Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-04-04

but when it comes to the question OF
comparative power, Senator Tillman
had more than Dawson ever had. 1t
is possible that Senator Tillman has
more power even now than Mr.. Daw'
so ever had in his life.
We are not insensible to the power
full influence that could be exerted by
all the newspapers in the state of
South Carolina working to one end.
Such an influence would be all-power-
full; nothing could withstand it. But
has the senator ever thought what
such thing would mean? 1t would
mean that not only the newspapers,
but the people of the state were a unit,
and if the people of the state were a
unit there would not be any other side
to the question. But there never has
been such a condition in this or any
other state and there never will he.
The idea is quite absurd. The very
life of the newspapers depends upon
the fact that there are two sides to
all questions, and if one of the sides
were taken away, all of the newspa-
pers would have to die. So this fear
full conspiracy which the senator fore
sees is really impossible.
No, it was not through the newspa-
pers that Senator Tillman achieved
autocratic power in this state. 1t was
through organization, principally. Be-
fore the alliance came along he had al
ready done lots of hard work in that
direction, and the alliance helped him
to complete the job. He had the
brains that enabled him to take the
reins, and he worked the opportunity
for all that it was worth. He was
favored, too, largely by the element OF
good luck, a consideration to which
Dawson owed nothing and when he
reached the zenith of his power, the
greatest problem by which he was con-
fronted was plain answer to the
question as to how it had all come
about. And now, today, while Sena-
tor Tillman is deploring the degenera-
cy of the patent outside newspaper, it
must be that his regrets are really oc-
casioned by the degeneracy of that
powerful organization, the objects of
which he misused with such tremen-
dous advantage to himself. There are
no more patent outside newspapers
now than there was ten years ago. In
deed, we doubt if there are as many,
and as the list stands, in our recollec-
ton, fully 80 per cent. of them are
still, as they have always been, parti-
sans of Senator Tillman.
But before we conclude, another OBJ
servation along this line. Like all
politicians, Senator Tillman seems to
have the idea that the country newspa-
per has no other object of existence
than to be forever booming the for
tunes Of some politician. In our view,
newspaper that cannot earn a fair,
honest support in a business way, has
no right to exist at all. There are
such papers. Some live on the debts
they make, and others are given u
sickly support by people who need
them for their own purposes. But the
really useful paper is the one that ex-
empli6es its right to existence by CIV
ing value received and demanding the
equivalent of the value it gives. No
newspaper under the control of a pol
itician, or conducted in the interest of
politicians, can possibly do this, and
Senator Tillman has no more right to
ask that newspapers-even the patent
outside newspapers-be conducted in
the interest or under the control of the
politicians, than he has to ask that the
banks, factories, grocery stores and
other institutions be so conducted OF
controlled.
1t is some pretty plain talk in which
we have here indulged, and while we
have not the slightest idea of offering
shadow of an apology, we do not
wish to be understood as making a
hostile attack on Senator Tillman. We
have said what we think, and we have
told the truth. We have no objection
to Senator Tillman. He makes a very
good senator, as good a senator at
least as General Butler made, and
we do not know a man in the state by
whom we would like to see him sup
planted. That he will be reelected
we have no doubt, and if he is not, we
will be disappointed; but we do not
consider him the whole thing by a
great big majority. Always overbear-
ing and dictatorial, he is wrong about
as often as he is right, and while he
has conferred certain indirect benefits
on the state, especially in helping to
bring about political liberty to the
white people, in all his career he has
not developed even the rudimentary
elements of real statesman.
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- In deciding last Thursday night to