The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-08-12
ANDERSON, s. G., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12 1908
Tlllman Aud His Passes.

t1ulmHu AuU HIS RaSSeS.
1t appears that Senator Tillmau lostsI
his pocketbook while travelling through
Illinois and in it were numerous rail-
road passes. When questioned as to
his insincerity in using passes, he is
reported to have sai6: "How can I
help accepting themr They stick
them ct me 81! maturity I have to
take then. They don't influence my
vote or tr.lk. tits different doSu in
our counIry from what it is up mere.
You have rot heard of anybody being
bought with thousand dollar bills
down oui way. have ycu?"
There are several good reasons why
Senate. Tillman especially should not
use passes, and the fimsy excuse given
by him sounds very strange from q
man Of his mental character, who is
always looking out for his own inter
est, and We ore inclined to doubt that
he made such weak excuse as that.
He is strong enough and sharp enough
to get up much better reason than
that given, though even he cannot get
around the fact that he is violating
law of tt- State when he uses passes.
He and all other officers in the State
are expressly forbidden to accept or
use passes, and they are liable to FOR
seit their Offices if the proper steps
are taken against them in case they do.
It is sometimes held that this law can.
not,.apply to an official when he is out
Of the State, and strictly, this may be
true, she spirit of the law is
;agrina thenseo of passes at any time
by an loial, and Senator Tillman is
the lask ofg alt officers of the State
who shnnld even violate the spirit Of
the Law, He rose to power principally
through making unsupported charges
and insindations against former
officers, and one of the chief of his in
situations was that they had been
'.bamboozled and debauched" by the
use Of railroad passes. That was, in
fact, the principal note of his cam.
paign. If thoas gentlemen could be
"bamboozled and debauched'' by rail.
road passes, surely Senator Tillman
has not the assurance to say that he
is superior to them in honesty and
that he is superior to influences that
they succumbed to. He has tho gall
to do almost anything, but we do not
think he would attempt to hold any
thing like that.
We do not think much of states
man who would be Influenced by pass
to do wrong, but Senator Tillman
ought to be consistent and not do that
which so freely charged was wrong in
others doing. AS matter of fact,
Senator Tillman accepted the now cell
ebrated pass No l Of the Southern
Railway soon after he became Cover
nor. and he has been accepting them
ever since, Notwithstanding the law of
the State expressly prohibits him frcm
doing so. And while ne has had the
reputation OF being against corpora
tions upon any and ell occasions, has
he really been 30 severe against them,
even when right, as he formerly was?
We have heard very little from him
along that line in recent times. The
railroads are not near so bad as they
were, it seems. Has Senator Til Imam
actually been "debauched and bam-
boozled" by the railroads Of the
country? It really might look that
way, but If it does Senator Tillman is
responsible for it, and nobody else.
Senator Tillman is frequently called
upon to lecture in Northern States on
the negro question, and he is man
who can do much good in speaking the
truth on this subject, with which he
is quite familiar, but the admitted
fact that lie is using railroad passes,
when he is presumably fighting corpo-
rations to the bitter end, will make
people doubt his sincerity in that mat
ter, and If they doubt him in one in
stance they will in all others, and he
will do the South, for which he pre-
sumably speaks, Infinitely more harm
than good. It was an unfortunate
circumstance for the people he is sup
posed to represent that this incident
should have occurred, but no doubt
there are many people who will glee-
fully rejoice in the fact that the old
saying is again proven true, and that
is that "chickens will come home To
roost." It is bad on Senator Tillman
personally, but he fell in pit Of his
own digging. g.-Columbia Record.