Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ESTABLISH D 1865. NEW YBERRY. S. C. , THURSDAY, A 9 80 _PRO 15 R . A L.AWYEI VIEWS. Gen. Y. J. Pope on the Political Situation Why the Farmers' Movement was Instituted. [Charleston World.] LAt:RENS, May 1.-Sincee the h March convention, Laurens has bee termed headquarters for Tilhnanisn and if the large majority of Tilmnanit( to be found within the borders of ou county count for anything, she is ei titled to this honored distinction. Bu there are other counties, it seems, vih ing with this in accepting the. "T'l mania" idea, one of the most notic( able being our neighboring sister cour ty, Newberry. The daily growin popularity of Captain Tillman's can paign with the masses of the peopl throughout the state is very gratifyin to the people of Laurens County, be none the less gratifying is the fact tha a considerable number of the represet tative men throughout the State at heartily in accord with the Tillma platform, and in sympathy with th reforms demanded by the people. Tab ing it for granted that Gen. Y. J. Pop of Newberry was one of this class knowing him to have been one of th uncompromising champions of th agricultural college bill in the last gee eral assembly, your correspondent ha< quite a lengthy interview with him th other day, and from him were elicite the following answers to questions con cerning the present state of politico affairs in South Carolina: Reporter-Mr. Pope, have you an, objection to give to me for publicatioi your views upon the political issue now being discussed in the State? Mr. Pope-I esteem it the duty of man in public life to make known hi views whenever a request is made fo them, and as I am a member of th senate of this State I feel quite willin; to state my views upon such publi questions as may be under discussion. Reporter-What, in your judgment is the cause of the agitation now in th minds of the people of this State? Mr. Pope-Right there put. a ful stop. The agitation in question is no confined to the people of South Care lina. It arose as a cloud no bigger thai your hand in the far West. It has in creased with wonderful speed, unti now it is a veritable political tornado -and embraces in its sweep all the West era States and all the States of th, South. To my mind the cause of al this seems to revolve about the depres sion in agriculture. It is hard for th, tillers of the soil to understand why a] other avocations prosper except thei own. They see new railroads built an< equipped, manufactories springing ul on all side, banks organized in ever town almost, commerce in its differen ramifications prospering; and yet agri culture is depressed. It is idle to mere ly sympathize with people in want o distress. They wish something practi cal for their relief, and as no other clas of our citizens make any such practica propositions for their success, they ar resolved to help themselves. Reporter-But what p)lans do the; prospose in this State for their relief ? Mr. Pope-I am not able to speak c the work of that wonderful organiza tion known as the Farmers' Alliane because, being a lawyer, I am not abl to enter into its councils. But the fruit of this organization are patent to th eye. Prices are reduced to an exten that is almost incredible to the unini tiated. Respect for law and ordleri insisted upon, and by reason of discus sion and general reading, the intelli gence of its membership is wonderfull; improved. Reporter-Mr. Pope, wvhat you state so far, is too general; give me, if yoi can, what, in your opinion, you under stand to be the purposes of the Tillniar campaign? Mr. Pop)e-You have anticipated mi somewhat, for I wvas steadily movin; to that point, merely wishing in th< first instance to refer to some matter very nearly connected with that mnove ment. WVell, sir, I regard the openini of this campaign to have occurred ii the spring of 1886, when the first con vention of the Farmers' movenmen was held. It. was a large, influential conservative, determined body of mci -patriots in every sense-white mer and Democrats. They demanded thi establishment of an agricultural col lege. They dlemanded reform in th< expenditures of money by tihe State They demanded tlhat the constitu tior fixing the membership of the House o Representatives in this State should bi comlplied with. Nowv, I know tha mzany persons think that when tile leg islature last winter p)rovided soni means for the Clemson Agricultura and Mechanical College, that this de mand of the farmers and mechanies o this State was fully answered, hut thios, persons who have this matter deeply a heart, believe no such thing, and I an one of them. Now let me qjuietly tel you why. You remember that the lead ers in the Farmers' miovemient state( in their speeches that this new collegt could be successfullly operated withou an increase of the taxes. They did d< so. And this assertion was based upom the assumpltion thlat tile duties of th< Board of Agriculture would be devolve( upon this college and the income of th Board of Agriculture fronm tile privi lege tax would also be given to tha college. This year thec revenues fron that source are about $44,Ixin- Adld t< this amount, diminished of course b' the cost of tile analyses of fertilizers and othIer proper charges conn!ecte( therewith, the one-half of tile interes accru illg upon the bonds due by thi State