Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1899-06-29
Senator TiIIman Condescends.

senator I1llman has 0t laSt condo
sconded. Ho did not explain to tho peo-
plo, who elected him, whose representa-
tive no is and whose money ho was
charged with helping to squandor.
Whom called on directly by authority,
which he could not ignore, ho explains in
q contomptuous, sighting way his con-
noction with tho ponitcntiary scandals.
"This is for your information" ho says,
"but you can make what use Of it you
like" The Senator evidently is at pains
to give tho impression that ho does not
care whether tho public is informed of
his alleged defence or not. "Tho public
DO ID" what has tho public to do with
such uso of its property as Senator and
statesman chooses to mako. Is not
tho State his and tho fullncss and tho fat.
ness thereof? Who darcs question him2
Any man in tho State could AFFORD to
tako this position better than Senator
Tillman. Those of us who remember
him from 1888 to 1891 remember that
nothing was to small for him to take hold
Of III assailing tho State Government,
nothing was to vile for him to insnuatc
''But that was politics." was itP That
is what his subscrvicnt followers and
defenders have tho ncrvo to say, their
idea apparently being that n man is justi-
fed in slandoring good mon, dcfling
justly honored names and dcccving and
misleading the people SO he does it to
got a job and some dollars for himself.
We can easily imagine the snccrs and
the lcers tho insinuations of rottcnness
in Denmark with which Ben Tillman
would have rccitcd this pcnitcntiary
story if some of his political opponents
or somo man chose place he wanted had
dono what he has done.
What arc the facts ? ITo accepted pres
onts and favors from man on whose
official conduct he might ut any time
nave been required to pass, who was
at least under his control. Did Colonel
Neal give things to Tilman as presents
and then charge them to him on tho
ponitentiary books? We can hardly
believe that. Or is this another reform
wrinklc-givc man State property and
then charge it to him to be produced on
tho Investigation later?
If Senator Tillman had been the man
ho pretended to be and pretended to
think others should be he would have
cut off his right hand rather than take a
dollar of State property or accept the
value of cent from any subordinate. 1t
was most particularly and impcrativcly
Il; 10 l,o
icicle thaC hangs on Diapa's temple
because he had been so free and fierce
with calumnes against others. The diff
ference between taking a dollar bclong-
ing to another and ton thousand dollars
is only the diilcrc, &C between petit and
grand larceny. The man who receives
a salary from tho Statc-and especially
liberal salary not reduced by reform,
has no right to accept tho slightest per-
quisite in addition.
But the Senator was careless, perhaps.
These things escaped his attention.
While he was chief censor and critic
for the State he did not forgive careless
ness i'll others. lie did not recognize
careicssncss except as crime. IIc charged
corruption continually. Has anybody
forgotten how eagerly he took up and
used the charges of tho unspcakablo
Bigham that Hugh Thompson had taken
away and used some of the furniture
belonging to tho State. With what
Judgment he has judged let him be
judged. Try him by his own rules, mca-
sure him by the standards ho set up,
weigh him according to his own words.
He knew hc 'v"3 using State property,
no matter whether it was dollar or ten
thousand dollars. IIc knew, for instance,
that if Neal was giving him State brick
he had no right to it. If with his salary
he was willing to allow Neal to buy
brick, furniture, labor and ot,cr things
and give them to him for tribute, he is
mcancr even than hc was thought to be.
The time will como when Ben Tillman
will not havo a JagGcry Evans or a Bill
Neal to meckly shoulder his sins for him,
when he will have to answer before an
enlightened public Judgment in his own
proper person for his own doings. May
it como soon.--A. B. Williams, in Green
villo News.
@ "a. @ P @ TER. T. a.
Bears tho Tho Kind You Have Always Bought