Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-08-16
IAN INCIDENT OF 1898"
How FedtherStOne Was Robbed of the
GOVernOrShlp,
A BAD BARGAIN that WAS BROKEN.

on Some Past Political History Of
the State-Except For the circum-
stances Related, Much Trouble and
Sorrow Through Which the State
Has Passed May Have Been Avoid
ed.
The recent story in The Enquirer,
relating an Incident of 1885," proved
very interesting to many readers; but
upon further consideration we haye
decide that the complete reprodYc-
tion of the famous I'm Re w. H. IEl-
lerhe. Governor" editorial that appear
ed in the State in January 1898. You'd
prove still more interestihg|and in
structive. This editorial throws a
vivid light on facts and conditions as
they existed then, and seems to have a
very important bearing on present
day events. Anyhow. it is well worth
reading. Here it is:
The nature of this editorial state
ment Is such that 1t is best made over
my signature. 1t deals with my acts
as a citizen as well as an editor and
cannot well be written except from
the personal standpoint.
In the summer of 1897 a plan for
the settlement of the liquor issue in
South Carolina was suggested to me
by a friend to whom 1t had been
communicated by a prominent citizen,
who must for the present remain un-
known. Earnest consideration con-
vinced me that it was not only the
best solution of this vexing issue but
the only one which was attainable.
1t provided for local option by coun-
ties; a choice by ballot of the people
of each county between the dispen-
sary, prohibition and high license
system, the election to be held In all
counties on the same day, a day dis
tinct from the Democratic primary
or general election, and the settle
ment reached to be Of force for q
term of two or four years.
This plan I submitted to several
men in politics, among them Mr..
Frank Weston and Col w. A. Neal.
The former at once accepted the plan
as practicable and desirable. Col.
Neal had been a warm advocate Of
the dspensary. but he expressed
Willingness to make concessions in the
promotion Of peace among the people,
and, although at first preferring
settlement Of his own devising, he
presently came to approve the local
| option measure. We discussed the
matter several times in the summer
and early fall Of 1897, and Messrs.
Weston and Neal undertook to do
what they could to influence Gov. Ell
lerbe to favor this solution. About
that time 1 first proposed the plan
editorially.
| 1t was the latter part Of October,
l think, that a conference was held
between Senator McLaurin, who had
just returned from Mt. Airy, N. c.,
| where he had been recuperating after
his physical breakdown during the
campaign, Governor Ellerbe, Col.
Neal. Mr.. Weston and myself, having
for its object the adoption of some
common policy in regard to the IL
quor question which should be reach
ed in the governors annual message.
Various plans were discussed, the
local option one, however, meeting
with more favor than any other.
All Of us except Governor Elerbe
were substantially agreed upon it, and
after l had explained it fully Govern
or Ellerbe said that it struck him
more favorably than any solution he
had heard and asked me to write
out for him in detail my views for
carrying out the proposal, as he
wished to study the matter carefully.
With that the conference broke up.
| Not long afterward. about fair
week, l think Senator Tillman came
to Columbia and visited Governor Ell
lerbe. He had hardly left the city
when the governor, about 10 o'clock
at night telephoned the reporters
summOning them to the executive
mansion and there gave out an inter-
view in which he committed himself
absolutely to the maintenance Of the
Idispensary system. 1 believed at the
time that Tillman, by some secret hold
Ihe had on the executive, had forced
him to do this. Not until after the
interview had been given out did any
| of us, McLaurin, Neal, Weston or
myself, suspect that he had such
purpose. We were taken by surprise
by this abrupt ending of our project
to take the question out of politics
and settle it democratically according
to the principle of local self-govern-
lment.
| OF course this ended our hopes Of
influencing Governor Ellerbe to take
the leadership i'm the matter by pro-
posing in the forthcoming annual
message a fair and rational adjustment
of the one issue which remained to
divide our people. Being much dis
appointed at the outcome, | rather
Iavoided Governor Ellerbe after that.
| a day or two before the Legislative
session closed, however, L received
| message from the governor asking
me to call at the executive mansion
that night. Governor Ellerbe was OBJ
viOusly much distressed and alarmed
at the several defeats he had sustained
in the Legislature and sought to in
| duce me to pledge him The State $
ISuppOrt for denomination. l told him
that his dispensa-y views stood in the
way: that | wCuld not and could not
support any man committed to the
maintenance of that dishonest and
tyrannical system He pleaded piteous-
ly for support, which made the inter-
view extremely unpleasant to me, but
I held out. and left him between 10
and IL o'clock apparently almost
broken down.
| When / was about to start early
last May for Tampa with a view to
taking part in the Cuban campaign,
left instructions that The State was
not to commit itself to any candidate
in the primary campaign soon to be-
gin. For 1t was impossible to tell In
advance who would be the competi-
| tors and what pledges they might
make. and / feared lest the paper
should be committed in my absence
to a man or policy inconsistent with
its record and my convictions. My
belief that the war would be short
one. To be ended in three months.
caused me to anticipate return to
Columbia before the primary cleo
ton.
Returning from Cuba. 1 reached
| Key West on the night after the first
primary. and on my way to Tampa
on the Mascotte two days later. l
read in a Jacksonville paper the
figures of that election. 1t was the
first information l had that Mr..
FeatherstOne had been a candidate.
My disposition at that time was to
support him in the second primary,
as preferred prohibition to the dis
pensary
| arrived in Columbia on the after
noon of September 5th, but finding
myself in almost total ignorance of
what had happened in South Carolina
and the world since the middle of
| June, and being somewhat "daZed'
| by q return to civilization. / did not