The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-12-22
CAN This Be SO?
Major Hemphiu, Editor Of The New and
Courier, is Said to be
AN ADVISOR OF MIR. TAFT

Inc EO1tOrS hDuSe Oh MI. bryan
Before His Last Nomination, and
His Ridicule Of Bryan by the Hen
and Gander Incident Made the
Editor Solid With Mr.. Taft.
lack McGee, Washington CORE
spondent Of The State, sends out a
surprising statement in his last let
ter to his paper. Here Is what Nc
Gee says:
I'm these modern and radiant days
Of Big Bill Taft, what has become
of that ancient and honorable in
stitution formerly designated Re-
publican Referee b~eatiacally trans
morgrifed, as you may recall, under
the b]e-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 1t
comes to pie?
1.-The man who secured the noml-
nation of Louis C. Kuker to be post
master at Florence and 8. Coke King
to be postmaster at Darlington as
Mayor James Calvin Hemphill, edi-
tor Of the Charleston News and
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 met
for these Offices. Captain Caper's
recommendations have been wont to
90 In South Carolina postmaster
ships.
General Francis H. Hitchcock,
Political Charge d'Anairs OF the
Administration, still consults him
about these offices, but a bigger
than the General has been taking
a hand. Senator E. D. 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 Ian
guage of the classic poet, to induce
the president to name another mau
for Florence. But there was one
more potent In the couneiles- 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. 80 far as |
know there isn't any such job he
says. I have retired to my private
law practice and am devoting my
time 10 it, intending not to accept
any further political office. OF
course, until the next national con-
vention, / am still the national
committeeman, and having advise !
about South Carolina Offices so long,
and still desirous Of seeing good
men In office as we'll as to SEQ the
party prosper In South Carolina,
why wheneve" ! am asked to ad-
wise, I advise. When l am not
asked, l have nothing to say In
passing 1t Is an evidence Of Mt. CO
per's sincerity that he has had taa
refusal of at least two good feder-
al appointments since he left that
Of General Revenue commissioner.
Now upon the election OF Mr..
Taft a different policy with respect
to appointments In the south was
determined upon. Mr.. Taft a
been down to Greensboro, n c.,
several years before he was An &C
tive candidate for the pres .leA2y.
There he shocked his fellow Repub-
licans, who for several years had
been engaged in n continuous and
conspicuous exhibition dogfght over
federal patronage by telling them
that the Republican party IN tile
South would be better of II the
Democrats held all the offices.
He seems not altogether to have
got that idea out of his head, and
It Is believed he would have enter
ed upon a wholesale policy of ap-
pointing Democrats to Office had IT
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 a few Demo-
Gratis with Republican leanings, and
while Mr.. Hitchcock does not Who'll
" disagree with the idea he wants
to 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
lust sort O. defunctionized. as 1t
we're, 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 Gandcr and Hen
Incident, when The News and Cour
Ter conducted a rattle for the Bryan
| campaign fund. This tickled the
| Republican candidate very much and