The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-04
The Statement of Mayor Dargan.

The statement of the mayor OF Darling
1 ton, published in our dispatches yester-
day, relative 70 the trouble in that town,
will receive more attention when the out
break OF violence there is thoroughly in
vestigated than at present. for the reason
that just now there is too much excite
ment in South Carolina to giveit thought
full consideration. From what the mayor
says there had been no resistance to the
enforcement of the dispensary law. The
Constables had done their work and We're
at the depot waiting for a train to take
them from the town. And there would
have been no trouble there had it not
been for the fact that the coustab les, in
spired by the aggressive and Incorporate
order of the governor as to what they
should do if interfered with, were hasty
in participating in a personal quarrel be
tween one Of their number and a citizen
Of Darlington. They had determined, APP
parently, to use their guns upon the least
provocatiou. They did not act like officers
Of the law whose duty it is to preserve
the peace. but like roughs spelling for a
fight
The posses that were organized to
pursue the consta hles after two of their
number and two citizens had been killed
were acting within the law Their pur-
pose was to arrest men who, it was be-
lieved, had committed a great crime
The governor made no effort to arrest the
constables who had precipitated a row in
which four men had been killed and the
authorities of Darlington undertook to
arrest them. The governor called out
the militia not to assist in arresting the
alleged murderers, but to protect the
coustables who, it is asserted, brought on
the trouble by their aggressive atti tUde
There was no resistance to the authority
of the state before the state troops arrived
at Darlington and none after they
arrived
1t seems that the governor called out
one or more military companies for service
at Darlington two days before the out
break of violence. He did this although
he had been notified that there was no
trouble at Darlington, and that there was
no probability there would be any. 1t
appears, therefore. he did not call out
troops to suppress a riot or to do any other
thought probably there would be trouble,
because of the opposition of the people to
having their residences searched for
whisky. The inference is that he wanted
to sustain his constabes if they should
meet with resistance but that is not a
valid excuse for calling out the military.
The tone of the governors speeches, his
orders to his constables and his acts in
connection with the dispensary law, have
been of a character calculated to exas-
perate the people. The speech he de-
livered to the militia yesterday instead
of allaying the bitterness will increase
it. II was a notice to the towns of the
statethat the dispensary law would be in
forced in way that suited him even if
he had to take control of all the muni-
cipal governments of the state He
spoke like man who felt he had the
people under his heel and meant to keep
them there
1t is rather remarkable fact that
the administrations of about all the
populist governors are marked by VIC
lence. In Kansas there came near being
conflict between citizens and troops re-
Gently. In Colorado the military was ar
rayed against civilians only a couple of
weeks ago Gov Tillman calls himself
a democrat, and is within the
party organization, but he was put
into power by those who subscribed to
populistic doctrines. The governor him
self is in sympathy with populism and
during the whole time he has been gov
ernor the state has been in condition
bordering on civil war.
There is much queter feeling
now in South Carolina than there
was last week, but the situation
has not changed greatly for the better
There is no guarantee that the existing
bitterness will not soon show itself again
in violenca