Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-07-31
AIMED AT McLAURIN.

idleness.
AIMED AT McLAURIN.
A Crowd of Political Rioters Try to How
Him Down.
The meeting at Spartanburg, or
Tuesday, was just like the others, ex
cept for an ill-advised effort to how
down Senator McLaurin. The sena'
tor was the last speaker, and up to
the time that he took the stand good
order had prevailed. Hardly had he
begun to talk before crowd of roughs
set up horrid din. The incident is
described by August Kohn as follows
Senator McLaurin began his speech
by affirming that the people had just
witnessed an example of the unfair
ness of the fight waged on him in this
campaign. He was attacked and bis
views misrepresented and distorted by
three opponents on every stump. At
this instant some one from the crowd
yelled
"We won't hear Republican speak. "
A hundred or more took up the cry.
An uproar followed. No voice could
rise above that wave of hoarse sound.
Senator McLaurin appealed to Chair
man Wilson. Mr.. Wilson got order
restored.
Colonel Irby, who was sitting toward
the front of the stand, asked that for
his sake the crowd keep quiet.
McLaurin vehemently replied that
he did not want to be heard as favor
TO Irby or anyone else. 81 demand
the right to speak as Democrat"
(Applause).
He had been called a Republican by
his opponents. He flung the epithet
back in their teeth and declared that
he had served the people as attorney
general, as congressman and as United
States senator too faithfully and too
long for this slur against him to be
believed. He owed all that he was to
the people of the state and he would
never be false to their interest.
Since Colonel Irby had brought up
the Negro mill labor question, he said,
be wanted to assert most positively
that be was opposed to Negro opera
tives in factories. So much was he in
favor of employing white labor wher-
ever he could that he rented his farms
out to white tenants at less price
than he could get from Negroes.
Here other Interruptions from few
in the crowd occurred. They contin-
ued and grew to such an extent that
Chairman Wilson again had to restore
order.
After getting quiet, Senator McLau-
rim attacked Irby and Evans for devils
ing the Colleton plan to override the
will of the people and make Evans
governor.
Evans denied that he had anything
to do with forming the plan.
McLaurin declared that Evans was
the beneficiary of it at any rate.
Turning his attack to Irby's record,
Senator McLaurin asserted that the
people had done more for Irby than
any man in the state and got less re-
turn for it. He then read Irby's re-
cord while senator. He next prodded
Irby for having appointed his brother,
w. C. Irby, a committee clerk, and
then letting him stay in Laurens the
entire time without doing any work
for his pay.
Irby got up and explained that in
Washington he had Mr.. CAN'T as his
secretary, so that he (GantD could
study law and while he was at home
he employed his brother. The pay, he
said, was divided.
McLaurin said that since Senator
Irby seemed to have needed clerk
while he was at home, where he was
at most of the time, more than he
needed him in Washington, that he
would let the matter drop.
In concluding his speech, Senator
McLaurin declared he was unaltera-
bly, opposed to the direct tax as pro-
posed by Mr.. Evans. The courts had
decided that an inheritance and an in
come tax are unconstitutional bonds
could not be taxed, so that real estate
and factories were the only property
that could be taxed. The people had
all of this kind of tax they could
stand now, he declared. If direct
tax were imposed, he said it would be
a danger to the mill operatives, for
cheaper pauper labor from abroad
would be brought in to take factory
laborers' places. ,
Senator McLaurin was applauded
when he concluded.
MCLAURIN MADE FRIENDs.-The