The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1901-08-15
His Letter to the State Executive
COmmittee-ScOreS TilIman.

ceedings of Impeachment, expressly pro
vided for in the constitution of the United
States.
RESPONSIBLE ONLY TO THE PEOPLE.
hold my commission from the demo,
cratic voters of South Carolina recog-
nize no authority but theirs, take no or
ders from any source but them, and shall
in due course appeal to them for judgment
on my course as a senator and my charac-
ter as man and democrat.
Personally, l am Indifferent to your &C.
ton because nobody has made you my
master or censor, and I regard what you
have done as merely expressing the NAL.
ice and the fears of one individual, Sen
ator B. r. Tillman. But for this always
evil and indecent influence, ordinary re-
spect for the proprieties would probably
have prevented the four of you who are
my declared competitors for the seat
now have the honor to occupy, from at
tempting to use the power entrusted tC
you by your party to remove rival from
your path.
UNFAIR AND UNDEMOCRATIC.
AS citizen and democrat of South Car
olina am mortified by your action, be-
cause it has brought upon the State tho
condemnation and the ridicule of the
press and the public throughout the
country. Unhappily, those who are no,
intimately acquainted with our conditions
accept the action of your majority as rep
resenting the intelligence and democracy
of our State and both are made objects OF
derision wish to enter my solemn pro
test. I shall demonstrate how unfair
absurd and undemocratic your action is
and shall trust to the democrats of Soutl
Carolina to repudiate it when the oppor
tunity is given them. Your purpose is tC
deny that opportunity.
STAR CHAMBER PROCEEDINGS.
1t is in strong contrast with the blatan,
boast of Senator Tillman at Gaffney tC
put me on trial before the party on the
hustings with himself as prosecutor. A
you know, sought that test by accepting
4 proposal of appeal to the people, bu,
the governor saw fit to forbid it. Now
Senator Tillman appears as prosecutor
against me in my absence, and by proceed
ings like those of the star chamber, which
was the most infamous tribunal of Englisl
history and the most abhorrent to Anglo
Saxon instincts, seeks to exclude me from
the party and its debates and public as
semblages. 1t is your duty, as custodians
of the party interests, to seek recruits tC
strengthen the party.
To save Senator Tillman from stalking
his record, strength and fortunes against
mine, you undertake to exclude me and
my friends from the party. Whatever
your individual motives may have been
the purport of your action is to facilitate
the Senator in dodging me and to deny
the people the opportunity of passing on
my positions and conduct. 1t seems to me
the democratic masses of South Carolin;
are competent to say at the polls whether
| or not have been a faithful Senator anC
consistent Democrat. Why should yor
attempt to prevent them?
POLITICAL AssAssINs.
| It is no cause for wonder that Senator
Tillman should seek to make political as
sassins of you to avoid open and fair fight
He has climbed to power by venomou:
abuse of many of the purest men in the
State who opposed him, for which he ha!
always carefully shirked personal respon
sibility, and ON the political lives an(
| fortunes of those who befriended hin
while he needed friends. Norris, linda
and Donaldson, men representing earnes
| purpose and the interests of the farmer
of the State and therefore strong, Were
used by him to promote his own Interests
and then thrust aside. Irby, Shell ant
Farley died despising him because of hi:
treachery to them and to the people.
am now in his way and because he ha:
failed to strike me down he incites you tt
attempt to strangle me, and at the same
time to destroy white primary, to hi:
advocacy of which he owed much of thu
best of his early following. Party prin
ciples are fixed and to the principles o
the democratic party have been uniform
ly faithful. Party policies are deterlnin
ed from time to time by party elections
and conventions, and no man, nor body
of men, has the power to say between
those elections what policies shall be the
tests of party loyalty.
Senator Tillman is assuming the pre-
rogative of supreme boss and dictator tC
say who shall or shall not be regarded as
democrat next year do not coneede
any such power to him nor to you. He
nor all your committee together, has not
the power to exclude from candidacy nol
the polls at the democratic primary the
humblest citizen of South Carolina who
declares himself to be democrat and
pledges himself to support the party
nominees. Suppose in 1890, the execu'
tive committee of the State had ruled out
of the party all who engaged in the
Farmers Movement? Suppose two
years later it had excluded all who favor
ed the Sub-Treasury idea? Such action
would have been unjust, tyrannical and
insulting to thousands OF good citizens
and democrats, but not more SO than this
proceeding of yours.
WHERE DID TILLMAN GET TIE MONEY
In his double character as prosecuting
witness and attorney against me, Senator
Tillman is reported as saying before
your committee that have voted with
the republicans ''in important matters
! and that he has seen me comforting with
republican senators. AS will show by
the records he himself frequently voted
with the republicans lin important mat
terS," as all other democratic senators
have done from time to time 1t is fire.
quently necessary, proper and courteous
to confer with members of the opposite
party, as he knows and Us every man of
practical sense knows. These express
ions of his are attempts to take advantage
of credulity and Ignorance. l do not
think there is man in South Carolina
80 ignorant as to be really deceived by
them. He can not put me under sus-
picion as he has put himself by his own
acts. l have not in public office retrogra-
ed from a, perhaps, honorable bankruptcy
to dishonorable and unexplanable
wealth. He and I have drawn the same
salaries but have found it impossible to
save a dollar from mine. I have never,
however, truckled to corporations, with
the fawing of a tanned spaniel, made
speeches against them, then voted for
them, and accepted favors as he has done.
I have never been the sole boss and buy
ing agent of newly created whiskcy
trust with its rebates OF 900 to $40, 600
a year, none of which ever reached the
State treasury. l have never had the