Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1909-12-23
Can THIS BE SO?I
Aaisr Renphill. Editor Of The New ~
Courier, is Said to Ie
AN ADVISOR OF MIR. TAFT.

The Editors Abuse OF Mr.. Bryar
Before His Last Nomination. and
His Ridicule Of Bryan BY the Fer
and Gander Incident Msdc th,
Editor Solid With MIR. TAFT.
Zack McGee. Washington CORE.
spondent OF The State, sends out 8
surprising statement In his last let.
ter to his paper. Here 10 what BIC.
Gee says:
In these modern and radiant days
OF Big Bill Taft. what has become
Of that ancient and honorable In
stitution formerly designated Re
publican Referee beatifcaliy trans.
morgrified, as you may recall, under
the be-accurate dispensation Of Hon.
George Bruce Cortelyou into 'Ad.
wiser But, regardless OF nomencla.
ture. where Is he at? In brief,
Who's 1t In South Carolina when It
comes to pie?
The man who secured the nomi.
nation of Louis c. Kuker to be post
master at Florence and s. Coke King
TO be postmaster at DARLINGTON as
Mayor James Calvin Hemphill. edi
tor OF the Charleston News aad
Courier, and Mr.. Taft's closest and
most confidential friend In South
Carolina. Captain John G.. Capers,
Republican national committeeman
and erstwhile referee" for South
Carolina recommended other men
for these Offices. Captain Caper's
recommendations have been wont to
go In South Carolina, postmaster
ships.
General Francis H. Hitchcock,
Political Charge d'Affairs OF the
Administration, still Eonsults him
about these Offices, but q bigger
than the General has been taking
a hand. Senator z. ID. Smith. who
represents Florence In the senate
and who had the power OF holding
up any appointment Objectionable to
him. did his durndest,' In the lam
guage of the classic poet. to induce
the president 10 name another man
for Florence. But there was ona
more potent In the couhciies OF the
president than the senator. and the
Majors man was named.
Captain Capers says he Is no
longer Referee or Adviser in the
established sense. SO far as !
know there Isn't any such job he
says. L have retired to my private
law practice and am devotins my
time to 1t. intending not to accep,
any further political ONCE. or
course. until the next national con-
vention. l am srill the national
committeeman. and having advise
about South Carolina offices so long.
and still desirous of seeing good
men In office as well as To sec the
party prosper In South Carolina.
why wbeneve- ] am asked to ad-
wise. / advise. When am not
asked. l have nothing to say In
passing 1t is An evidence OF Mt. Co.
per's sincerity that he has hal tn.
refusal of at least two good fed-r-
al appointments since he left that
OF General Revenue commissioner.
Now upon the election OF MIR.
Taft q different policy with respect
to appoip tments In the 5orth was
determined upon. Mr. Taft had
been down TO Greensboro, n c..
several years before he was ap ac-
tive candidate for the pres le.,cy.
There he shocked his fellow Repub-
licans. who for several yeara had
been engaged in one continuous and
conspicuous exhibition dogfight over
federal patronage by telling them
that the Republican party In the
South would be better on II the
Democrats held all the Offices.
He seems not altogether to have
got that idea out of his head, and
1t Is believed he would have enter
ed upon n wholesale policy OF APP
pointing Democrats to office had IL
not been for the more astute poll
tical head OF his postmaster general
and chief political adviser. There
Is a difference only of judgment
between Mr.. Taft and Mr.. Hitch
cock. The object of each Is to break
the solid South. Mr.. Taft thinks
he can do 1t by coddling few Demo-
Gratis with Republican leanings. and
while Mr.. Hitchcock does not who'll
ly disagree with the idea he wants
10 be quite sure OF the leanings
Mr.. Taft seems willing to take great
er chances on this score. The regu-
lar aforetime referees have not
been formally abolished or super
seeded so much as they have been
just sort o defunctionized, as 1t
were. perhaps temporary and ex-
perimentally In order that the beam
ing and persuasive personality OF the
big hearted Bill Taft might beam
direct.
This personality has been beam
ing upon the Charleston editor ever
since that famous Gander and Hen