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Ledger Readers Should Patronize Ledger Advertisers. '■ * Th e r r Li it»t) i 11»i \ 11 To Reach Consumers in this Section Adver tise in The Ledger. . - i A Newspaper in all that the Word Implies and Devoted to the Best Interests of the People of Cherokee County. VOL. HI. NO. 44. GAFFNEY CITY. S. C.. THUKSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1896. 81.00 A YE All. n A hi CHEROKEE! Whoop! Whoop! Hurrah! Whoop-e-e! WE ARE THE PEOPLE! You Can Talk About Your Two to One But Look at This. Wc Are Going to Set Up Housekeeping for Ourselves-The Vote and How It Was Cast-Ta'lk of Fraud at White Plains. Landslide! Tonadol Earthiiuakc! Blizzard! Cyclone! Volcano! Whoop! Whoop-f>-e! We are the people! Geemany whia, great guns and what not! The people have spoken. Did you ever see the like? Talk about your two-thirds vote jing hard to carry ! I How about three-fourths and live to one? Thk Lkdgkh sends hearty greetings to the 22,000 people of Cherokee county. The day opened clear and bright. It was an ideal election day, neither hot nor cold and not too dry. The vot ing began early and by 12 o’clock three-fourths ! of the ballots had been cast and from that or. the vot ing was slow. In the afternoon the couriers began to arrive from the country precincts and in every in stance the news was incournging and that served to help those in town to work that much harder. There were no quaarels at this precinct that we know of and no fights anywhere. Let those good, brave, honest, courageous and manly men in town and country alike, who have worked so hard ond faithfully to help them selves and posterity keep shoulder to shoulder in time to come, as they have in this tight, and work for each others common good, and make this, the baby county of South Carolina, the banner county of the State. She lias the most fertile soil, the finest climate, as wonderful water power as there is anywhere, as brave, as honest, as manly men, as true, as pure and pretty women as ever made homo happy, or blessed a na tion. Let country and town keep hands joined as they have been in this fight—have no difTerenco in the towns and those in the country 'it has been our common inscrest we have fought for and won—our interests are one and the same; the people in the country arc, and have proven themselves our friends, and the town will prove by its kindly interest and treatment of our country friends that we recognize that we fought for our common good, and that our in terests are one and the same. We are cemented with interest of common good, let that same feeling exist and not be severed by the false reports of those who have none of our interests at heart, and who fought us bitterly and unfairly be fore the election, by circulating all sorts of false reports and false figures and preventing the truth to satisfy those for whom they were acting as hirelings. For those who have acted in good faith, and fought us honestly (and there were some) we bear no ill will or malice. To those whomjwe we have thought have not been fair, we extend to them a most hearty greeting and ask them to join with us—for our interest fare theirs, and make this the pride of the Tiedmont. There are some whose names have been brought more promln n ntly to the front in this fight than others, and every one knows who they are, and they have worked day and night without remuneration. Yet wo all recognize that a great deal of effec tive work was done by the quiet, un assuming voter in town and country, and our honest convictions are that each one who worked in their own way for what wo ho much needed, • nd those who wprked against it, will re^p great benefits—a rich har vest—in tile reduction of taxes and being surrounded with conveniences all taxpuyem should have in atr tending to private matters and pay ing their duty to their state and county. A step forward has been taken. We mean to move on toward prog ress, education and richness and ad vancement in general. The success of the election is duo to no one man or set of men. Every man laid down his prejudice and his business to bring about the desired result. The farmer left his farm to talk New County to his less enthusi astic neighbor. The banker forsook his hank, the merchant neglected his business, the mechanic laid aside his tools and all worked for the suc cess of the movement. It shall be the aim of The Ledger, and it speaks the wishes of the peo ple of both town and country, to have a reduction of taxes, and as soon as matters settle down we want the promises made on the stump, advocating a New County, carried out in full. Lot the people in each township, or portion of a township, elect, say five delegates, and meet at GafTney or some convenient place, snd formulate in the act creat ing the county what the people wish, fix the salaries of their public servants, reduce them to a plane \vhere the officeholder can live and not squeeze the taxpayer to death, and then when the legislature convenes and creates this county, the salaries agreed upon in con.en- tion here—fixed and approved by the people—can be put in the act creat ing the county, and we can, and will, show to those who have mis represented us, and the state at large, that ^Cherokee County can “live and let live M and run onus small a tax levy as any county in the state. Wo give the tabulated returns of all the boxes in the territory that will soon he Cherokee County, and as cun be seen Maud I'recinct in Spartanburg County is the banner precinct, custfng 5(1 votes for the county and 1 No : KI’AUTANHt'lUJ COENTY. Yes. N '" County Seat, Gaffney City. NamcJ Cher okee. Name. Lime stone. (Jii)Tii«-y. . .