The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-01-31
BREEZILY REVIEWED.
South CarolIna's Reform Movement from
nu Opponents Standpoint.

WASHINGTON, January 24.-Mr. A. B.
Williams, editor of the News, Of Green-
Vile, S. c., has been In Washington sew
eral days. Mr.. Williams is one of the
most Independent and strongest writer's
on tue press of South Carolina. He talks
as we'll and as forcibly as he writes. Of the
political situation in the Palmetto State he
said to-day:
"The signs in South Carolina are pro-
pitious from a Journalistic point of view.
It looks as if we arc to have the most
complicated, venomous aud lunatic po-
litical tarantula dance ever seen in this
country. We haven't gota very big
floor but it's powerful hot. Some States
can show up more voters than we can
but we can count out more voters per
capita and work out more devilment to
the voter than any other people OIL earth.
"Somewhere in the solar system there
is special South Carolina moon, invisi-
BILE but effective. She has big orbit
and swings around once in thirty years
and then we unanim ously go looney, and
when ne regularly set ourselves to work
to turn fool and go on good old bowling
political debauch we paint things red.
Along in the thrties it WAS notification
and before that we had gone tolerably
crazy over the French revolution and
liberty, equality and fraternity. In the
sixties it was secession. Now it is just
general politics. Every man in our
Stete is now politician in full practice;
every other man is a candidate or appli-
cant for something and there is
mighty near faction or party for every
citizen.
"You remember in 1890 Governor
Tillman jumped to the front of Che farm
ers' movement. He had been working
up and organizing strong political
groundswell. The farmers movement
was loose jointed, scattering kind of
ghost, which had been knocked together
year or two before and held up on a
pole to scare politicians with. G. Wash.
Shell, clerk Of court of Laurens county,
was chairman Of the executive commit
historic document in our State-abusing
nearly everything with striking i'm par
TALLY and calling upon the people to
rise against the ring which he al
legged existed and was depressing and de-
spelling.
"You know the result, + reckon.
There was good deal of result The
March convention was called, packed
and worked. She'll called it and Irby
worked it. It came within two or three
votes of smothering the reform move
ment which was saved only by Irby's
magnificent demonstration Of nerve, gall
energy. Once started, however, the
movement took. Our time for insanity
had come. One side was as stark, star.
ing, raving mad as the other.
"Whats the quotation about making
stepping stones of our dead selves to
higher things? It was most appropri-
ately paraphrased in our State with the
statement that Tillman' had made step
ping stones Of our darned fools to higher
feated Wade Hampton for the Senate.
Shell was sent to Congress. SO far 30
good. And 1t was all right last year
when the anti-Tillman people made
fight. The reformers just renominated
their old ticket and sailed in again with
hurrah.
"You understand, Of course, that all Of
this is inside the Democratic party. All
our fights are preliminary to and leading
up ty the general primary.
"In 1892 the Tlllmanites, as we call
them, the reformers, as they call them
selves, polled in the primary $4,000 votes
while we -Tillmanites, or couserva-
tives, squeezed out but 10000. They
wiped up the earth with us and have
been dancing on our remains with what
MIR. Cleveland calls ghoulish glee ever
since. They held the legislature, turned
out all the old judges with one exception,
frightened up the dispensary liquor law,
and from our point of view, played the
dence generally. We have been like
Brown, Of Caleveras. The subsequent
proceedings interested US no more. We
could only lie and look and groan.
"Now, however, the time Of travail for
here for new divide and it is making
trouble.
"In Columbia some time ago there was
conference which included Mr. Bow
den, editor and owner Of the Cotton Plant
Mr.. Koester, editor of the Columbia
Register, the journalistic prop o f the re-
form movement, and several others of
the most progressive and active leaders
of the reform party. Those men believ-
ed and declared that their party could
not continue to live and grow on the
strength of one man. They claimed that
as Governor Tillman was to be q candi-
date for the Senate his supremacy in
State matters should end and that Senator
Irby must be set aside.
"This movement within the movement
has spread as fast as the movement itself
did. In two weeks it has shaken things
tremendously. 1t even Jared Tillman
and it looks now like a kind Of political
day ofjudgment, the wind and sea roar
ing and mons hearts failing them for
fosr, because they don't know where they
are at.
SIT hos been generally claimed that
Governor Tillman is man OF great
Lack bone and much shrewdness. have
never been satisfied about that. You can't
Judge mans nerve until YOU see him
playing losing game. Governor Till
man has been four years sitting behind q
straight flush of hearts, running from
ace down to ten spot. Any chump can
play that kind Of q hand with only one
man in. want to see what he Is going
to do now that the betting is going against
him little and he will have to draw with
care
"Senator Irby is a buffer and fighter
from the old country, and he has with
him John Gary Evans, who is OF the
same kind. Irby and Shell hate each
other with the warm enthusiasm which
marks the hatreds in laws and neigh.
bors. They are from the same county.
Ellerbe party. Ellerbe is the present
comptroller general and the probable
candidate of his element for governor.
John Gary Evans, father of the dispen-
sary law, is the Irby candidate for gov
ernor, but the first fight will come in
an attempt likely to be made to
oust Irby from the craftsmanship Of
the State Democratic executive commit
tee.
"Irby claims that Bowden is third
party man and the movement he is
engaged in is an attempt to carry the re-
formers bodily into the third party
camp. He says that he will fight
this to the death and that Tillman Is with
him.
"The other side deny this charge.
They say Bowden's position in federal
politics has nothing to do with his fealty
to the white mans party in the State and
that be is really the man whose wisdom
has kept the third party down; that by
conservative management and intelligent
recognition of conditions he is in position
to keep the third party men inside the
democratic organization instead of TAX
ing that organization into the third par
ty.
Representative McLaurin is evidently
disposed to 60 with the Bowden party.
He has snap and grit and an eye on fu-
ture senatorial developments.
Representative Shell, who did most of
the finest work in organizing the origi-
nal Tillman movement, is evidently In
this new development and the pretty
way in which tho machinery has moved
off at the touch tells of his workmanship.