Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1910-08-25
CONGRESS CANDIDATES SPEAK
TO LARGE ROCK HILL AUDIENCE

thursday night to hear the cam
didates for Congress in this,
the Fifth, congressional district.
Each of the candidates received
generous applause, though it was
evident when Mr.. Finley made a
point on Mr.. Butler that he had
the crowd with him. The meet
ing was presided over by County
Chairman w. B. Wilson, Jr.
Mr.. Butler was the first speak
er. He began by saying that he
had no complaint against the peo-
pie for electing Mr.. Finley over
him two years ago. He had no
charges to make against his op-
ponents, as he was not running
against either of them. The Of
flee belongs to the people and he,
as a Democrat, has a right to run
for it. The qualification for the
Office is ability, which he claimed
to have. The principal question
to be discussed was taxation.
The people are being robbed by
the iniquitous tariff law enacted
by the Republicans in the inter
est of the favored few at the ex-
pense of the many. The trouble
is that the money raised by taxa
ton goes into the pockets of
the protected manufacturers
instead of the treasury. Re-
ferring to the statement that a
new man cannot do anything in
Congress for the people, Mr..
Butler said he could cast his bal
lot in the interest of the people.
Mr., Butler here went into a Is
minute discussion of the distribu-
ton of seeds by the agricultural
department. The government
annually throws away something
like $250,000 in this way; but
the audience apparently was
little impressed with that part
of his speech, as it is generally
understood that the annual eX-
pense of the Federal government
is more than a billion dollars and
that the cost of the distribution
of seeds is a mere bagatelle.
The government should do
something to prohibit the Liver
pool gamblers from fixing the
price of cotton. An income tax
law should be passed and it
should fall upon those able to pay
it. Mr.. Butler is opposed to
bringing the negro into politics.
He had the courage of his con
victions in 1890 ana ran on an
independent ticket for the Legis-
lature in Union county; but
Tillman had since selected him
to assist in drawing the party
constitution. The report that he
had tried to borrow money in
York county on mortgaged prop
erty was the most damnable lie
ever circulated, and he would
furnish free transportation to it's
author to Gaffney and coffin to
ship him home in, for he is "a
dirty, low-life, lying scoundrel
and an Infamous and damnable
liar" He would meet the author
outside and allow the meeting to
proceed. Mr.. Butler had the
appearance of man that was
mad. He will try to preserve
Democracy, whatever the result
of the election.
Mr.. Finley had never heard of
the statement which Mr.. Butler
said had been circulated about
him (Mr. Butler). THE people
of the Fifth district know that
Finley does not dish out slander
about anyone" There may be
some such idle rumor, but he
fights fair and has no report to
repeat or criticism to make of
either of his opponents. He had
refused to mention Mr.. Buffers
Independent candidacy for the
Legislature in Union county until
Mr.. Henry had brought it out at
Chesterfield, though the purpose
of the certificate of the clerk of
the court of Cherokee county was
to injure him (Mr. Finley with
the voters. Mr.. Butler has been
a member of the South Carolina
Legislature for six years, but
does he give anyone reason to
believe that he is qualified to
represent the district in Con
gress? Usually if a man has
many laurels he will talk about
them. Mr.. Butler has not told
anything he has done while a
member of the Legislature; but
he introduced a resolution in the
senate to repeal the charter of
the Richland DiStillinp cnmnanv