The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1899-08-24
TILLMAN IN HIS OWN DEFENSE.
He Makes an Explanation of His
Sumter Speech and Defines Peace
and Unity.

The Anderson Peoples Advocate
makes the following report OF Senator
Tillman's speech at the Carswell Insti-
the annual meeting of the survivors Of
Go. Il. oath S. 9. ", and Of the old stu
dents OF the Institute:
After the dinner the crowd OF some
Z. 500 or moro people gathered closely
around the stand to hear Congressman
Latimer and Senator Tillman. Before
the speaking began u fourpronged
pitch-f0rk wrapped In tinsel with q
gold bug impaled on two Of its tines,
was suspended over the stand MIR
Latimer began his speech by a jocular
his fear OF it, and entire ating the crowd
no! to let an Edgetield man come up
here and pitchfork an Anderson man.
He alluded to the fact that the farmers
are so generally warned TO avoid poll
tics In all their meetings., and claimed
that II was their right and duty to dis
cuss politics, for politics was nothing
but the '"riencc OF government" and
farmers were very largo part Of the
government and it's affairs concerned
them. He warned them against being
mlled to sleep by this cry OF avoiding
politics, IA it was intended to side
track and disorganize them. He re-
minded them Of what they had accom-
plishcd by organization in the Alliance
against the jutc trust, and affirmed his
beicf that the farmers could break
any trust by organizing against it. We
nave not space to reproduce more OF
his speech, which was along this limo,
and also attacking the Philippine
policy OF the Administration. After
some music by the orchestra which, by
the way, had been intcrspersed all
through the proceedings, Senator
Tlllman was introduced, and the crowd
drew closer.
lie began by referring pleasantly to
the presence Of so many ladies, u fca-
turo which was nOticeably absent dur
Ing his campaign speeches. He said
he took special interest in This re.
union because his brother commanded
GO: OF the same regiment. He then
paid his respects to the expansion
policy of the Republican administers
tion. He condemned in unmeasured
terms the grabbing OF Hawaii and the
ment to the Filipinos, and that it WAS
q proud thought for every old Con-
| federate colder that he had made the
| last aud greatest stand for cOnstitu.
| tional liberty, that the world had ever
seen. He objected to their annexation
because they were an alien race, and
we have had trouble enough with the
alien raco we have here. That we had
quit buying negroes in 1865, and he
did not want 10 buy any more col
ored people. He then referred to
the article of G. c. Featherstonc, pub
llshed in All the Gailics simultaneously,
taking him to task for what he did not
say at Sumter. He reminded the poo
pie that since he began the fight in
| lS9O. oil the daily papers and most Of
the country weeklies had been against
him, and had garblcd his utterances
and misreprcsented him. Hc said that
MIR. Fcathcrstone was quick to rush
into print before ne knew the exact
truth about the matter, and it WAS sig.
n!Gcant that he furnished comics to all
the dailies at tho same time in order
to advertise him self, and that II he hnl
been disposed to treat him with tru,
gentlemanly courtesy and be perfectl,
fair, he would have written to him II
know II he had said that "all prohibi
tion1ats were towards and hypocrites
He denied emphstically that he sal
any such thing, but what he did sa
was that If prohibition law wer,
enacted 1t would make lot of the pee
pie liars and hypocrites, for they woul,
felgn sickness to get whiskey, an,
"ouiu ESV uOClOF b CofJlll cafe on
falso pretense to get 1t. He believed
the preachers were sincere, and thous
ands of other good people who believed
with them, but that many OF the pro
hib1tion leaders were hypocritcs, aut
In proof OF IT cited the people to tn,
fact that strange and unnatural ALI
ance' had boon formed between the
genuine prohibitionists and the whis
key men, many OF whom lei the fight
for prohibition simply to break down
the dispcnsary, hoping to secure q re
turn of the barrooms by disgusting the
people with the farce Of prohibition
He said that Mr.. Feathcrstone had
shown his hypocrisy by going over
the State last summer and making pro
nounced prohibition speeches and pos
ing as their leader, and then goine
down to Columbia last winter and de
libcrately proposing to form q coali
,, tion with the high license men IL
order to defeat tho dispcnsary, an,
that by that act he proposed to betra
and sell out his friends. the prohibi
tionists. BY this act he advertise,
himself as rank hypocrite.
"But," aaid the Senator, "some o
them say: The State is o partner |,
the business "And," said he, "sho /
just as much partner In the busines
when she issues license to any ma
to sell liquor. BY that act she gives
monopoly OF the business to the fcy
mon who pay for license and tn
) towns and cities got the revenue. Un
der the dispensary the whole people il
the towns, tho counties and the Stat
share In the profits. II 1T is moral,
, . wrong for the State to sell liquor, it /
morally wrong for her to license any
body else to sell, and there was no es
cape from that logic"
In reference to peace and unity, h'
said that at Sumter Mr.. T.. ID. Smiti
got up alter dinner and said that he
proposed to rake some OF the butter of
that Dr. Abbott had spread on him
and proceeded to berate Clemson Col
: lege. Winthrop, the dispensary ant
: every other thing that the Iteformer
had done, and that he could not be ex
! pectcd to sit still and O ;ccpt that kint
! OF "pcace and unity" That II he wa
Z expected to set down on his knees ant