Evening star., 1894-04-02

gan Is recognized as the leader of the citi-
zens and is doing everything in his power
to keep down any excitement.
When l arrived here from Washington at
8 o'clock this morning the only visible sign
of anything of an unusual nature was the
gathering Of groups of people on the street
corners, mostly idle negroes. The white
people are not stirring around very much.
Throughout the town there is an air of ex-
pectancy, as If people were waiting for the
next move. There is no doubt that a feel
ing of intense earnestness pervades the peo-
pie, and the spirit of bitter animosity to-
ward the constables has not abated in the
slightest.
The fact that the constabulary, who were
In hiding, escaped last night has acted as
q sedative on the people.
Where the Danger Lies.
The consensus of opinion among the best
people of the town is that the greatest dam
| ger to the public peace lies in a further con-
| centration of troops at this point. and any
| attempt to force the consummation Of local
| issues by foreign interference There Is no
question that the exercise OF any arbitrary
powers by the militia will be met with re-
sistance.
that a body of troops would be detailed to
that place to restore the dispensary which
was wrecked by the citizens Friday night
1t is boldly asserted at Florence that such
an effort would be met with force
Censorship Over Dispatches.
Gen. Richburg, commanding the militia at
this point. has received instructions from
Gov. Tfllman to exercise a strict censorship
over the telegraph Office and let nothing of
an infammatory nature to go out
AS began this dispatch Gen. Farley of
Gen. Richburgs staff brought this order to
the telegraph office. He read my dispatch
and, finding nothing seditious. has 20. X ed
As the day wore on there seemed to be
an increase of anxiety among the citizens
There were frequent movements of the
troops tending toward the town hall and
the quarters adjacent to the public square
The citizens have not been notified by the
military commanders of the program. The
commanders are in constant telegraphic
communication with the governor.
Reason for the Troops Presence.
just asked Gen. Farley the purposes of
the militia and what they propose to do.
Il am not at liberty to make public our
ORDERS" he replied.
The same reticence is maintained toward
the citizens. The discipline among the cit
liens Is perfect. At the same time their
attitude is very significant. The gather
ings on the street are composed almost en-
tirely Of negroes and idle countrymen The
solid citizens are Lying low" but are wide
awake and silent. Only two or three of
the leading citizens are seen on the streets,
but they are in touch with their townsmen
COrOner's Inquest Postponed.
The coroners inquest over the murdered
citizens was to be held today.
Owing to the excited state Of the people
1t was decided at noon to postpone the in
quest until Wednesday. It is believed that
a recital at this time Of the wrongs Of the
people might further intensity the feeling
and cause trouble.
One fact which has developed within the
last Few hours Is that the militia are con-
tinually growing more friendly toward the
citizens. II the governor should order the
companies now on the spot to make any
overt act toward the citizens, there would
undoubtedly be open disobedience of the
orders.
A report reached Florence this morn
Ing that number of uniformed country
militia were coming to that town. The
feeling of the citizens is not very friendly
to this class and IT Ia said at Florence that
the countrymen would not meet with ten
der treatment. The citizens seem to fear
the country militia, as it is in the coun-
try districts that the governor Is supported.
The militia have gone into camp in the
city. This is taken by some to mean that
they are to stay here several days, and
speculation is rife as to what Gov TILL
man intends them to do.
1t was hoped by the citizens that the
! troops would be withdrawn today. Mayor
+ Dargan has been deluged with telegraphic
offers from all over the state of assistance
of men and arms. He has replied that he
does not need the men, but asked that the
| escaped murderers be apprehended and
! held.
| The Mayors Statement.
The mayor has issued calm, conserva-
| tive statement of the situation, in which
after reciting the events, he denies that
| there has been any rioting in this county,
and asserts that there has been no viola
/ tions Of law.
I'VE are not lynchers here" he said
! but when any body of armed men come
into town and shoot down innocent citi-
zens, We fight"
Mayor Dargans statement meets with
| the approval of the leading citizens.
| The Governor Blamed.
All the forenoon the anxious citizens
awaited the next move of the governor
! The general feeling is that he is liable to
| issue orders of a radical nature at any
moment, and the certainty of the knowl-
edge that an overt act on his part would
! be resisted with force has caused the un-
easiness. Messages have been flashed back
and forth between the military commander
| here and the governor and the wires have