The sun., 1918-07-04

influence a. Charleston and Columbia,
lie roared at the gentle class, Knocked at
their traditions OF blood and culture and
| fiayed their pride Of family.
The proud folk who had been wont 10
| carry the government of the State In
their hands since first the State was
founded. with only the interlude OF the
war and reconstruction days, were
shocked at the idea that a brutal farmer
and demagogue such as this man was
could ever be Governor. Their pride
turned to bitterness, and more than one
political meeting ended in a pistol fight.
hut the "one gallus men carried Tillman
into the Governors chair.
The first thing this strange man did
when Installed In the Executive Mansion
at the capital was to order the fine lawn
IN 'front.' OF the house ploughed and
planted TO corn. He wasn't going to have
any good ground wasted in fancy frills
OF gardening. From that day on until he
relinquished his position at the end OF
a second term South Carolina was in a
constant Torment. The one incident Of
HIS rule that stands out among all the
other turbulent affairs was his promul-
CATION OF the famous dispensary law and
the events following it,
The dispensary law gave SherifYs and
corstables the power to enter stores and
private houses and to seize any liquors
| found there which did not bear the
stamp OF the State The rage Of a great
| many citizens OF South Carolina at what
they considered piece of impudent
despotism came to a climax in 1894
when the Darlington and Florence riots
occurred. To suppress the rio,ing Gov
Tillman ordered out the militia. Some
| companies refused to answer the call
| and they were disbanded and publicly
degraded by Tillman. At one time con-
| ditions almost bordering anarchy ex-
| listed in Darlington and the state capt.
| tai when troops seized the telegraph
| office Gov. Tiilmah himself censored all
press dispatches and there were close
| approaches to bloodshed but in the end
the dispensary law stayed and the Gov
ernor was triumphant.
Tillman began to broaden out into a
national figure before he left the Gov
| ernor's chair. He took a prominent part
| In the state constitutional convention
| OF 1895, which set an educati onal quail
! fcation for the franchise and by his
violent attitude against the negro he
became the object OF attack by Northern
| sentimentalists.
Cnmerited Blame in Editors Death
Before Tillman left the Executive
J Mansion at Columbia to go to the United
| States Senate tragedy occurred In
| Charleston, which indirectly threw
terrible balance OF opprobrlun, entirely
unmerted. against Tillman. James II.
| Tillman, his nephew. shot and killed
y. G. Gonzales, editor of the Columbia
| State, because of political feud be-
| tween them. Though at the time the
| people OF Columbia we're prone to be-
lieve that Ben Tllman had inspired the
| murder. more sober reflection and the
! developments OF the real facts in the
| case led to n more charitable view and
| no one now says that Ben Tillman was
responsible for the Gonzales murder.
| In 1895 the frebrand of Columbia was
| elected by his strong machine In South
| Carolina to go to the United States Sen
ate. Long after Senator Tillman Is dead
| the older members of the Senate will
remember the day OF his first speech In
that august body nor was his maiden
/ speech long delayed after his arrival in
the Senate.
It's tall. thick set fellow in the baggy
black frock coat of custom faced the
| Senate from one of the front rows, and
with one hand under his coattails, in an
| attitude later known to be chara ctertstic
| Of him. he launched into a vilifcation
| Of President Cleveland, a savage knocking
1
ate and a review of the general cuased-
ness Of the Government In general. II
| was all very brutal to the members from
| New England. especially to Senator
Hoar, and when this Senator took occa-
| sion later 10 express surprise at Senator
Tillmans violent remarks concerning the
| appointment of a negro to Federal Of
f,ce the forma.' champion of the one
sallus men turned the batteries OF his
| tlN he OF o,h, va.
| leader.
| Il tell YOU" Tilman beloved. you
can keep up this sort of thing till you
compel the people of the South to get
shotguns and kill every man you ap-
point We don't intend to submit to
negro domination. and all the Yankees
from Cape Cod to hell can't make US
| submit to it,
! Senator Was Foe OF II oosevelt.
The bitterest things that were said on
the floor of the Senate against the
| Roosevelt policies and the man himself
| usually came from Tillman, who was
considered prime for an eruption at
every new turn Of the hewiidering ka-
| leidoscope The bad blood between the
two resulted in the direct charge made
by Roosevelt in January of 1909 that
| schemes In Oregon. Roosevelt had OBJ
| tained eveidonce, he said. through the
| secret service. and this evidence he
placed in the hands OF Senator Hale Of
| the Committee on Appropriations
The country expected Tillman to deliver
one OF his characteristic blasts against
| Roosevelt IN answer to the charges
and the Senator himself allowed his
friends to believe that when he made
reply on the floor OF the Senate he would
shrivel the President entirely. When on
January II Of that year Tilman rose
In the Senate to make his reply the
chamber was crowded as II had rarely
been In the past with eager listeners
But Tillman's answer lacked much OF
the hoped for pitchfolk stamina. IT was
sane and trenchant and put In guarded
language. The South Carolina flrebrand
had evidently understood the gravity Of
the situation and had used care not TO
rrejudice his case by any premature eN-
ploson OF fireworks. lie said that the
President had been actuated BY revenge
| In his attack upon him, that he had used
the service 'dO the dirty work