The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-01-08
SENATOR TILIMAN'S HOT STUFF-0UR
SOFT, WRATH TURNING ANSWER.
Trenton, S. c., Dec. q, 100.

SIR: A friend of mine in Clarendon
has sent me copy of The MANNING
TIMES of December, l1th, with the re-
Quest that I answer through Your pa
Der the scurrilous and lying editorial
therein.
have not considered it worth while
for long time to take any notice OF
the malicious falsehoods and insinua-
tions, that have from time 10 time ap-
peared in the newspapers OF this ana
other States, and l depart from that
custom in this instance only because,
under the guise of former friend and
supporter. YOU rehearse al of the old
SANDERS, revamped and touched up
with your own gall, for the purpose |
presume of undermining the friendship
and esteem of many men n Clarendon
County who have always supported
both of US. You do not go into any
new or specific charge in regard to
;srebates" on whiskey or bond deals, "
and therefore I can only dismiss your
irsinuations on these subjects as too
old and stale to require notice. our
ing the campaign of '94. Gen. Butler
and those newspapers and men friendly
to him. gave the widest possible clrcu-
lation to these vague charges and ac-
cusations and inSinuationS, and my
answer at Union and elsewhere were so
perfectly satisfactory to the people,
that my election then and my election
last year without opposition. are in my
opinion entirely sufficient answer, IN
less something new IS produced that
will make it worth while to 60 more
into detail. will only note in passing
to other matters that your assertion
that obtained free groceries from
the penitentiary'' is a new charge OF
of YOUR own, which l denounce as alb
solutely false. I never obtained any
groceries from the penitentiary IN my
life, and nothing ever came to the
Mansion from that institution, except a
few vegetables sent by Col. Neal.
You 60 on to say, Nov here we have
very poor man put in position which
takes all of his income to meet eXpen-
ses, and not withstaniing this we find
this same very poor man after few
wears in public life changed from I'm
ancial cramp to financial afluence." "
Where is your evidence and where is
the sign of wealth? I do not own a
dollar in mexican Copper Mines" and
I have less than 81, 500 invested in some
Texas Oil Leases, and am afraid that
is lost so far as the present appearances
go: but it is an honest investment made
at the instance of Penn. Democrat
whom I met when campaigning in that
State, and who together with his
friends and kinsmen have gone to Ten
as in the hope OF striking oil, on some
land they have leased near Beaumont.
Ny name appears as director simply
because I hold prominent public
position, and am considered outside OF
South Carolina and by 80 per cent. of
those in S. G. as an honest man.
I have never endeavored to sell any OF
this stock to any man in this State, or
any where else, and nothing but the
lively imagination of a Commercial
Democrat" whose doctrine is ''Get
money, honestly if you can but get it"
would cause pretended friend to
charge me with corruption and dishon-
esty on such fimsy grounds. | do not
like to parade my personal and private
affairs in the newspapers. and am only
forced by this direct statement OF yours
that I am the posseSsor of ''uneXplaln-
ed wealth" and hold property obtained
dishonorably and dishonesty to state,
that I yet owe $4,000 to the Carolina
National Bank, and that l have no
money or stock or bonds or other pro-
perty anywhere in Or outside Of S. G..
except my land in Edgefeld and Green
wood Counties and a small tract in
Florida and another in Georgia. which
were inherited.
Now sir. I demand that you shall
specify the questionable deals which
YOU charge me as having been ''mixed
up in" You say to all inquiries
''Tillman sneers out the words prove
it," and now say to you make Your in
quiries direct and see whether he will
ask you to prove it. You 60 on to put
words in my mouth as having been ut
tered in 1890, which l never uttered.
What ever accusations l brought in
that campaign proved to the satisfac-
ton of the people as was shown by my
overwhelming election. You are Sena-
tor from Clarendon County, and voted
for me last January, and if you think
am thief and a boodler, why have
you not asked for an investigation?
Where does your new born zeal for the
integrity of South Cardinals public men
come from? If you are lending your
self tc this dirty work because Of your
recent political affiliations, decency
would demand that you do not do it un-
der the cloak of, even former friend
ship for me. If you will arrange for a
public meeting in Clarendon l will
come 70 that County and meet you face
to face with all the proofs you choose
to marshall and with all the witnesses
you can bring, and will let your own
people pass upon the matters between
US
You say you believe ''Tillman has
evoluted from a sturdy and honest
farmer into a scheming and selfish
politician" but you have no right
while pretending to have been my
friend (which you never were) to give
utterance to the infamous falsehoods
you have published.
Now sir. either put your accusations
affecting my character in plain
straightforward words, so that l can
answer them, or shut your mouth: do
not continue to publish lies in THE
14MES, Uul diiduSS q LuSSGlLS Ill MALI
ming or any other place and l will make
it my business to be there. when ever
YOU get ready to ask your questions.
If you are afraid to do this YOU + ~
better go on to the Republican r.,rty
without attempting to blacken my name
with cowardly insinuatien and false
hoods.
3 r. TILLMAN.
Throughout our editorial ca
reer. We have made it rule to
open our columns to those that
have had charges published
against them in these columns,
whether the charges originated
with US, or were reproduced
from other sources. In the is
sue Of December 11th. 1901,
there appeared an editorial based
upon frequent published state
ments: to which Senator Tillman
has been requested to reply. and