The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1902-05-01
Charges Preferred Against Him By
Senator Applet
A LARGE AUDIENCE HEARD HIM
The Charges Taken Up-correspond'
ence Made Pub:ic-Senator Appeit
Replies.

Tillman Friday addressed SiI"u "
$4,000 people at Manning. S. {. Ihe
editor of The Clarendon County news
paper, Louis y. Applet, formerly an el-
thusiastic follower Of Til.man. bu1
more recently an ardent advocate oi
Commercial Democracy" and a sup
porter Of Senator McLaurin, had for
several months made numerous chafs-
es against Senator Tillman, claiming
that he had received rebates from great
wniskey films dealing with the SCUM
Carolina dispensary. The charges fell
fat before Tillmans statements and
the accuser was met With torrent OF
whitening sarcasm which remlnoed
some present of Tillman's fierce cam"
paign OF 1890. Senator Tillman took
the opportunity to announce his views
of the status of the South Carolina
Democracy, and of his relations there-
to. He paid warm tribute to the late
General Hampton, declared the abso-
lutte necessity for party solidlty In TINS
State, denounced Senator McLau!lnS
alleged detection from the Democracy
and suggested that the party exact
such pledges Of party fealty from can
didates as would rule out from nomina-
ton and so-called Democrats OF the
McLaurin type. He acknowledged hav-
Ing accepted frank from the western
Union Telegraph Company. which was
about the only one Of Editor Appelts S
charges that was substantiated. AS to
his speculations, he said he held S1,2O0
In a Texas Gil well, under the laws or
Texas; that it became a New Jersey
Company after he went into it and that
he expected to lose all the money he
had put into it. 1t was a pure specula-
ton. While be liked to speculate, he
never played cards or bet on morse
races. He admitted that he had lost
considerable money in cotton futures
and today he owed more money than
when he went to the United States
Senate, and if he were a dishonest man
he need not owe a cent but could have
plenty of money.
Senator Tillman said in part: The
Democratic party of South Carolina
has occupied a peculiar position for %
years. The whites are in the minority
In this State. and under the reconstTuc-
ton dispensation there were some 30
D00 more negro votes than whites. Tne
consequence was that after the over
throw Of the carpet bag government IN
1876. we adopted system OF party
government and the white people OF
the State were educated in the employ
ment Of political methods that obtain
ed hardly anywhere else. We have had
an i.nperium in imperio,' or a govern
meut within a government Democracy
had meant white supremacy. and he
publicanism meant negro equality. The
necessity for white unity overshadow-
ed the other conditions. The lamented
Hampton taught US that an independ-
snt was worse than radical
Like all OF his actions and utter
arces in those trying days, that ad-
vice was the very essence OF wisdom
and patriotism. His clear judgment,
his most distinguishing characteristic.
saw the danger to the State, owing to
1 Democratic split into factions and
appealing to the coloced vote. And l
take this occasion to say that no other
living South Carolinian more willingly
or glad pays tribute TO his leadership,
or has a better realization OF the inval-
liable service to his people and the
State rendered by this great man In
&c. 1t was only after tho revolution or
1890 that there was anything like free
dom of political utterance and action.
The convulsion which brought this
about also brought with it an attempt
on the part of those who were in the
minority to withstand the popular
will: the Haskell movement was based
largely on personal opposition to me
and there was never any question In
regard to the loyalty of those who sup
ported Judge Haskell to the general
principles Of Democracy in the nation.
The new constitution adopted In 1885
has eliminated for the present. the ne
gro majority. The number OF negroes
eligible to vote does not exceed $4,000
but Is constantly increasing and there
may be good many thousand who are
not registered who would be eligible TO
registration. There have been recent
past evidences Of Republicanism crop
ping out in South Carolina In various
directions and there is no doubt that
We shall soon have a white Republican
party appealing to the negro voters.
"The action Of one Of your United
States Senators in advocating Republi-
can doctrines and voting with that
party on all essential measures. con-
tending aIl the while that he IS Dem-
ocrat and he has the right to define
what Democracy means. has brought
things to a focus. The Democratic
party in soutHcarolina-aDd it is we'll
understood That the State Is over
whelmingFDemoc ocratic-has right to
be honestly represented in the Senate
and in the House. and in fact. do not
believe the Democrats of the State