Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-05-15
atiseellaneuus 8eading.
DID AND DIDN'T.
Editor Gonzales Replies Warmly to
Editor Williams.

| Editor "1ll1amB.
Columbia State, Friday.
On Wednesday night at late houl
we received the following dispatch
which, because Of the great pressure Of
news matter at the hour and the desir.
ability ofmeeting its charges and insin'
uations at the time of publishing them
we deferred printing until today. Here
| it is:
| RICHMOND, Va, May 8, 9.20 p. m.
The State, Columbia, s. c.: =.
have Just seen the three column edi.
torial in The State, Of Monday, regard
| ing the suggestion Of General Wade
Hampton, for the Columbia postmas.
| tership.
The idea of the writer of that article
seems to be that I was trying to have
General Hampton do a disgracefu
thing to shelter others under his name
and prestige.
am glad to have direct assurances
from General Hampton that he has nc
such thought.
am sure that no man who Is accus-
toned to high standards and straight
motives will have such a thought
| There has never been a human pur-
pose, however large, for which mar
row mind can invent a small mind;
no human act, however honest, tC
| which a vindictive and petty spirit
could not attribute dishonesty. a. TC
Judge the methods and intentions OF
others by our own Is common human
characteristic. (O.
am entirely willing to have the
South Carolina public consider my
course from the standpoint Of Wade
| Hampton on one side and The State
newspaper on the other.
The South Carolina public knows
both, and the contrast is sufficiently
vivid to be impressive. (3.) If any man
in South Carolina who has accepted, OF
may accept, an appointment from Pres
ident Mckinley should need illustrious
precedent to justify him, he would not
have to look beyond the office Of The
State newspaper, two members Of the
staff of which held commissions in the
volunteer army on the recommendation
Of Governor Ellerbe.
That was in time of war, but my in
formatio was that there was no lack
of applications for positions as officers
and that the appointments were dis
tinctly favors. a.
The State itself, organized as a fierce
ly anti-Tillman and Independent and
Cleveland Democratic publication, sub.
sequently accepted a rather advanta-
geous printing contract from an admin
istration to which it was supposed to
be bitterly hostile. It Is now apparent
Iy trying to contend that acceptance OF
an appointment suggested by an anti
Tillman senator would disgrace Gene
raj Hampton eternally. o.
The opinion Of The State concerning
myself Is immaterial. To keep the rec
ord straight however permit me to say
in conclusion, that have never sought
nor accepted any jobs for myself or IA
vors for my newspaper which could
subject me to the suspicion Of fulfill
ing a bargain on zone side or crafty
that my political plumage has never
changed. CO. did not begin as Cleve.
land gold Democrat, (8). opposing the
Populist influence so flercely as to inef-
fectively lead a contesting delegation
to a national convention against 1t, and
then become a red hot and intolerant
supporter Of free silver and a Populist
alliance. My recollection is The State
did. (9).
T have fought Ben Tillman since the
day he was nominated, (10) free silver
from the timeit was broached. Populisn
from it's beginning. Personally would
rather be McKinleyite than Bryan
ite or a Tillmanite, but I am none OF
them. (1D.
The result of the last presidential
election showed what the Democratic
party has been brought to under the
leadership The State follows. I want
to see the party become something bet
ter than a laughing stock and the South
something more than rallyfng point
and tool for the cranks Of the continent
and a menace to the country's pros
perity. Q2). A. B. WILLIAMS.
We have heretofore regarded Mr.. A
B. Williams as an ordinarily truthful
person, and the character Of the fore
going diatribe is a surprise to us. Mr.
Williams must have been suffering
from great excitement, for he seems
to have lost his head completely and
to have become thoroughly reckless as
to the truth Of his charges so long as
they were of a character to inf1ict q
wound.
It happens, however, that they dc
not wound. The State has been sc
conducted that the edge Of malice Is
blunted by it's record. The only effect
of such venomous attacks as Mr.. Will
liams makes Is to enable us to prove
him unscrupulous and untruthful.
Two days before seeing Mr.. Will
liams' announcement Of his connection
with the seductive offer to Hampton
we prepared an editorial giving oul
theory as to the end sought by the
enrolment of Hampton as a benefici-
ary of McLaurin and Mckinley. When
Mr.. Williams subsequently revealed
himself as the proposer of the benefac-
tion we saw no reason in that fact to
change the convictions we had reach
ed. But in an addition to the article
we dealt as tenderly with Mr.. Williams
as circumstances warranted us In do
ing. His reply is a TRADE Of misrepre-
sentation inexcusable in any one with
nretensions to seek the truth and tell
IT. We have numbered certain pas
sages in Mr.. Williams telegram and
shall reply to them IN the order III
which they appear.
1. What Mr.. Williams says here has
onnlication to the remainder Of his
own dispatch rather than to anything
The State has said. At the time oul
article was written expressing the
theory we held as to the motive influ-
encing the offer to Hampton we die
not have A. B. Williams in mind, for
we did not then know that he was
the originator of the scheme. Nor did
Gen. Hampton know this, and OF
course in what he said as to his being
unpurchasable he did not refer spe-
officially to the former editor OF the
Greenyille News as trying to purchase
90 !, n-