The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1897-08-26
The Marion Meeting.

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views, ant concluded amid applause.
The Marion Meeting.
The meeting of the Senatorial candi-
dates at this point was attended by
about 900, and the speaking taken
place at the large tobacco warehouse.
Mr.. McLaurin was absent. Chairman
Montgomery introduced Mr.. Evans as
the first speaker, thereupon he mount
ed dry goods box, and he hardly
started before some member OF the
audience mentioned rebates, and
Evans hotly answered: There's
another thief and liar. I've fought one
and suppose I'll have to fight another. :"
At this point the chairman arose and
asked the audience to treat the speakers
with respect.
Evans said to the speaker: "Let
him alone. He don't bother me. I
thought 1 had. killed all the carrion
crows last year, but it seems not. Let
him alone; 1 have to have something to
shoot at. I have killed one cock and
have two sick ones on my hands, 80 I
had as we'll have feather leg in the
crowd to shoot at.
For the next five minutes Mr.. Evans
spoke on that campaign of lies and
ISLANDERS" of last year and repeated
what he has said about it on the pre-
ceding stumps; how he had accepted
the dare to make this race and not once
in it had his honesty been impugned
by newspapers, etc.
Getting to his argument at last, Mr..
Evans said this was the most important
campaign in fifty years. We Of the
South have always been Democrats be-
cause that party stands for the masses of
the South and West 1t stood for the
masses before and since the war because
two of its cardinal doctrines were free
silver" and ''tariff for revenue only"
In 1916 Mr.. Calhoun was Protection
ist; strange to say he and Mr.. Webster
entertained views that were not to the
interests of their respective sections and
each changed, Mr.. Calhoun becoming
free trader and Mr.. Webster Protec-
ZIONIST. Why should the Southern
farmers be Democrats? Because that
party had declared for tariff for rev.
enue only. We thought that issue had
been settled long ago by the great lead
ers, but here comes what is called new.
evangsl, who is trying to lead the peo-'
pie into the Republican party.
Tariff means taxes. The people pay
their State taxes to the county treasur-
urers, but they pay more to the United
States government by what is called
the indirect system of taxation. They
don't pay their taxes to officials, but
every time they buy Q coat, hat,
sugar or any article they pay taxes to
the merchants who are the tax collec-
tors for the national government
Every farmer in the south is q free
trader if he's got any sense. They
have to sell 1000, 600. Of the 9, 900, 600
bales of cotton raised, in the free trade
markets of the world.
Mr.. Evans took up the duty on cot
ton. In the upper part of the State, he
affirmed, McLaurin said Egyptian cot
ton competed with American cotton
and that the mill in Marlbaro was US
ing it. He offered McLaurin $i00 q
yard for all the cloth made in South
Carolina Of Egyptian cotton. Since
then McLaurin had not mentioned it
again but at Bennettsville an officer of
the mill came to him and said their
factory did not use Egytian cotton that
they did have sample but that was
all.
Mr.. Evans told the use to which
Egyptian and Peruvian cottons were
put, such as making cheap silks, bal
briygan underwear and imitation wool
blankets, and declared these goods were
only used by the farmers and they
therefore had to pay the tax on the cot
ton.
Mr.. Evans announced that his plat
form was to place tariff on the luxuries
of the rich and raise what additional
revenue that might be necessary by di-
rect taxation. In concluding he said:
Before would go to the Senate and lick
the feet of the rich Yankee millionaires
for little honor I would ask the people
to hang me in effigy. would ask them
to hang me to a pole for betraying the
trust hey placed in my keeping. Jap
plsuse)
Col. Irby spoke next and said no man
in South Carolina can be more embar-
rassed by the absence of Mr.. McLaurin
than I. It ia due to him and to the
people of South Carolina that he were
here, and I say for him were he well he
would be here. A sense of fair play
and of justice will not permit me to
strike fallen foe. I cannot discuss
his record in his absence for fear OF
misrepresenting it, which if he were
here he might explain to your satisfsc-
ton. I therefore cannot discuss his
record. I pray that he may be able to
meet me at Horny and on every stump
until the end of this campaign.
In speaking OF Evans defeating FL
lerbe for governor, in regard to Ellerbe,
Col. Irby said: I'm the one that beat
him. kept Tillmap from going to
him, if you want to know it. Tillman
came to Washington to mu2zle me, but
instead Tillman came home himself
with a muzzle on. J. was better to
Evans than Tillman was. I tried to
make Evans governor and I did, but
Tillman tried to make him United
States Senator last year and failed.
Fer my service to him Evans gave me
the Joab stab."
On the suffrage clause, Col. rby
said: II forced the constitutional con-
vention though the poor people were
afraid of it, I promised, however, that