The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1903-08-19
LAURENs. 8. c.. Aug. 10, 1908.
TilIman and his Passes.

road passes. So the newspapers re-
port and l. is not denied. When q re-
porter In st, Louis expressed surprise
that the Senator carried passes tele-
graph franks and other deadheading
devices, the Senator is said to have re-
piled that they were pushed on him
and that eve do not accept $1,000. bills
down South, referring of course to
the bribery exposures of Missouri leg
islators.
In the eyes OF many people B. r.
Tillmap can do no wrong. At least,
many good people have yelled SO Justify
for this Tillman that they cannot bring
themselves to admit that he is not a
man o. innexible, rugged honesty. They
jumped TO The conclusion in 1890 that
Tillmen was the single and singular
honest politician in South Carolina and
SO they said Loudly. Now they are 60
ing to die by it. 1t is of no great i'm
~portauce. The continuance of Tillman
in the seLate has ceased TO worry even
8 nide-bound. ~irreconcilable Anti-Till-
man newspaper like THE LAURENs AID
yERTISER. Nevertheless we remember
that Tillmen rose to power by scurril-
Gus abuse aud infamous ISLANDERS of a
race OF the best and noblest men that
any state has had. Earle, Cothran,
Bratton, Dancan, Munro, Kershaw,
MCGOWAN, Wallace, Kennedy, Rich
ardson, A. 2. Butler, Lipscomb, Wood
ward aud Hampton, all of them dead,
were of the men whom this Tillmau
denounce as "~bamboozled and de-
bauched," as tanned so to speak" and
who, he vi,ely insinuated, had sold out
to the corporations. Everybody remem-
bers that the acceptance OF free railway
passes was QUE of his favorite texts.
His true character "a fully revealed
when as governor he was quick to &C.
cept a railway pass rendered by Capt.
Bunch McBee on the old r. & ID. sys-
TEN.
AT this lats day, the friends of the
senator will not confess it but in their
secret hearts they are disgusted that
this man who was so yiciferous In his
%monthings a few years ago Is now
found with these dead-beating instru-
ments loadinS his pockets. Yes, they
are disgusted, their gorge rises, at the
spectacle of this Tillman with 40 more
accept fuvors from the corporations
which he has necessarily denounced
and maiigned. 1t may be possible for
a man to declare the acceptance of a
free pass IS dishonest on the part of
another, then accept it himself and re-
main honest. 1t may be possible for a
man to hah,tua.ly accept these favcrs
from corporations and remain honest,
ut the snme tine denouncing the habit
in others. The contradictions in the
human hec:t are many and we do not
pretend 70 fathom them: Gallant old
Tom WcciHaid, senator from Fair
field, efts. ali eio Tt1lmsn ranting in
1850 about free asses, drove the legis-
latuse thsS cas- or the next to enact a
law making their use q crime. Gov.
j. r. Tiilln.n did not veto it. He ap-
proved it Officially. The law, it is said,
does affect not our public officers be-
You'd the states limits. BY this teohni-
cality, the ragged honest Tillman es-
capes the penalty of the law which he
had a part in placing on Cardinals
statute books. How astonishing that
q United States Senator for the little
matter of passes would thus compro-
nicn hia M nttaftnn. M ront,tatfNn Pocf.
ing upon his damuing of the sins In
which ne is indulglng.
Is it so "litt,e a matter?" Senator
Tillman spends a large part OF his time
between the sessions of congress in
lecturing. For these lectures he is
paid and doubtless handsomely paid.
He lectures in all parts of the United
States. He is heard Of from Boston to
Oregon. He is a great traveller. From
the borders of South Carolina to Ore
gon and return Is about 1000 miles. At
two and one half cents the mile, q
railway ticket would cost $175. Each
trip from the South Carolina bor-
der 10 Washington and return costs
about $40. A lecturer of reputation,
covering many states, could very we'll
travel 10000 miles in three or four
months. Free passes on that distance
would save $500. III the Senator car
rles a Pullman Gar pass, a saving of
two or three dollars q night for each
night travelled is to be added. Franks
on the telegraph and express lines
mean much more. A man keeping
honse in Washington with an express
fr@nk in his pocket can save four or
five hundred dollars a year by having
his chickens and other truck brought
free from South Carolina.
We do not know that Senator Till
man has or uses all these franks and
passes but it is certain that II he has
them they ave him perhaps a thou
sand or two Thousand dollars a year.
His salary is five thousand a year. TO
travelling lecturer, railway transporta-
tion counts fast. Corporations do not
give passes to anybody as a courtesy"
Passes are not frequently given to prl-
vale individuals. They are given only
to those who are In a position to give
something la return. While we do not
say that Senator Tllman or any other
Senator is Influenced by holding free