The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1893-02-01
"Other" Great Men.
GGreenville News.

A correspondent directs our atten-
ton to this passage in an interview of
Senator J. L. NJ. Irby printed in the
New York Snn: -..
II do not believe he is going to
punish me for opposing him, for if he
does he should also punish all the
other great men in the party who were
equally opposed to his nomination"
Our special consideration is asked for
that word "other"- the other great
men in the party"
We confess we see no harm in that
word "other," The Hon. John L. N.
1rby is not statesman of very exalted
position or broad views. he has not
travelled great deal. His political
horizon is not wide one, nor are his
standards exalted. We think it very
likely that he is accustomed to stack
himself up against the Hon. B. R.
Tillman, the Hon. G. w. Shell, Gen.
R. R. Hemphill, the Hon. A. C. Lati-
mer, the Hon. J. L. McLaurin, Col.
T. Lawrence CAN'T, Col. Cal Caugh-
man, the Hon. J. William Stokes and
other prominent reformers in his pro-
cesses of comparison. These are all
great men. The Columbia Register, the
Lexington Dispatch, the Abbeville
Medium and the Anderson Peoples
journal and other cotemporaries of
restricted circulation but unbounded
talent and vast influence say they s->>.
Some of them have been officially de-
clared to be great by resolutions of SUBJ
alliances. So far as tie Hon. B. r.
Tillman is concer1ed, we haveit on the
authority Of Lieutenant Governor
Eugene GAry-who should know a
great man when he sees him-that his
career and characteristics are startling
in their resemblance to those of Patrick
Henry, and Associate Justice Pope dis
turbed the judicial atmosphere of
Charleston court roora with thunder
GUS declarations that the governor was
q second Andrew Jackson.
In the land of Lilliput a man of six
inches and Nails thickness in height
staggered as giant. We must allow
people the privilege Of considering
their surroundings. With the distin-
guished citizens we have named as
natural and appropriate standards of
greatness, we think the Hon. John L.
NJ. Irby has the right to class himself
as "great" man. We are in with him
in the classification. If Governor Till
man and General Hemphiil and DR..
Stokes are great-and, as we have
pointed out, there is abundant local
authority for saying that they are-the
Hon. John L. NJ. Irby is indisputably
great. He is not inferior to any Of
them in intellectual requirement and
equipment, in generous, broad states
manship or in exalted patriotism. It
would be, we should judge, impossible
that he should be.
Remembering the standards familiar
to Senator Irby, recalling the require
ments and attributes Of greatness now
prevalent in these latitudes, we think
our correspondent will agree with us
that in CHASING himself with the great
men Of the party who opposed Cleve-
land our junior senator was entirely
within his rights.
George Washington, John Marshall,
Patrick Henry, Daniel Webster, John
G. Calhoun and Thomas Jefferson used
to be regarded as the standards of great
ness in their respective lines of busi-
ness. Just now the country generally
thinks Of Grover Cleveland, John G..
Carlisle, A. G. Thurman and men of
that kind as the great Democrats.
None of these men, however, have
! done or said the things or used the
methods customary among the present
leaders and representatives OF South
Carolina politics. We doubt if they
could. Therefore they are not to be
seriously considered as candidates for
greatness according to the tests and
standards familiar to the Hon. John
L. M. Irby and the people Of South
Carolina generally in these later
times.
Causeless carping at the State Admin
istration and the evolutions, produc-
tions, emanations and miscellaneous
works thereof is a great sin and we
mean to battle with it sternly. We
propose to do our part in the enlighten-
ment Of the people regarding the real
standards of virtue, greatness and
merit and to apply the radiance Of
latter day thought to some musty
traditions. We are with Senator Irby
heart an d soul in this issue and want
to have it understood plainly as our
deliberate conviction that if Governor
Tillman, Senator Irby, DR.. Stokes.
General HemphiI, the Hon. A. c..
Latimer, the Hon. J. L. McLaurin,
the Hon. &. W. Shell, and Associate
Justice Pope are great men, Washing
ton, Marshall, Jefferson, Henry, Cal
houn, Webster, Clay and Cleveland
are not to be taken, held or regarded as
great. In the unclassical but energetic
language..of this blooming and BOOM
ing period of the worlds history, they
are not in it.