The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1906-04-11

i LII. -. w G0AN
sen will be responsible to the taxpay-
ers of the State if they o. K. a single
purchase that was illegally bought"
"What About the Piano?"
what about the piano." Senator
Tillman was asked.
"Wen,'' he replied, 'T have heard it
said if you throw a rock in the dark
and a dog howls you may swear he is
hit.
"I have not sought to discredit the
investigating committee the senator
continued, ''but to warn it, and when
Mr.. Lyon, without provocation, makes
public its dirty and coward]y insinua-
tons that whiskey firm gave me
piano, it is pretty clear to my nina
that he howIs because he is hit. 1t
was easy enough for him to have
found out all about the piano. Mr.
Malone, the music dealer in Colum-
bia, knows to whom he sold it and who
paid for it and he knows when it was
bought.
..I note also Mr.. Lyons pretext for
delay is that he may look into the rec
ords Of the Mill Creek Distilling COM
pany to see whether there are any
credits"
Senator Til.man's reference to ''cred-
it" applied to that part of Mr.. Lyons
letter which read as follows:
1--WE wish to find the credits on the
| books of the distillery showing the
amount of rebates which Senator Till
man said he returned as a gift for the
gratitude he felt to the liquor concern
cre6iting the State of South Carolina.
Besides this there had come to my ears
a rumor-the sources Of which do
| not now recall but rumor which l
| think should be looked into-that Sen
ator Tillman when governor was pre-
sented with a piano by a liquor con-
Germ.
| Yoht'ake lek-b-lyab, ElToy' ocbtatat
eft may be that receipts may be
shown for the rebates which may have
| been returned and also for payment of
this piano which may have been re-
! ceived, as was rumored, to be the sat
isfactory explanation in the case Of the
Towilf horse matter"
| "Mr. Lyon heard my testimony in
Columbia and he knows 1 said moth
| ing about returning any money, for
I never received any," said Senator
Tillman. eff the books do not show
frnat any money was ever paid they
certainly will not show that any was
ever returned.
81 want TO reiterate and emphasize
| in the most positive way my belief
that the investigating committee
charged with such a greac response
bility, should do its duty by deciding
at once what is lawful 20 be done
about these whiskey claims; the more
lawyers they write letters to or see
danger this matter, the greater is the
! danger that there will be a mean scan
dal.
Advice to the New Board.
.'While I am on the dispensary,'
said the senator, II want to give the
new board a friendly warning, too. i
cannot purchase liquor under the law
unless the bidding is clearly competi-
tive, and the lowest priced Without
defining the article to be bought BY
something other than * is hot com
petitive bidding.
Then notice that while "A county
1 dispensaries have been closed, there is
no reduction in the force Of salarieG
inspectors and other employees
! 81 am earnestly desirous, both fo,
their own sake and the dispensary
| that the new boards actions shall be
approved by the people. but there ca.
be no excuse for continuing to pay
| for men who are not needed Eithe,
the old force was overworked or one
third Of it ought TO be dispensed with
"In my efforts to keep the dispen.
sary from being assassinated. 1 shall
spare no man, be he friend o. foe
whose actions do not square with the
law and indicate desire to carry il
out loyalty
MR. TATUM ISSUES STATEMENT.
! Columbia. april G-Commissione.
Tatum, of the State dispensary. il,