Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-08-14
HODGES CALLS A HALT.
Biq Marlboro Follower Flies the
TllIman Track.
HOT STUFF FROM The SHOULDER.

L
HOT STUFF FROM The SHOULDER.
Man Who Once Considered the Senior
Senator the Saviour Of His Country,
Is Now Able to See In Him Only
Selfish oemasosus, Who Stands For
Nothing That Is Good and True.
The following open letter to Senator
Tillman has been handed to the press
by its author, Chas. P. Hodges Of
Brownsville, Marlboro county. Mr..
Hodges is a large planter and mer-
chant. He was one of the men who did
most to give Senator Tillman Marl-
boro county in the beginning and he
has been a consistent follower ever
since. With it all he has refrained
from asking political recognition Of
any kind. Here is the way he now
views the situation:
BENNETrsvrLLE, Aug. II, 1906
Senator B. r. Tillman.
Ny Dear Sir: I will preface my re-
marks to you by stating that have
been one of the most ardent Tillman-
ties In the state. I have followed you
through thick and thin. In fact am
one Of the "old blue hens chickens"
/ am a Tillmanite "in whom there is
no guile" I have asked for no office,
and haven't cared for any. / have
followed you because I thought you
were largely right; from a square out
honest motive and principle. and not
for any of the political emoluments
that might accrue from such support
as I have rendered.
But senator, think voice the sem
timent Of thousands Of your most ar
dent supporters when 1 say that we
can follow you so far and no further
You have left your moorings, and have
gone headlong in the persistent ad-
vocacy Of measures that IL carried out
will undermine eventually our moral,
social, religious and governmental
structures. Your absolute disregard
for the moral and religious opinions
Of others should make your position
abhorrent to every God-fearing Bap-
tist, Methodist, Presbyterian and, in
fact to every religious denomination of
the state. You have fiagrantly insulted
every minister of every denomination
of the state. When you uttered the
statement that the preachers Of South
Carolina had allied themselves with
the blind tigers and liquor men, you
know, Senator Tillman, you gave ut
terance to a slander and falsehood that
was as dark as midnight in hell. And
you have never had the manhood or
common decency to apologize for 1t.
You knew, senator, that our churches
and our ministers of the gospel are
all that we have that make life worth
living. You cripple the ministry as
you have tried to do. you hush their
voices and push aside their godly in
luences In South Carolina for even
| sixty days and we would have riot, an
archy, rapine and murder that would
appall the world. No, senator, /, with
thousands Of other citizens Of South
Carolina, place our morality, religion,
self government and common decency
above partisan politics and Tillmanism
I am a prohibitionist. favor neither
the dispensary nor bar-rooms. / say
nothing Of the rottenness Of either
One Is as rotten as the other, as to
that matter.
Now, senator, 1 want to see, II In the
last twelve or fourteen years you have
dealt fairly with your people that have
Implicitly trusted you in this vital ques-
ton that means so much to the well
fare Of South Carolina You know
you have always claimed to be a great
peoples man, a servant Of the people;
that your aim Is to carry out their in
structions. Have you done It? Have
you tried to do 1t to any extent at all
on this great liquor question? Let US
see In 1892 the question: Of liquor
or no liquor was brought squarely and
fairly before the voters Of the state,
and they voted for prohibition by over
IL, 900 majority. Senator Tillman was
then governor Of the state and virtual
! ly was the legislature Of the state also.
| What did he do? He said, you people
by your vote have demanded prohibi-
ton and 1t is in my power to give 1t to
you, but l will not do 1t, but I will
| give you something and throw such
restrictions around 1t, and will call 1t
dispensary. And with the restrictions
and safeguards that will put upon It,
we will lead up to prohibition. The
restrictions, Senator Tillman says, hrst
the people must decide as to whether
they want a dispensary or not In any
community. Second, he says that Ii
auor Is to be sold in no other way.
Third, he SAYS no minor or habitual IL
uuor drinkers can buy 1t at all. Fourth,
that every purchaser Of liquor had to
sign his name, place Of residence and
90 on with numerous other restrictions,
| al Of which were good.
Now, senator, 1, along with thou
sands Of your supporters, said whlle
we voted for prohibition We trust this
man Tillman and wholly believe he
will be good to his promise TO the
people of the state. Now, senator,
to the contrary, If you will show me
one utterance spoken, one line writ
ten, advocating or urging the curtail-
ment Of the sale of liquor in these
| fourteen years of your liquor life, or
the advocacy Of one single measure
that would lead up to prohibition, l
| will withdraw everything uttered in
this letter. But to the contrary, SEN
ator, you have advocated every means
possible to fasten liquor upon the
state indefinitely. You saw after the
first year of the dispensary under
your rigid restrictions, that the .peo-
pie were not taking to 1t. Numbers
Of communities Of the state that you
thought ought to have 1t wouldn't
have it; the result was that you had
the law made very lax, so those COM
munities could get it by mere petit
tion and not by vote Of the people.