Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-08-21
SPARE THE MILLS!
Interested People Make an
Appeal to Tillman.
ALL CONCERNED ABOUT FACTORIES.
Republicans Must Not Be Permitted
to Have a Monopoly on Progress
In Working For the Developments
of Commerce, Mr.. McLaurin Seeks
to Uplift All Glasses.

SS@>S
to Uplift All Glasses.
The following "open letter" to Sena-
tor Tillman has been submitted to THE
ENQUIRER for publication, and we give
it space with pleasure:
Hon. B. R. Tillman,
United States Senator,
Trenton, S. c.:
DEAR Strive note by the newspa-
pers that at Union you told the cotton
mill men that if they persist in their
efforts to secure the adoption Of GER
tain policies that they desire through
Senator McLaurin, you will arouse the
cotton mill employees and the legisla-
ture against them to such an extent as
will seriously cripple the business in
which they are engaged. This is not
exactly what you said, dear friend; but
that is what the reporters understood
you to say, and what we understand
you to mean.
Now, dear senator we are all Demo-
Gratis; we believe Senator McLaurin is
a Democrat, and so long as you repre-
sent our views instead of your own, we
believe you are Democrat. Some of
us never have thought much Of you,
while others of us have always stood
by you and defended you against your
enemies. Until you made your appear
ance on the scene, but few of US knew
anything about the objects and aims
of government; but through all these
years we have incidentally learned
much of which we previously had very
little conception. In times past you
have stirred us very deeply by slipping
up on the blind side Of our passions,
and while we now realize that you
told us many things that were not true,
still we feel under deep obligations to
you for having made us think in spite
of our inclinations to the contrary.
Dear Senator, we do not think you
altogether bad. On the contrary there
are many good things in you. You've
done much for South Carolina and this
nation even. It has been in negative
way for the most part; but still we are
perfectly willing to give you credit for
all you have done, and we are slow to
fall out with you even when we know
you are wrong; but, senator, we do not
talk to the cotton mill owners, and we
want to beg Of you not to carry out
your threat.
Some IL or 15 years ago, when you
first came into notice, Dear Senator,
you will remember that we were almost
purely an agricultural community. At
that time there were not many cotton
mills in the state, and although pro-
gressive enterprising men told us they
would be good thing for us, we could
not see far enough ahead to make up
our minds. But now we see Things
differently. In those old days we never
had anything much to sell, except cot
ton, and except during the fall and
winter months there was very little
money in circulation. These days it is
different. We can sell anything we can
raise on our farms at any season Of
the year at good price, and If we have
nothing to sell but our labor, we can
always find remunerative employment.
This condition Of affairs is largely due
to the cotton mills, and we do not want
you to hurt these mills because If you
do, Senator, you will hurt us.
Now, Senator, don't blame Mr.. Nc
Laurin too much for what he is trying
to do. He Is not working entirely for
the cotton mills. It Is true that they
appealed to him as they did to you.
Why you did not hearken to their ap-
peal we do not know-maybe it was be-
cause you failed to see that anything
you could do on their account would
be Of just as much benefit to us. We
are satisfied that Mr. McLaurin is
thinking more Of us that he Is Of those
mills, and we have no idea that except
for us would he have ever put himself
in a position where he would have to
fight you and all that crowd that is
fawning at your feet. We appreciate
this action on his part, dear Sena-
tor, and we feel 1t our duty to give
him support.
And another thing. Senator. You are
shouting the epithet Republican in a
very offensive manner at us. We know
what a Republican is, and we know
that Senator McLaurin is not Repub-
lican. And there is another thing we
we know. That is if these things that
Senator McLaurin advocates are CAL
culated to benefit the mill men and us,
they are good enough to secure Demo-
cratic endorsement and be incorpor-
ated in the Democratic platform, and
we will be very foolish to surrender
them to Republican monopoly.
Now, in conclusion, Senator, see If
you can't let Mr.. McLaurin alone. OF,
course, you are jealous of him. It Is
natural that you should be; in a sense
it is even commendable, for your jeal-
ously is based on the fact that he has
had the courage to undertake to do
something that we believe will re-
dound to our practical benefit. But
| then it is not necessary for you to
fight him as bitterly as you are doing.
This is great big world, plum full
of ideas for those who will think.
Suppose you buckle down to work now
on new line and bring us something
that promises more benefit than Mr..
McLaurin's ideas seem to promise, and
then we will give you all due applause.
Do this Senator-build something.
You never have built anything for US.
You have never done anything much