*>12 « 514 421 04 Grassy I’oixl. .M 11 47 Mnud .Mi 1 Ml .Y> Ezells 47 :f'.i Macedonia., is 24 Tlilekcty.. |:i 6 White I'lal's. !• 1:12 Joe Allen's Jti »> MeKclvy.. . 1 4 . Arrow wood. Cowpens 2 17 Clifton 1 Trough • • UNION COUNTY . • Draytonvilie .V.* ^ in 51 Timber Kdjrc 77 i<i 4 4 :n 37 Ghindyliurj; 27 10 25 25 1 Wllklnson'le Lil 1 1-11 117 4 Surratt’s tih ito (18 11 till YOU K COUNTY. Hlaekshurik.. 2 , .KI 70 21KI 2110 Buffalo... 42 1 42 42 Total I.4:i2 422 l.Ulfl 1.000 213 fered ns much as $0 for a single vote there. Blacksburg did manly, giving a four to one vote for the new county, while Buffalo rose to the occasion with a poll of 42 to 1. Grassy Bond gave a good round vote of 5 to 1. Ezell’s broke in our favor by 47 to 39. Our friends at Macedonia went agin us by 24 to 18, but the new coun ty advocates did noble work to hold It down to that. At White Plains the opposition kept their promise to roll up a great majority against us by voting 132 against to 9 for. Wc lift our hat to those nine patriots. We have heard of some irregulari ties at this box. but we beat them too had to claim it. Joe Allen’s went against us by 20 to 2. Again we lift our hat to the two patriots. A number of “no” votes cast in Union were illegal, not having the correct matter printed on them. However we don’t claim that. Wo let them count every vote cast against new county, whether regular or irregular, according to law or not, and we beat them just as stated in the above table. As soon as enough returns were in to Insure the new county the pent np feelings of the populace was let off and the night was made one of joyful celebrating. It is plcasent to note the few drunks when the occa sion is taken into consideration. To every man who voted for new county, we feel grateful and ac knowledge our thanks. To every man who voted “no’’ we wish to say we bear you no illwill, and may pros perity smile upon you and yours as well as us and ours. May the sun shine as bright for you ns for us, and may the grass look as green, the breeze be as refreshing, the water as sparkling, and the song of the birds be ns sweet to you as to us. Gaffney’s new band furnished excel lent music Monday and Tuesday nights. The boys played like old vets and no one would have imagined that they had only been practicing five weeks. The music was soul- AN AUSPICIOUS DAY IT WAS. stirring and helped now county. bring along tho About 12 o’clock a telegram was received from Blacksburg saying the “yes’’ ballots had all been voted and to send more. They were dispatched at once. Some of the hardest work was done in Union county that lias ever been done, and good men who had been outspoken in their opposition, turned at the very last moment. Friend mot friend and plead in earnest with them to take the progressive stop. At Timber Ridgo, new county re ceived 77 to 19. It was thought that box would bo about even. Wilkinsvillo showed up as the banner box from Union, the vote be ing 181 for to 7 against. Draytonvillo surpassed all expec tations by voting 59 to 10 for the new county, Glandyburg proved a wonder by voting 27 to 10 against, because she was so fur off. Tho greatest surprise of all came from Surratt's, where wo more than broke even by 68 to 60. Here tho hardest fighting was done. The op position hud gathered all Its force there, hoping to bout us right there. A gentleman told The Ledger yes terday tjiut tho opposition had of- SENATOR TILLMAN IN THE CITY. He Addresses About Eighteen Hun dred Voters on the Advantages and Disadvantages of Small Counties. Howl’s Ferry. (Correspondence of The Ledger.) Howell’s Ferry, December 7.— Mr. Ed. H. DeUamp was around to see us last week. Mr. DeCamp has several warm friends in this section. The C. E. society met at the hospitable home of S. L. Estes yes terday. Several hogs have been killed in this section Mr J. A. M. Estes had the finest killed one weighed 408. the other 396. Some neighbors in this section did not go to preaching yesterday. They stayed at home and read the papers to be posted on the eighth. Quite an enteresting debate was held at the school house Saturday night. The subject was. Resolved— “That character is the product of na ture rather than culture.” Each side was supplied with four speakers. Nature.