The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-04-30

been made to get proof against HIN
which did not exist.
AS to the penitentiary charges, h
showed that he had paid for every
thing, or it was given TO him by Col
onerl Neal personally, who had per
feet right to give him whatever h,
pleased, and that tho report showed
that the State had never lost anything
by him. And that he himself called
the attention to the oats purchased BY
him and to his failure to pay for some
on account of not beng able to get the
bill. He stated that if he went to
stealing, it certainly would be for more
than a few potatoes, tomatoes, etc.
Relative to his connection with the
Sabine Oil and Marketing company, he
stated that he was simply gambling
that Lockwood, the president of the
company, was a friend of his who had
gone to Texas, and that he had always
fought the Standard Oil Company.
When Lockwood went to Texas he
offered to take him (.rillman) in as a
stockholder and 'rillman invested
81 200, all of which he now believes
he has lost, and that it was after he
had gone in the company that his
name was used as director. The
company was organized in New Jersey.
This company, he SAID, was amenable
to the laws of Texas and that he, as
Senator, had nothing to do with it.
AS Senator, he of all men, would not
advise the people as to choice of can
didates /; this was his chief objection to
Hampton in 1890. He said that the use
of the frank was not prohibited in
Washington, and it was not violation
to send q message from Washington to
Manning, S. c., and that he did not
deserve any blame. He did have a
frank, but was not to be bought by $5
or $40 work of kilograms year, and
no vote of his would ever show that he
had been bought by his telegraph frank
and he did not use the frank in the
State. He presented a letter from
Burriss that he did not instruct him
not TO charge articles to him bought
from the penitentiary.
Upon State and national politics and
the duty of the Democratic party in the
May convention, Senator Tillman spoke
as follows:
There is matter of deep interest
which will come up for discussion and
settlement in the coming May conven-
ton, and as am the repl esentative of
the Democracy of this State upon the
committee, it may not be i'm
proper for me to express my views or
it, and to inform you as to the senti-
ment and feeling Of the Democrats in
Washington on the subject. The DEM
ocratic party in South Carolina has oc-
cupied peculiar position for twenty
five years. The whites are in the
in this State, and under the
reconstruction dlspensation there were
some thirty-five thousand more negro
than white voters. The consequence
was that after the overthrow of the
carpet bag government in 1876 we
adopted a system of party government
and the white people of the State were
educated in the employment of politi-
cal methods that obtained hardly any
where else. We have had an I" i'm
periun in imperio," or a government
within q government. Democracy has
meant white supremacy, and Republi-
canism meant negro equality. The ne
cessity for white unity overshadowed
the other considerations, and the Dem
ocrats of the State were taught that
submission to the will of the majority
and loyal support of the nominees of
the party were paramount to all other
considerations. Hampton taught us
that an independent was worse than a
radical. Like all of his actions and
utterances In these trying days, that
advice was the very essence of wisdom
and patriotism. His clear Judgment,
which was his most distinguishing
characteristic, saw the danger to the
State of Democracy split into factions
and appealing to the colored vote.
And take this occasion to say that no
other living South Carolinian more
willingly or gladly pays tribute to his
leadership or has a better realization
of the invaluable services to his people
and the State rendered by this great
man In '76.
1t was only after the revolution of
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,
and some of those who had been most
clamorous for party regularity and sub
mission to the dictates of a convention
in selecting candidates bolted and ran
Judge Haskell for Governor. 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 supported
Judge Haskell TO the general principles
If Democracy in the nation. Follow
ing the independent action of the
Haskellites came the rebellion of those
who voted against Cleveland for Wea-
yer in '92 amounting TO some two
thousand or more white votes, manly
IN Pickeas aid Goopee counties. Then
in '94 there was another gebellion on
account of the adoption OF the &c Col
Teton plan.o DIR. Pope ran as am in-
dependent candidate for Goverffey
and received several thousand whitN
votes.
So there have been three attempts
TO resist the will OF the organized Del
mocracy speaking through regnlai
channels. In each of these instances,
those who had broken fealty with their
fellows, and who failed to support the
nominee of the party as they had
pledged, at the primaries TO do, were
| forgiven and admitted back to fellow
ship without any question. In each