The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1903-07-29
LAURENS. =. c., July 20, 1908.
What is Fame?

when Bryan declared for free coinage
he meaut 1t. That is uucommo among
politicians. Among the American peo-
pie Mr.. Bryan is making q place as q
mar who stands for a principle. Cal
houp, Webster, Hayne and Jackson,
when they died left names associated
with principles. When n thinks of
states rights, one thinks Of Calhoun.
Cslhoun's cause failed. When Bryan is
dead, his fame promises to last. In the
future when one thinks Of free silver
Bryan's name will come to mind, Bryan
Is an earnest, sincere man. 1t happens
that we are of those who regard Kin as
the apostle of In error, The American
people have repudiatcd his views and
more and more a'e repudiatiug them.
Nevertheless, in the end they must re-
spect Bry an; for lie has been no trifler,
nc trimmer, no mere bidder foe office.
Tho life OF any great, strong man
wholly given to battling for the truth
as he sees it is useful to the republic.
1t is an inspiration. In his Bishop
Vile speech last week, ~ourSenator Till
man 10 tSo " navy ooiu ohhO eho
free silver issue must be temporarily
laid aside. He declared himself as firm
q believer in silver as ever. The Sens
tor knows that he is whipped. The
Senator is not a Bryan. The Senator
says that Mr.. Bryan is talking too
much. For all practical purposes, Tho
Senator is now rs good q gold bug"
NJ. =, III 10, lot1 low,
his arms. He has surrendered He
has abandoned Bryan. His views re-
main unchanged but he Is not fighting
for them. The gold democrats could
ask no greater favor Of a leader OF the
opposition than that he retire from
the fight. Pleasantly, Senator Till
man alludes to Judge Parker as a
presidential candidate. Parker is a
New York gold bug. While he will
not cease to denounce tho gold demo-
Gratis, tho Senator is today their e.
fec.iveally. He will be of great value to
them in the South in mex years. cam
paign. Senator Tillman is one of the
most astute politicians in America. He
is a man of extraordinary ability. One
OF the strongest, perhaps the strong
est, features in his game is the adroi;-
ness with which he "follows the
crowd" He is shrewd enough always
to convince the biggest part OF the
crowd in South Carolina that they are
following him. The Senator does not
play for the greatest stakes. His name
Will never be associated in history with
a tremendous, for-reaching prirciple
of morals or policy. He will have no
place in history such as Bryan w.llhave
His stakes are the senatorshlp from
South Carolina ard the political boss
dom of q state machine. No man could
play it better than he does. No man
could better illustrate large talents in
small way. He is to South Carolina
what Plat is to New York; Quay to
Pennsylvania. With different cards,
under different conditions, they play
with equal success and win the same
rewards. Twenty odd years ago Plat
was the "me 90" of Conkling. Conk-
ling was a brilliant statesman, asser-
tive, impetuous and unbending. Plat
was q plgmy by his side. Both went
down in defeat. Tho mighty Conk-
ling, ovcrthrown, could not rise again.
The little P.att in a few years was
boss in New York. But Cong,ins lead
is remembered as one of the tall figures
of his generation. La the traditions Of
the Senate and Of his state, his fame Is
safe. When Platt dies, he will have a
successor. In South Carolina, TIL.
man will always be q winner-unless q
keener politician, q more adroit shuf-
fer, a smarter talker better suited to
the times is produced. This is not
likely. Nevertheless, Senator Tillman
will one day pass from the sage an
unsatisGed man. He will know that he
has been, after all, q failure. His must
be the consciousness that he cannot
walk in tho campanionship Of the
really great. Bittnerne's will be adj
ded by the knowledge hat his short
comings have not been due to want of
intellect. III he had been capa ole OF
sacrifices, if he could have conceived
at any time the high ambition to abide
by an unpopular issue, If he had been
BiNoh 10" IL oO"i hOV u"arieu auu
shrunken in contrast with his splendid
mind, he might have indeed aspired to
and reached a lofty and lasting promi-
neuce.
Gees to Columbia.
Il. FL. MoMaster, who for nearly
eight years has been manager Of the
Charleston Post and has recently bs-
come circulation manager of the Co.