—H. B. McDaniel Capt. R. L. Kirby, J. T. Estes, W. T. Cowart,. S. A. Lee, Culture—R. A. Foster, Capt. J. P. Williams, W. C. Black- well Sam J. Strain, N. J. Blackwell, The affirmative side gained. The next subject is: “Which should be educa ted to the highest extent the, male or the female?” W. T. Foster puchased a nice horse from Mr. Richer, a Tennessee drover several days ago. Sam ho. At Woods Hall. Tonight and tomorrow night Hill- ders Wonders and Gift Carnival, will appear at Woods Hall. Of the per formance tho Spartanburg (S. C.) Herald says “There was a good crowd at the opera house last night to see the performance of the Hillyer’s Won ders and Gift Carnival, and to take chances in the distribution of gifts. The show is an interesting and funny one. The thought transfer and cabi net manifestation buiness was well and cleverly done and is strictly * up to date’ puzzling and amusing every body. The distribution of gifts was fair, liberal and up to promise. The entire show went well and the people got the full value of their money in fun, astonishment and presents. Thrse Cheers for the New County. Blacksburg, 8. C., Dec. 8.—Dear Mr. Editor :—Three cheers for the new county! lam a colored citizen here, but am equally interested in common material welfare. I worked for this “New County” movement and voted today. It scorns that the day hreakoth. We tire awake to our opportunities and resource . Suc cess to Cherokee county ajid Gaff ney court house! And now, in the choice of officers, let coolness and thoughtfulness reign. J. W. Moultree. Ayer’s Pills, being composed of the essential virtues of tho host vege table aperients, without any of the woody or fibrous material whatever, is the reason why they are so much more effective and valuable than any other cathartics. Tho best family physic. Last Saturday was an auspicious day for Gaffney. Although the sun shone warm and bright and it was an ideal day overhead, the melting snow, slushy streets and the cold, damp ground made it very disagree able on the feet. The roads were heavy and travel was difficult. Not withstanding all this, an audience of at least 2,000 people greeted South Carolina’s favorite son, to hear him discuss the advantages and disad vantages of smaller counties. Of that audience there were 1,600 or 1,700 voters, nearly every man of whom was for a New County. It was known that Senator Tillman would not whoop up the new county of Lime stone. Although he was invited by tho promoters of the New County scheme, it was known that he would not utter anj other views than his own. He is a peculiar man in that respect. During the entire speech he made but one utterance that was erroneous — at least the report of Comptroller-General Norton makes it appear so. He said that Saluda’s court house would cost' her nothing, whereas, according to Mr. Norton’s report, a levy of 1A mills has been made in that county for court house bonds. Senator Tillman arrived in the city Friday afternoon on the 4 18 train from the south. It was expected that he would come on the 11.47 p m. train via Charlotte, but he found it more convenient to come by Spar tanburg. As a consequence of his unexpected arrival there were not over 200 people at the train to greet him. But these gave him a royal reception.. After being presented to the reception committee he was es corted to a carriage and driven to the home of A. A. Surratt, whose guest he was during bis stay in the city. In the evening the reception committee called on the Senator and spent a couple of hours very pleas antly. THE DAY. Saturday morning people began to arrive early. The report had been circulated in some sections that the Senator would not bo here, and a number that would have been here stayed home on that ac count. Nevertheless, .the people — principally voters—kept coming in, some in buggies and some in wagons and some on horseback. About 11 o’clock a'special train arrived from Blacksburg with about 250 Cherokee braves. They were almost u solid unit for the New County and they made the welkin ring. Along with this delegation came a brass band, which discoursed appropriate music throughout the day. THE SPEAKING. About 12 o’clock the Senator was driven down town. He stopped at the hotel u short while, the admira tion of the surging crowd, and walked from there to the speakers’ stand, Upon his arrival the band struck up a lively air, after which Chairman M. M. Tate introduced the Rev. J. D. Grout, of the Methodist church, who offered an eloquent petition. He prayed that Gotl might bless the oc casion, the people assembled and him who was to speak. After another tune by the band Chairman Tate introduced Col. T. B. Butler, who made the address of wel come. The band played again and Col. R. M. Jolly, In a neat little speech, introduced Senator Tillman. When Senator Tillman arose Giere was hearty cheering. One wag yelled out: “ Boys, he looks natural.” The crowd broke loose in cheers. The Senator spoke in part as follows: “ Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gen tlemen—I am always glad to meet the people of my own state face to face in whatever corner It may be. They have been very kind to me, perhaps kinder than I deserve [A voice: ‘No, they haven’t.], and I love them all. I have always deemed it my duty when they called on me to respond, and it is always a