The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1900-08-01
GOES FOR TILLMAN
About What He Said in His Ben
nettsville Speech.
HIS REPLY TO THE CHARGES.
The Senator States Over His Owr
Signature What He Really
Did Mean in His
Speech.

Did Mean in His
Speech.
In his BeDnettsville speech Senator
Tillman declared there is in South
Carolina an unholy alliance of preach
ers and barkeepcrs, led by Col. Hoyt to
defeat the dispensary." The Senator
is being Ssvagely criticised for his
speech and even the dignifed Bishop
Duncan is in arms againt the Senator.
In an interview with the Greenville
News the Bishop said:
ct was manifestly false aud an out
rage" said the bishop, his small, pene-
trating eyes flashing as he shook a
clenched fist. II always make it rule
to nail lie whenever it comes up,
whether it comes from the president
Of the United States or United States
senator, or from anyone else. 1t is all
the more shameful that the statement
comes from United States Senator.
| Suppose | were TO say, for instance,
that the merchants of this town wereln
league with the thieves, the chicken
thieves, to rob the citizens, don't you
suppose there would be mighty pro-
test? Well, there is just as much sense
in the one statement as In the other.
Ia the Greenville Methodist confer
ence held in Greenville last week the
committee on temperance, to which was
referred the Senator's charge, submit
ted report to the conference, and the
following is part CT that report:
Resolved lst. That We reaflm it to
be the duty of the Church to enforce
among its members the rule against
drinking spirituous liquors except in
case of necessity.
Resolved ID. We conceive it to be
the duty of Z Christian citizen to pro
tect the State agains, the demoralizing,
home. blighting, crime-breeding, prop
erty destroying drink abuse by using
his infuene to restrict its manufacture
and sale to medicinal, sacramental and
scientific purposes.
Resolved 81. We denounce any in
situation that the effort Of Christian
ministers and other citizens to rid the
State Of this gigantic evil is 8 sought or
voluntary co nbination with the saloon
element as base slsnder that is itself
an attempt to strengthen the power of
this most damnable iniquity.
r. +. S,ackhouse,
?. F. Kilgo,
4. K. Daguall
DR.. Cbas S Gardner, Pastor Of the
First Baptist Church in Greenville
preached sermon Sunday night week
on prohibition in which he denounced
a, false Senator Tillmans charge that
"ths preachers ard liquor men are in
unholy alliance led by Col. Hoyt:"
He said: Senator Tillmsn, who made
the charge, knew it to be false when he
uttered it. The charge cannot be in
terpreted as anything else but mean
and contemplate effort to break the
force of the almost unanimous advoca
cy of prohibition by the preachers and
served its author as a good occasion
also to throw contempt upon class Of
men for which he has in many other
ways expressed his contempt"
SENATOR TILLMAN N REPLY.
DR.. j. o. Wilson of the Southern
Christian Advocate wrote to Senator
Tillman asking if he were correctly re-
ported and requesting reply. The re-
ply is contained in last weeks issue Of
the Advocate. 1t reads as follows:
Trenton, S. c., July %, 1900.
Rev. j. 0. Wilson, Columbia, S. G.
Dear Sir: l have your letter Of July
ED, asking if my speech at Benefits
vile was correctly reported. l do not
recollect the exact words l used at
Bennettsville, but they are in effect
true as quoted; and inasmuch as the
district conference Of the Methodist
church, under the leadership Of Bishop
Duncan, has taken the matter up, and
the bishop is reported to have nailed
my utterauce "as lie, while the re-
port Of the committee on temperance
denounced any insinuation that the
efforts of the Christian ministers and
other citizens to rid the State Of this
gigantic evil as a sought or voluntary
combination with the saloon element
as base slander that is itself an at
tempt to strengthen the POWER of this
most damnable iniquity," | will take
the occasion offered by your inquiry to
make an announcement over my own
signature Of what | said and meant st
Bennettsville. Of course the report
gave only the barest outlines.
| have DO quarrel with the ministers
of any church or denomination and
have no purpose to give ofense to any
of them. have always borne testi-
nony to the high character and purity
of purpose characteriziDg the ministry,
but l believe they are wrong in fighting
the dispensary Law as they do, and |
claim the right to say so, acknowledging
at the same time their right to freedom
of speech and freedom Of political &C.
ton on this and every other subject. l
mentioned the attitude Of the ministers
Incidentally as an illustration of the
anomalous political situation. The
ministers attack the dispensary because
it does not 90 far enough, and the high
license people and the blind tigers,
whom | designated as the 'cld bar
keepers" attack the dispesary because
it goes too far. They are thus found
fighting side by side in the campaign:
THERE'S only Que candidate in the field
for governor opposed to the dispensary,
Co... Hoyt, and all of those elements
are allied in his support, and the proof
;s .hat Charleston in the last guherna-