The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-08-14
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY.
7HF PEOPLE WILL TAKE A HAND LATER.

The professional politicians
seem determined to give the peo-
pie plenty Of politics whether
they want it or not, and from
present indications, if we are any
Judge Of such things, the people
are showing very disappoint-
ing indifference to politics. Last
week there was a two days meet
inc at Union, which had been
advertised and boomed for
months, barbecues, brass bands,
cheap excursion rates, and the
finest array of speakers that ev-
er went out on the hustings was
promised, and the result was on
the first day, according to the
Columbia States report, a crowd
Of about 500 and Of this number
$50 of them were ladies and chill
dren. The next day the atten-
dence was somewhat increased
but not exceeding 1000. Remem-
Der Union is a large town, and
this speech festival was gotten
up to draw a tremendous crowd,
and the Disappointment must have
been great to the projectors of
the scheme when they found af-
ter all of their drumming, their
meeting turned out such a fiat
failure. The politicians were
out there in full force and all but
: one picked on Senator Tillman's
bani O. Hon. J. B. Cleveland,
who announced that he was no
candidate, was the only one of
that grand array Of rag-chewers
who expressed views on the LIE
of what may beItermed the
Progressis~Oemocra the 9th
ssdid their stunts on the Kan
sas City Platform and every
mothers -son-of-them pounded
Senator McLaurin. But while
McLaurin was being wind
mauled by crowd Of political
thugs before a very slimly at
tended meeting, he was enter.
tanning a crowd Of 1900 people
at Westminster in Oconee coun-
ty. After playing their engage
ment at Union the anti-McLaurin
aggregation pulled out for Ches-
ter, where they claim to have
been listened to by 1000. Ches-
ter is a large county and no
doubt some were attracted to the
meeting to get an opportunity to
shake hands with Hon. J. J.
Hemphill who, after being de
feated for Congress, became a
professional lobbyist in Wash
ington, where he has resided
ever since. He is back in the
State now, and will take his
chances in the Senatorial con-
test. When the fight begins in
earnest his connection with cor
porations will be well known to-
the people.
According to the boasts Of all
of the opponents of McLaurin,
that individual is a dead duck,
yet all of them are jumping on,
and trying to hold down his
corpse. They do not seem to
have much confidence in their
own boasts or they would not be
in league to destroy him. If, as
they say, there is no chance for
McLaurin, why do they attack
him in his absence, and why do
s they need the services Of Ben
Tillman to help them? 1t is
amusing to see George John
ston, the man who after being
defeated in the race for Con-
gress, ran up to Washington
and had the Reformers black
listed, now singing a chorus to
Tillman's song. Then there is
John Gary Evans trying to set
up a better claim for a grip on
Tillman's coat-tail than Latimer.
McLaurin and Tillman have had
a personal row, and every fellow
who has aspirations for sena-
torial honors has taken up an
idea that to win Tillman's favor
hesmust do hard pounding on
McLaurin, and they are vieing
with each other for the prize.
The people are not in this
thing, they will be heard from
later, and in our opinion there
will be considerable side step
ping among these same politi-
clans when the people do turn
out. McLaurin is stronger to-
day than he was two weeks ago,
and while he may not win we
have political discernment e.
nough to see that Tillman is not
altogether satisfied that McLaur-
in is a loser. We predicted that
Tillman, as soon as he saw the
action of the Executive Com
mittee did not meet with the ap-
proval he wanted, would out
herod Herod in demanding
that McLaurin be permitted to
run in the primary, and our pre-
diction is made good by Tillman's
loud clamor at Chester.
If the Cubans don't go slow in