msn shone forth
it was to-day. Never before has
Tillman appeared so truly great
and go utterly and entirely above
the weaknesses and littlenesses of
life. He is man and man who
lis worthy of the pride which is
felt in him by Edgefeld and the
lentire State. God bless him.
Jesuit Dibble has injected a new
issue into the campaign and it is
working with vengeance, but
thanks to the Register and the Re-
form candidates, who quickly and
boldly exposed it, it has acted like
a boomerang on the heads of those
1who first attempted it's use.
The ring candidates are the sick
lest looking set of men ever seen.
Their hearts have fallen within
them and they have no heart to
continue the fight which in the in
lmost recesses of their souls they
knew from the first was hopeless.
They are fishing for way to with
draw from the campaign and at the
tame time do it in such a way as
so stir up political capital for them
selves, but they forgot that the
people are not fools and can see as
| far into a milestone as they can, or
perhaps farther, for their eyes are
not blinded with malice, hatred
and envy.
All these things might be crowd
ed into the introduction, but it
Twill be better to give an account
of the meeting and let everything
appear in its proper place.
The stand was erected in the
loutskirts of town and was not
reached until about IL O'CLOCK by
the candidates. Quite a number
|of lovely and high-spirited ladies
were there, but their presence had
no effect toward restraining the
angry passion of the men who had
gathered to hear the rival candi-
dates speak. Between 800 and
1000 people were present and it
was a very red-dy crowd. Three
fourths of the crowd we're Till
NANTES and wore Tillman badges;
many having red ribbons on their
hats, both sides of their coats and
on the harness of their horses.
The Sheppardites wore blue
badges, and they wero indeed a
blue set when the meeting was
over. Had it not been announced
that the meeting had been called
| off the crowd would have been
much larger and the group of
Channord;foo xrou1d have haen an