The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1903-10-15
Behind the Scenes.

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lateral features, to present to the people
20 the State some pictures ef the inner
life of politicians Of q certain stripe, who
control the affairs of South Carolina
Through hecurtain of the tragedy which
{ brought Tillman to the bar the world gets
glimpses of the official habits and routine
{ of daily life at Columbia. Itappears that
pistol toting" is very general among the
State officials. When the Lieutenant
Governors "gun" was out of order he bor-
rowed one from the head of the dispen-
pensary institution, and another from one
nof the employees of the Senate executive
force and these and his own, when it was
repaired, were about the room of the
president of the Senate, on the mantel
piece Or the wash stand or some other
careless location. During the political
campaign, in which Tillman was candi-
date for Governor, he had in his satchel q
pistol which one of the candidates for
Lieutenant Governor at the same time
who had also been member of the Legis-
latare and Presidential elector-said he
had an idea" was his. There is no lack
Alarms among the officers and the candi-
dates, that's evident.
And dthe dispensary is not without per-
sonal patronage and support as well as
political sustenance in the halls and corri-
dors and executive rooms of the Legisla-
ture. From the stenographic report of
Tillman's testimony ON Friday the fol-
lowing is taken:
O. You had bottle, you say, that day
in your pocket? A I sent down the
street, Col Croft, sent old George down
the street, and some members of sthe
Legislature and myself took drink to-
kaether in the presidents senate room. ]
do bet recollect whether they drank ali
or not, but the general rule is that they
generally drink it all up when it hits q
legislative crowd; might have been some
left in it and possibly may have taken
il to the hotel, but do not recollect
Little chance has bottle of whiskey
9llat "hits legislative crowd" it would
seem, and the dispensary revenues must
be materially increased by official patron.
age during the meeting of the General
Assembly, unless the consumption in the
State Houseis from the stock of samples
at the institution.
That the former Lieutenant Governor
made no mistake in his estimate of the
average legislators disposition to liquor is
shown by individual testimony of mem
Der Of that honorable body, who appeared
as witness for the defense in the trial
now closing. Mr.. j. NJ. Mahaffey, q mem
Der from Spartanburg, being cross ex-
amined by Mr.. Bellinger, for the State,
set forth according to the stenographic
report, as follows.
Q. Where did Mr.. Tillman have that
bottle? A. In back pocket.
@. Pants pocket or coat pocket A.
Goat pocket.
What kind of pocket was it9 A
1t was split coat.
@. What kind of bottle was it? A.
only saw the neck of it,
20. Was it flask or what kind of bot
tie was it? A. Unfortunately, I didn't
get to seeit.
@. Why unfortunately? A. Because
he invited me in, but didn't get to accept
the invitation.
@. Was it a long-neck bottle or what?
A. 1t looked like kind of private stock.
Il looked pretty good.
@. Although you could only see the
neck, are you expert enough to tell just
from glimpse of it whether it was pretty
good or not? A. Yes, sir; think am
pretty good judge
q. Is that on the theory that all is
pretty good and some little better? A.
No, sir; some is pretty bad.
O.. Did that have any tin foil or screw
cap or how was it? A. 1t looked like it
had been opened; think it was just glass.
@. And you, say it was sticking out of
his pocket? A. Yes, sir.
Q. How much? A. The neck; do
not know what size bottle it was, it
might have been quart.
@. And you could see that it was not
pistol? A. From the way he turned
around there and his invitation and all
judged there was drink in sight if / had
the time to take it.
O. 1t bore no resemblance to pistol?
A. No, sir; there was no shooting there.
Not the kind the other man received. /
had rather been shot with that.
An interesting picture, certainly, of
conditions in the seat of South Carolina's
legislative and executive palaces. An
atmosphere of liquor and gunpowder
seems to have been breathed around the
headquarters of the president of the Sen
ate. Little wonder that from it has pro-
ceeded one of .'the damnedest tragedies
that ever happened in South Carolina. -
Charleston Evening Post.