The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1905-08-09
A CRANKY PRESIDENT.

Spartanburg county will not
endorse the indecent exhibition
of E. L. Archer on last Satur.
day, and we look for a demon.
stration in that county to repud'
late such conduct. The cotton
growers association had rally
last Saturday, and to this meet
ing Mr.. H. S. Lipscomb: secre-
tary of the association, sent Hon.
John L. McLaurin an invitation
to be present, just as he did to
Presidents Jordan and Smith.
Mr.. Archer, however, who is
known to have a personal dis
like for McLaurin, was deter
mined to prevent McLaurin's
speaking, and in doing so on the
plea Of keeping the association
out Of politics, injected the
meanest kind of politics into the
meeting by adjourning the meet
ing without giving the secretary
an opportunity to make an an
nouncment or explanation. We
believe such tactics as Mr.. Ar
cher displayed will act as a
boomerang, and that the decent
people Of Spartanburg will stand
for no such treatment Mr..
Archer not only attempted to
bride McLaurin but he tried to
work a similar game on Messrs.
Hyatt and Weston, but these two
were more fortunate than
McLaurin, because they got
their speeches in before the din
ner was announced.
The account of this meeting
was written for The State by
Mr.. Jas. A. Hoyt, Jr., who is
not a supporter of Mr.. McLau-
rim in politics, but at the same
time he does not endorse the
miserable exhibition Of dirty
politics exhibited by Mr.. Archer.
We reproduce Mr.. Hoyt's com
mentS:
Spartanburg. Aug. 5.-The meeting
at the opera house here today, which
was attended by 900 or 700 people, un-
der the auspices OF the Southern Cot
ton association developed q situation
that was extremely unfortunate, as it
was made by the president Of the coun-
ty organization to prevent former Sen
ator McLaurin from speaking and the
effort was partially unsuccessful in that
the president announced that if Nc
Laurln spoke it would not be with his
consent or by his invitation.
The president OF the county assOcia-
tion is the Rev. Z. L. Archer, formerly
Methodist preacher and formerly a
Tillmanite leader in this county. at one
time holding the Office OF State Sena-
tor. It seems that Mr.. Archer is very
bitter against McLaurin and his preju-
dice led him today to inject politics into
q meeting where otherwise there
would have been no mention of politics.
Senator McLaurin had come here with
no intention of mentioning politics, but
of talking cotton. as he did at Manning
last week and he had come on the in
vitatior of the secretary of the county
association, which he had every reason
to consider authoritative. He found on
his arrival that the president, Mr.. Ar
cher, and the secretary, Mr.. II. S.
Lipscomb, were at cross purposes III
this matter. 1t appears that neither
the secretary nor the president is pos
sessed of the soundest Judgment and
between them they worked up a very
ugly complication that may hurt the
Southern Cotton association in this
county as much as it will hurt Mr. Nc
Laurin or help any one who is opposed
to his political views, among the latter
class being The States correspondent.
Mr.. McLaurin, having come here on
what he had every reason to believe
was an official invitation, was placed in
very peculiar position: he had either
to speak over the protest OF the county
president or put himself in the position
of running away. He took dignified
stand and got as much out of the little
scrap as any one else. His speech
amounted to little, for the reason that
he:was not called on until three others
had spoken and the time was unpropi-
tious for an address OF any length, when
folks were thinking about dinner, but
what he said was well worth hearing,
for whatever one may say or think
about Mr.. McLaurin he has fine un-
derstanding Of this cotton question and
discusses it in a statesmanlike manner.
Mr.. McLaurln was not the only one
who was reflected upon by Mr.. Archer,
however, Mr.. Archer intimated that
Mr.. Hyatt and Mr.. Weston, each of
whom holds higher Office in the
Southern Cotton association than does
MIR. Archer was not invited to this
meeting and that they both spoke
merely by sutferance. These two men
have spoken all over the State in the
Interests of the Southern Cotton asso-
citation and neither Of them was for a
moment daunted by this intimation.
Mr.. Hyatt, being called OF first made
it plain that he did not intend to be
read out Of the meeting and thai fur
ther he did not intend to be dictated to
AS to his future career merely because
he was at this particular time interest
ed in an official capacity with this or
ganiZation.
Iuere aie EafN NY FIS"o aS w G1S
effect OF the squabble and Mr.. Archer's
friends contend that he was only pre-
serving his consistency in taking the
position he did and endeavoring to keep
politics out Of the movement. Others,
however. take the ground that by his
extreme Interpretation of that idea he
did more to bring the matter Of politics
to the front today than would have been
done by a political speech from Mr.. Nc
Laurin Or 4 declaration from Mr.. Hy-
att that he IS candidate for Governor
a declaration that he is not at all
likely to make.
Mr.. Archer stated that the Spartan
burg Cotton association had invited Mr..
Harvie Jordan and Mr.. L. D. Smith
here to speak today. Mr.. Jordan had
been delayed by I late train and would
come this afternoon Mr.. Smith was