pleasure to greet them. I have always fought for a free expression. I have had the pleasure of meting the people of this town before. Bix years ago I spoke from the veranda of the hotel over there when I first ran for gov ernor. Two years later a portion of them came to Spartanburg wearing white caps with a certain brand of soda printed thereon. [Laughter.j They opposed me then. They had a perfect right to oppose m . They have the right to oppose me now. I bear them no ill-will because they did not see fit to support me. [Ap plause.] I merely mention this fact because opposing papers and indi- tiduals have twitted me with coming hero to help the men who tried to insult me. I look at it differently. I have a right to speak to those people who oppose me as well as those who favor me, and no man can keep me from it. My interest is your interest, and because I am in the United States Senate is no reason why it should ostracise me from you. I have charged Senators with not being in touch with their people, and I do not want to fall in that error myself. I am here simply because I was in vited here by about 100 citizens and taxpayers You are freemen. I can not dictate to you how to vote. I simply come here to present to you the facts and let you decide for your self. I might have refused to come if I had been a politician, but if I had refused I would have been a coward. I might not tell you what you want to hear, but I will get in the middle of the road and stay there. “\Ye have had some pretty hot times in South Carolina in the past six years. \Ye have stirred things with a big spoon. We have cut a wide swath and the scythe has gone pretty close to the ground. What was it for? It was to keep South Carolina from lagging behind her sister states. You swing the pendulum and it will go almost as far tho other way. The Reform movement came near swing ing the pendulum over but now it is about to get to its natural position again. The constitutional convention was in nearly an equal ballance. Previous to that it was impoisible to have smaller counties because the old court houses generally succeeded in electing their choice of representa tive^ and they would combine and tight it. It is different now. The con stitutional convention makes it pos sible for you to have smaller coun ties. You have the thing in your own hands. We provided that whenever the territory provided sufficient prop erty and population you could vote on the question. I am here to warn you against making mistakes. Be sure you are right and then go ahead. They can’t drag you into it. What is a county? It is a portion of a state cut off for specifie government. Just hero Senator Tillman went into an elaborate explanation of county government. Formly our counties were four times the size they are now. That was when the county was sparsely settled. Now the county is thickly settled and we need more convenien ces. Some one disturbed the Senator by talking in tho crowd. He stopped, looked in the direction of the distur- berandsaid:” If that man is going to talk I’ll wait until he gets through.” The crowd yelled and the Senator proceeded with his speech. “In that portion of ^ Edgefield which was cut from Saluda some peo ple had to travel forty miles in order to reach tho old county seat. The county scat was not in the geogra phical centre of the old county, lienee those people who lived in the extreme limits were placed at a groat disadvantage. The Senator then went on to ex plain how Pendleton and Cambridge were divide for the convenience of the people. The reasons for the nucleous of this new county is because the por tions of Spartanburg, Union and York to bo cat off are far from the court houses and the question is whether or not the people are ready for a new bee gum. Think of it for a moment, you men who live in the Northwest corner of Spartanburg and the west end of Union and York. You will simply swarm and leave the old gum. What are the advantages of a court house? A court house would be a school to some of you. When you are not busy you can go to court and listen to the cases and perhaps avoid some petty trouble for yourself. Then there is.a drawback. You might be so close as to encourage you to bring a little suit against some fellow when you did not have much ground for it. But then a suit in law is a luxury and you have a right to pay for it if you want it. One great advantage would be that you farmers could go to court, attend to your business and return homo to spend the night un less you got tied up with some dis pensary like some of our Edgefield people. Salem county is dead for the present but I believe they will eventually see the need of a smaller county and succeed. There are at pre sent about six new county schemes, all of which have been started since the constitutional convention. They will vote in about ten days. You will vote next week. Where do these schems originate from? It comes from the desiro of some ambi tious, wide awake town like Gaffney to become a county seat. They have that right. I den’t blame them' They cant'drag you into it. If yon