The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1894-04-26
FARLEY SPEAKS.
HE GIVES i1iS VERSION OF THE OAR
llNGTOM AFFAIR.

llNGTOM AFFAIR.
The Adjutant aud Iuspoct pr G enernl Has
Something to Say ae to His Connection
With tho Recent TrouDlt-Hs obeyed
Orders and Worked for Pesce
GREENVILLE, s. c., April 10-Gen.
Hugh l.. Farley was in Greenville u
few days ago en- route to tho reunion
OF his old command in Laurens county.
Upon meeting with him at the Man
sion House the editor of the Mountain
eer asked him few questions concern
Ing the recent stirring events in this
State. with which he was so promi-
nently and intimately connected, and
he very courteously complied with the
request to talk on the subject. His OBJ
serVatiOnS are so pertinent and fOrci-
bic, revealing the inward history of
events at Darlington and Florence,
that we propose to share with the pub
lie the Interesting statement made by
Gen. Farley. lie is absolutely fair in
the statements made concerning past
events, and his comments upon the DO.
litical situation will not fail to com
mand attention. His conservatism AS
a citizen and public official is no less
marked than his devotion and sinceri-
ty as Reformer, for he was one of the
earliest and staunchest advocates of
the measures which crystaliZed the Far
mers' Movement and upon which the
campaign Of 1890 was fought.
General, it seems that some of the
newspapers are trying to make it ap-
pear that there was antagonism be.
tween yourself and Governor Tillman
with reference to the conduct of affairs
at Darlington and Florence during the
recent troubles. Would you object to
giving the true inwardness of the
whole matter2"
"On the contrary, L am anxious that
the matter shall be put perfectly right,
out of justice to both Governor Till
man and myself. Let us at least at
tempt to be fair to Governor Tlllman,
because there Is so much partisanship
and misrepresentation at this time that
every occurrence is made use of for
some one or other political purpose.
From the beginning Of this trouble
there was an attempt made to make
me say things that l did not say. For
instane, that l had said and telegraph
ed to Governor Tillman from Darling
Ton soon after my arrival that there
was no lnsurrection, no need for mar
t1al law and no need for troops, which
did not say at all. l am too old and
experienced an officer to be guilty of
the presumption of volunteering my
opinions to my superior unless asked
| for them. Any one reading my report
will see that Governor Tillman simply
instructed me to keep him advised as
to the true situation, and it will also
be seen that these instructions were
simply compiled with. Knowing my
duty, kept my mouth closed and
| awaited orders, giving no information
to any one. If Governor Tillman had
asked my advice In regard to such mat.
ters | would have given it frankly and
cordially, but was only told to remain
at Darlington and take command of
| any troops that might be ordered to
that point. When received the infor-
nation that troops were on their way
l communicated that fact to the MAYOR
and citizens of Darlington, as was i'll
structei to do by the Governors tele.
gram, and then took steps to secure a
proper and orderly reception Of Gen
lSlchbourg's command. | have never
intended to give public expression to
my opinion as to the necessity of send.
ing troops to Darling, on, because il is
not consistent with my position rs Ad.
jutant General to criticise the actions
OF my superior officer, the chief cXecu-
tive Of the State. / deemed it quite
sufficient to keep him posted as to the
situation so that he could exercise his
own discretion, because the responsi-
bllsty rested upon him. Since it has
been made to appear, however, that |
did these things, and since / am reliev-
ed from the official obligation Of keep
ing silent, out Of justice to both Cover
nor Tillman and myself, I do not hesi
tate to say what would have been my
advice II he had sought it.
| when the riot occurred In Darling
ton, the information received by the
Governor was necessarily meagre, and
during the riot there was, of course, a
total suspension of all law. IL the
troops In Columbia had been allo wed
to obey orders, ] am satisfied that the
power Of the civil law would have been
restored within twenty.four hours or
thirty six hours. While | found peace
and quiet In the town of Darlington, it
was The calm after the storm. | do not
hesitate to say that some military force
in addition to the local militia, was
necessary for the restoration Of the
status existing prior to the outbreak
Governor Tiliman may have been mis-.
taken to the exact measures Or amount
OF force necessary to restore the status,
but DO not think that any impartial
observer would blame him for taking
ample steps to bring the community
back to its normal condition. Indeed
after we had been thWarted In our first
efforts to secure troops, he could not
reltnquish his purpo:e of restoring or
der without sacrificing the dignity Of
the State and apparently surrendering
the prerogativeS of his Office. Any
other course would have made it APP
pear to the outside world that his
hands were tied and his Official power
was paralyzed, and the moral effect
would have been irremediable. The
fact that Constable McLendon had
been taken from the Jail and carried
to a place Of safety in order to escape
lynchiDg, (much to the relief of the
good citizens Of Darlington, as | nap.
pen to knowO Is conclusive evidence
that the civil law was not deemed sulli
cient to control the situation. without
sufficient force the Investigations that
were necessary in Darlington, more
particularly the inquest, which was
and ought to have been held, could not
have been made with safety. because it
was imperatiVoly necessary that the