The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-06-09
BEGINNlNG CT TlLLMANISM
GRAPHICALLY RECALLED
Veteran Newspaper Man Writes IN a
Reminiscent Mood
Geo. r. koester in Greenville Pied

The presence of female delegates
made TIC South Carolina Democratic
state convention last week different
from its predecessors, but that was
the main difference. T.. ha!a bt"n at
almost every Democratic conventien
in this state Tor 81 yeas, either as a
reporter OF member "r bot! .,ly first
was the famous convention Of 1888,
which l reported The whole course
of politics in South Carolina since
that date might have been different,
had rot Joseph H. Earle had such 4
high sense Of honor.
! When that convention met. John
Peters Richardson was serving his
first term as governor. He was a typ
ical gentleman of the old school.
kindly, considerate> and courteous,
very much satisfied with his state and
natural conservative. He made an
excellent fgurchead for ship Of
state sailing through q PLACID sea.
Like the vast majority Of the gentle
men of his day, he liked his mint ju-
!ep or other blended beverage, and
with two or three snifters aboard,
could make most eloquent and feel
! ing response to the toast, South
! Carolina" which was a large part OF
the duties of the governor Of South
! Carolina in the old banqueting days,
when quite an array Of wine glasses
were seni-circled in front of each
plate at public dinner.
Under the old convention system,
before candidates were nominated by
primary, the proletariat had little
share in the government. But the
giant was beginning to str in the
eighties, to rp5 his eyes, to wonder
why leadership in the Civil War
should 5e construed as giving an un-
! impeachable title to public Office in
the days of peace. Tillman had been
making himself the voice of that
awakening pro!etariat. He had spok-
/ en- in various places in, the state,
voicing discontentment with the
"close corporation, limited" manage
ment Of the Democratic party in
South Carolina. And, as to David Of
old, "every one that was in distress,
and every one that was in debt, and
fevcry one that was discontented, ga
ithered themselves unto him; and he
became captain over them" Even
some who had been Republicans or
Greenbackens. ....,-.
When that convention Of 1888
met, the opponents of Tillman in 1t
agreed in support Of denomination
OF Richardson. have never absolute
ly made up my mind as to why The
opposition threw away its support
upon Earle. 1t may have been force
! of habit that LED the proletariat tc
think it had to give leadership to one
of the old aristocracy 1t may have
been due to a knowledge that the
proletariat could win that year with
out the help of some Of the aristoc-
racy and a conviction that such help
would not be forthcoming, which
would leave Tillman free to say in
future campaigns, we tried to get one
Of them to lead US, the best of them,
and he would not, so we must depend
iupon ourselves to make the fight.
The delegates aligned with the new
Reform movement had Earle put in
! the nomination in the convention Of
1883. Earle was a man Of ability
and had great love and capacity for
public service. I have always be-
heved that if he had agreed to accept
support in 1888, he and not Richard
son, would have been the nominee of
the convention, which. would have
meant his election and such satisfy
ing of certain desires Of the proletar-
lat as would have made impossible
the Democratic revolution in South
Carolina in 1890. The masses had
confidence in Joseph H. Earle. The
l.5est proof Of that is that he was the
first one of the old school Of public
men in the state to scp'e state vic
tory over the Tillman machine. and
he did that as early as 1896, when he
was elected TO the United States SEN
ate defeating John Gary Evans whom
Tillman had made his successor as
governor, and who was backed in that
campaign by Tillman and his closest
associates,
1t was announced to the convention
that Earle would not accept the CUB
ornatomal nomination if the conven-