The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-09-16
MORE LIGHT STILL,
WHAT SECRETARY OF STATE ETOMP-
KlNs SAYS AsouT The SCANDAL.


Soroborstes Commissioner Mi1son III Some
ofHis Statements and DisclaIms all Re-
spcnsibility for the Rsscality in the Dis
pensary Matter.
Secretary of State Tompkins return
ed to the city yesterday afternoon.
He at once wrote the following aa-
dress.
To the Public:
In Governor Evans efusion, pub
lished in the newspapers Of this date,
while he doesn't charge me in the be-
ginning with having anything to do
with the whiskey rebates, ne uses the
following language, by which sup
pose he intends to include me. The
latter sentence can be constructed IN
no other way, viz; Shortly after
wards, Mr. Scruggs, the bookkeeper,
reported to me that from letters he had
received and opened in Mixson's ao,
sence in the course of business, and
other suspicious circumstances, ne
was satisfied that Mixson was dealing
with certain whiskey houses exclusive
" and was obtaining rebates IN con-
sideration thereof. I replied to him
thas he was State officer, as vel! as
MiSSson and Tompkins, and that II ne
saw anything going wrong that 1t was
hisduty to inform me and to secure
the eyidenceto convict THEM. Mr..
Scruggs reported to me that he was
satisfied he could secure the evidence
to convict THESE MEN if I would
allow him to leave the State. Fur
ther on he says: .s'But to return to
the efforts of Mr.. Scruggs to catch the
guilty PARTIES. Mr.. Scruggs pro:
ceeded to Cincinnsti and returned
with evidence, as he assured me, to
convict Mixson with having received
rebates from the Live Oak Distllling
company"
On the morning of Feb. II, last,
Mr.. Scruggs sent for me before | had
gotten out of bed. Immediately got
up and went to his house. He told
me then that he had been to Cincln-
natl and had found that the Live Oak
Distslling company had paid young
Mixson q large amount of money. He
said he wanted to see Col. Mlxson,
but wished to do so before be went 10
the Office. He also asked me not TO
say anything about the matter to any
body else. As soon as I got my
breakfast I went to the dispensary
and told Mixson that Scruggs wished
10 see him at his. house. AFTER nao
eaten my dinner and about DARK IN
the afternoon, l wentto see Mlxson
and by my advice he went with me to
the governors mansion, and IN my
presence he told the governor all
Scruees had said. Governor Evans
! statement that I asked him what to do,
is false. did not de- anything of the
Z, kind, but expressly told him when l
got up to leave that Mixson, under my
advice, had come to tell him as COVER.
nor and chairman of the State board
of control, of the matter, and that II
he had not told him that I would have
done so myself. That I did not think,
under the circumstances, I could af-
ford to keep secret of that kind.
When ye left he asked us to say moth
mo of the matter. as he wished to see
If Scruge would report it to him.
Later on he went to Washington
and after he came back he told me he
had seen Senator Hllman and he
thought Mixson should resign and
assed me to get him to do so. / went
to Mixson and commenced 10 talk to
him on the subject and he stopped me
and said; s.I have already told Gov
ernor Evans that he could get my re-
signation whenever he wishedit- ;"
I heard nothing more of it for sew
eral dsys. when Mixsen told me that
several Of his friends and Governor
Evans had told him not TO resign; !;
that he had been guilty of no wrong
and he ought not to resign. In a day
or two I happened to be in the COVER
nor's Office and he told me he had ad,
vised Mixson not to resign. ana saio
All right" Mixson had told me ms
friends advised him not to resign. IL
nust be borne in mind that when this
happened there had not been meet
ing of the State board OF contro! Tor
more than year. Governor Evans
had performed absolutely aIl the on,
ties of the whole board OF control, and
conceived it to be my duty de
iure" member Of the State board OF
control to report the matter to him as
the governor of the State and as the
chairman OF the State board of con.
troll. Il there had been a meeting Of
the whole board I would have report
ed it to them. After I put him In pos
session of the facts I had nothing more
to do with it except to see Mixscn to
get him to resign, when l was met
with the statement that he had already
told the governor he would resign
whenever ne wanted him to: .,,-
Further the governor says: Inc