Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-10-06
CREWS AND TIlLMAN
News Seimiter Man Comes Back al
the Senator

the Senator.
Mr.. w. T. Crews, editor Of the News
Scimiter, Greenwood, has sent to the
Daily Record a copy of his reply to
Senator Tillman's letter, published on
the first page of today's Enquirer. The
reply Of Mr.. Crews is, in part, as fol-
lows:
"On our first page will be found a
letter from Senator Tillman to the edi-
tor Of the News Scimiter.
I'm our article of September %, to
which Senator Tillman refers-'The
Plot Against Blease'-the only manner
In which we connected the senator's
name with the plot was where we
said:
Whether or not Senator Tillman
has given these conspiring politicians
any pegs on which to hang their po-
litical hopes, we don't know; but
whether he did or not, the anti-Blease
politicians are trying to make Senator
Tillman's old friends and supporters
believe he did,
Senator Tillman says that he thinks
1t unkind for US to lend ourself to any
suggestion or scheme that will weaken
the confidence in him of any of his old
friends and supporters. Now, we dis
claim any intention Of doing anything
Of the kind. Indeed, so far from lend
ing ourself to any such suggestion or
political scheme, in conversation with
parties who suspected that Senator
Tillman had lent himself to the plot
and scheme now backing Candidate
Jones, and so accused him, we stoutly
denied it. But the suspicion seemed
to be general, that an unequivocal de-
nial from Senator Tillman was due his
old friends and supporters, and to that
extent the object Of our editorial has
been accomplished. He says: The
subject of Jones' candidacy was not
discussed during my visit to Richards,
etc. And further: I do not expect to
take sides in the governors race next
year.
Having so emphatically made de-
nial, the public will acquit the senator
of all suspicion, and as for ourself, we
never for a minute suspected that
Senator Tillman was a party to the
plot, and so expressed ourself to every
one with whom we discussed the mat
ter. And in this connection, 1t seems
to US that Senator Tillman's umbrage
ought not to be against us, but rather
against those old-time anti-Tillman
preston that he was favorable to and
aiding in the scheme to have Jones
supplant Blease as governor-and this,
too, right on the heels of the senator's
visit to Mr.. Richards.
Senator Tillman seems to labor un-
der the impression that somebody or
other has suggested the scheme to
us and that we were lending ourself
to such suggestion. In harboring such
suspicion, senator, you are as 'unkind'
to me as you accuse me of being un-
kind to you. During all the years that
I have written and fought for you,
always wrote and spoke my own con-
victions, not somebody else's. and II I
have Matched a mares nest in ex-
posing that Jones' Richards scheme
was only following policy which
Loyalty practiced in your behalf ever
since you have been in public life-a
mares nest policy that you have
never heretofore found fault with, and
whether or not they were mares
nests you have only to ask your po-
litical enemies who read the Laurens-
vile Herald when it was your staunch-
est champion.
But the burden of Senator Till
mans letter, however, doesn't seem to
be so much vindication Of himself
from such an assassins blow as 1t Is
an effort to clear Mr.. Richards politl-
cal skirts. Granting all Senator TILL
man says, as to his having no connec-
ton with any plot against Blease, nor
even discussed Jones' candidacy, that
doesn't clear Richards and Jones from
the political conspiracy with which we
connected them, The very fact that
Richards has known all along that
Senator Tillman's. candidacy for the
senate depended entirely on the condi-
ton of the senator's health was the
moving spirit that prompted Jones'
visit and his and Richards political
frame-up. Possibly the fact dawned
upon them that Senator Tillman might
not altogether approve Of the State,
the News and Courier, and other old
line anti-Tillman papers taking Chief
Justice Jones up, and, In effect, II not
in so many words, telling those Of their
own political faith that they must stay
out Of the race-nor would a prohibi-
ton candidate even be tolerated. Such
apprehension on their part, senator,
would have been perfectly natural,
since they knew so we'll that you ap-
proved of the 'Colleton plan,' and that
plan, you know, was devised to pre-
vent Just such a political condition as
now confronts us, and which Is sought
to be used to the political undoing OF
Governor Blease, the peoples gover--
nor, and to which you gave your moral
and political influence to prevent just
such an unfair condition from being
used against John Evans, in the pri-
mary of 1894. But for the Colleton
plan, you know, the conservatives
would have negatived the votes Of the
reformers, in that primary, and 1t was
considered good politics, then, to
adopt it. But now, when the same po-
litical tactics which made necessary
the Colleton plan are resorted to by
Blease's enemies, and l sound the
alarm, it is 'unkind' in me, and l am
accused of striking an assassins
blow Yet, in such political extrem-
ity, Senator Tillman calmly informs
us that he is hands off. Now then, II
conditions are such as we have stated
that Mr.. Jones Is the candidate or
the newspaper ring and that of the
Prohibitionists, Senator Tlllman ought