don’t vote they can’t got you. Why do the old court houses work so hard to keep you in the old coun ties? Why does the Piedmont Head light fill up columns and pages' try-’ * ing to show you why you should Hot'' 1 have a new county? You have youi 1 ''* own answers so I will not say more ' than that it is because they want.to j keep your taxes and your patronage. (:;t ( Dollars and cents an 1 conscience, fil are the things to be weighed. I come here not to tell the people what to do. You have got to decide for yourselves. I will simply put the evidence. You are the jury and must decide. All that I can do is to point out the drawbacks and advantages. MEDDLING IN GAI KNEV’S I’VDDINO. I understand Gaffney has entered into a bond of $15,099 to build tho courthouse and jail. I stand here ready to make oath that the bond is good and legal and given in good faith. Tliat bond is not in the right- shape, however. That twelve year clause should not be in it, “There is many a slip between the cup and the lip.” They should build the ciurthouse right now and n >t wait twelve years. They will say I’m meddling now. Well if I am I’m midd ling with Gaffney’s pudding. I don’t doubt the sincerity of the intentions but therejshould be no “ifs and ands” about it. If Rock Hill had the chance to bid on this courthouse, she would build you u $50,000 courthouse and do it at once. I know Gaffney is not less enterprising than Rock Hill. Greenwood will build at once, and Gaffney is too plucky not to build at once. The question to he considered is: “Is it worth the cost to establish a new county?” Law and trading go hand in hand at the courthouse, and any thrifty town ought to have a courthouse if it can. You can’t hope or expect to reduce your taxes for a while at lea-t, You may do that later 011. Your taxes may ho increased. The question is whether you want it. What is it worth to you? You consider with this the loss of time and tho wear and tear of your vehicles and stock. I believe a typical county should not have a man go over ten or twelve miles to a courthouse. I believe South Carolina should have fifty or sixty counties. I merely give this as my opinion. If I had my way I would make South Carolina look like a natch quilt. It has been charged that Edgefield has become conserva tive by the change. I want to say that I never have and I never will allow my personal interest to enter into tho matter. My personal urn- ^ , bitions are secondary when the inter- " est of the people of South Carolina is at stake. I do not care whether the new county may bo against mo’ or not. It is not a question of politics^ but as to whether you want this county regardless of politics. If I have erred in coming here, my inde pendence is worth nothing. I have never knuckled or bowed to get votes, and I never will. I have been ac cused of every sin in the decalogue, but it is a personal gratification to be able to say that I have not been accused of being a fool. T have al ways noticed that small counties have the best roads, A small coun ty is like a small farm. You can at tend to it better, You men who own large plantations of thousands of acres and rent your land, kno.v it is worn out and full of gullies. A small county is more compact and you can give it better attention than you can a large one. In largo counties you do not know who you are voting for half the time. You never see a candi date until he comes around to shake your hand and kiss the babies and flutter Mrs. So and So. Pick out the best men and put them in office and then watch thorn. Watch them, I say! Don’t he nig gardly in paying your public officers. Pay enough to secure competent men and pay them enough to keep them from pilfering. Don’t let them mon key with tho public money. Sentator Tillman then went into State affairs in general, and the dis pensary in particular. He declared that if the dispensary was honestly carried out. it was the best law tho Reform party had put upon the stat utes. He wound up by asking all that were in favor of the dispensary law and the carrying out of it hon estly, to hold up their hands. Hun dreds of hands went into tho air on the affirmative vote, while but a few declared their opposition to it. The speech was frequently inter rupted with applause, and it was tho almost the unanimous verdict of the people, that it did good for the new county. The Ledger returns thanks to the Senator for his coming, and hopes at some other time t" have him address tho citizens of Cherokee county. — -• -*•*- •- — Aching Joints Announce the presence of rheuma tism which causes untdld suffering. Rheumatism is due to“ lactic f acid in the blood. It cannot ho cured by liniments or other outward applica tions. Hood’s Sarsaparilla purifies the blood, removes tho cause of rheumatism and permanently* cures this disease. This is tho testimony of thousands of people who once suf fered tho pains of rheumatism but who have actually boon cured by tak ing Hood's Sarsaparilla. Its great power to act upon tho blood and re moves every impurity is the secret of the wonderful cures by Hood’s Sarsaparilla.