Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-06-17

In a conversation with the counsel
for Col. Tillman it was stated that
thew had requested Solicitor Thur
mond not to have published the am
dayits upon which the motion IS mace
for a change Of venue. The attorneys
requested, it is stated, that this IS a
matter for judicial determination and
II would be improper to publish the
affidavits before the courts had passed
upon the matter. No good could come
from making public the afhdavits at
this time. The only effect would De
to excite public feeling upon this case
which has already received more tnan
usual comment and criticism In the
public press. It is far better, and In
the interest of justice, that the case
should proceed in all Of it's stages In
the orderly and usual manner of other
trials. One cause for the application
for the change of trial comes from the
many unfavorable comments Whlch
have already appeared in the papers OF
this city: and the request made IS IN
tended to put a stop as far as he could
to these unfair methods Of affecting
trial which involves the life OF a felloW
man. I'VE ask that all newspapers
which have published the statements
concerning the affidavits will also pup
ord.
THE ENQUIRER has not published any
statement concerning the affldavits re-
ferred to; but it desires to reproduce
the above for the purpose Of calling
attention to one or two little points.
So far as Mr.. Tillman is concerned,
personally, we care very little, and so
far as the late Mr.. Gonzales is con-
cerned, we care no more. We are not
conscious Of any feeling against Mr..
Tillman because Of partizanship In IA
vor of Mr.. Gonzales. While we do not
mean to be understood as intimating
that the men are two of a kind, we
have no hesitation in saying that we
have not admired one any more than
we have the other. Both of them
have been far from our ideals of what
man ought to be. We are not con-
scious of any feeling Of vindicative-
ness against Col. James H. Tillman.
We have our opinion as to his guilt or
innocence, and we have put very de-
cided estimate upon the evidence that
was submitted in his behalf in his ef-
fort to get bail; but we have not seen
proper to express that opinion and do
not do so now. But we do want to
call attention to one fact, and that Is
the mephistophelian shrewdness of
Col. Tillman's attorneys in making use
Of the newspapers to prejudice the
public in favor Of their client, under
pretence of making an appeal for fair
play. With the exception Of a few
| irresponsible editors who have no
conception Of the principles of law
and justice, who have very little
weight with their readers, and who are
utterly incapable of saying or doing
anything that is calculated to infiu-
ence this case one way or the other,
of the press to unduly influence this
case. There has been printed but lit
tie except the facts, and as a rule the
press has been content to let the pub
lie put it's own estimate on them. No
effort has been made even to point out
and particulariZe certain manifest
and transparent perversions of the
truth. We have a right to assume
that the last sentence in the above
paragraph is the verbatim request of
Col. Tillman's attorneys, and if this
be true we want to call attention to
| the fact that they. in the alleged sug-
gestions above, are guilty of the very
offence against which they pretended
to be inveighing. Our only interest i'm
the case of Col. Tillman is q hope that
he will be acquitted if innocent and
convicted and hanged if he is guilty.
! We want the jury TO rise to the occa-