The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1893-05-31
rHE GOVERNOR DEFENDS THE STATE.
Some Vigorous Lapguage-The Admins
tration Is not Fighting Capital and
Corporations.-Those Who Try
to IDjure the Governor Hurt
the State.
Especial to Sunday News. I

Especial to Sunday News
COLUMBIA, May 27.-The situation
in South Carolina is being closely
watched and capitalists are inquiring
into the situation here. A prospective
investor writes party here, and so far
as the subject matter is concerned,
says:
Several prospectuses of cotton mill
enterprises in your State have been
placed in my hands by some New
York friends recently, and I have been
invited to take stock in same. I have
not determined the matter in my mind J.,
although inclined to take $4,000 in
these mills, but can hardly get NY full
consent to do 80, as few of my friends
will take a similar amount if I will.
Recent legislation and litigation in
your State relative to cotton mills and
railroads, together with threatened
legislation of more strin gent laws in
regard to same, compel me to Withhold
placing any capital in these enterprises.
And not being willing to invest my
cepital, of course I can't advise my
friends to do so, lat least not for the
presently and therefore prefer holding
off until see some signs OF legislation
that will warrant me in doing so. I
have gwen you my views in very un-
reserved way and await yours, wishing
them to be equally as unreserved.
Candor and friendship compel me to
60 a step further on this subject and
ask you few questions: What is the
actual trouble in South Carolina? Why
is legislation astagonistic to capital? Is
there a spirit of communism existing
that demands it? Loud and oft re-
reated rumors in moneyed circles in
New York, Boston and Philadelphia
says it is So"
The correspondence was submitted
to Governor Tillman and he gave the
press his views in which he said:
1.-THE most abominable feature of this
whole business is that In trying to hurt
me my enemies are every day injuring
the State. These stories are good deal
like an electric current which goes out
and must come back, and comes back
in greatly exaggerated condition. The
stories otattacks by my Administration
on the railroads and on corporations
have been industriously circulated for
the specific purpose of creating false
impression abroad about me and the
people who support me. 1t is the old
fable of the wolfe and the lamb. Ger
tain men and interests interested in
corporations are resolved to destroy my
influence, and failingin in that, to blacken
my reputation abroad. They cannot
be appeased for the loss of power, and
it is be damned ifyou do and be damned
if you don't. The slander mill is con-
stantly grinding. What it grinds out
for consumption outside the State is
sent back here and is republished by
the newspapers of this State when the
editors know them to be lies, and know
also that they told them.
'Iknow that this feelingabout South
Carolina exists, but instead of being a
result of the communistic or agrarian
tendencies of the Legislature is result
of the lies sent out. These stories are q
refuence, and the people who are cir
culating them will wish some day that
they hadn't done it. Truth can never
overtake lie, and in their mad desire
to destroy me they are ipjuring the
State and blackening its good name.
"As matter of fact there has never
been, and is not now, the slightest in
tention on the part ofany of the officers
of this State to be unjust to or to dis
criminate against corporations or capi.
tai.
'The factory law, of which the writer
of the letter has probably obtained
erroneous Impressions, gives the facto.
ries more working time than is allowed
in many of the largest cotton manu-
featuring States, Georgia for instance.
In reality the factories are all paying
dividends, which proves the stories
about the law and the fight on corpora
tions of this kind to be a lot of rot.
New factories are going up all over the
State and our own people do not seem
to mistrust the Legislature or fear the
laws.
1.-THE railroad commission has no
more power in this State than else
where. The members of the commits.
sion are sensible and conservative men.
They have no desire or purpose to
wreck or hurt the railroads, and no
other department Of the Government
of the State has such desire. In the
railroad fight the only contention was
that there should not be favored class
of taxpayers, and that there should be
no taxpayers who could cloak them
selves under the ermine of a Federal
Judge when all could not obtain that
privilege.
II plonouce as lie any statements
that this State is making a fight or
capital. If this man, or anybody else,
is leterred from coming here by these
statements, he is simply standing in
his own light. If he waits for any
change in the policy of the State Gov
eminent in the matters be mentions he
will wait a long time. Nobody wants
him under those conditions. We are
striving for equality under the law for
citizens and corporations alike, and if
we are to permit capital to shirk taxa
ton and corporations to dictate to the
State in order to have money come here
for investment we don't want il"
Governor Tillman gave full and
free expression of his opinion, and
wants the position Of the Administra-
ton understood.