for the public lands donated t< thii sState by tile Gei:eral Governmen1 1S5,70o, and the "Hatch Fund," l5,000, annually and such contributions as - are given by the State to the State university for the support of the school of agriculture and mechanical depart ment. Of course soime persons will in sist that this is money belonging to the State. Yes, it is quite true; but it does not arise from taxation direct, and being paid by the farmers themselves, who r could have in equity such a claim upon r us as they do? Reporter-But, Mr. Pope, I do not yet see where the trouble arises in re gard to the support of the college. Mr. Pope-No! and your position is j ust that of many others. You are too anxious to reach results without being willing to listen patiently to those who are supposed to be sincere in the ex e pression of their views on this subject. Now, as soon as the question in the legislature was taking a practical shape in this direction, it was ascertained that the friends of the board of agricul ture would refuse any and all overtures to dismantle it and transfer its duties e upon our new college. Besides this, with an adroitness and persistency that e could not escape attention, the oppo " nents of the new college were most e careful and potential to prevent any e appropriation of the privilege tax, a tag tax, to extend beyond this year. In niy judgment the farmers and e mechanics of this State demand the complete establishment of the Agricul tural and Mechanical college, and will be satisfied with nothing short of this. Suppose either branch of the general assembly should refuse to do this, or suppose both branches of the general s assembly should consent to this and the governor of the State should veto the bill. What would be the eff'ect? s Once stop the wheels of this new col r lege, disperse its students and profes sors, and what would be its effect? The farmers and mechanics wish no "ifs" about their college. Besides all this, there were five senators upon the floor of the senate last year who denied that the farmers wished this college. This campaign is designed to settle that 1 question. If the people do not wish t this college then let it be abandoned; - but no way exists to settle this matter under our constitution and laws save - the election of persons pledged to its 1 support. This is what makes the peo ple restive. This is what makes them assume the offensive in this combat of ideas, of principles and of policies. They are alive to to their importance. They demand, therefore, that they shall have a candidate for governor 1 and members of the general assembly r who will be pledged to the protection of their interests. Reporter-Now, Mr. Pope, you have reached a point that will justify me, I t trust, in asking you what you think of - the March convention, its platform, - and its canditate? r Mr. Pope--First, as to the March ~ convention; some good men complain a of its (late. Why just reflect a moment, I and you wvill see that many persons who Swould have preferred a canditate other than Governor Richardson in 1888, stated frankly that as Mr. Richardson made the campaign as required by the fconstitution of the Democratic party of -the State, he alone shoud in common fairness stand as the candidate before t he September convention, a.nd the a members of the Farmers' movement Swere twitted with this when they tsought to prefer Gen. Earle as their - candidate. Now, the farmers and me a chanies have determined that this year - they will be on the ground early and stay all the summer and fall-aye even in mid-winter. I hold that any section or wing of the D)emocratic par. -ty~ inl this State has the right to select a candidate for the office of governor; p ovided, always, that they submit their candidate to the State convention fairly and squarely when that conven tion meets, and faithfully abide by the result of that body. What possible harm to the party can arise by discus -sion of public questions before the peo pIe; p)rovided courtesy obtaIns tetween man and man; provided an honest pledge is made to abide by the result of the canvass of thme State which controls in the selection of out candidate or an other. B ut our people ought always to remeniber that we arc one family, and the fullest consideration should be ac corded to every one, whether in office or (out of office; that on no account ought wve as a people to countenance the stiletto of the assassin. As brave Smen, if changes are to be made, let them be made publicly. We should not, <n the other hand be too thin skinned. If the success of any depart mecnt of the State government is chal Ilenged, it is not a reflection per se upon01 -the in tegrity of the temporary occu fpant of' such department. WVe ought to recall the stormym days in the history of this rep)ublic when Adams and Hamilton were on one side, and Jeffe~r son and MIadison wvere on the other. We should never forget that the oflices belong to the people, andi the officers occupying them are our hired servants, under a contract, and that as soon as that conltract expires, it rests with the people whether such servants shall be hired again. Second. As to the platform of the MIarch convention, it is fully before the people and I believe meets with general atpproval. There is certain ly nothing there written that justifies a moment's ainxiety as to what its framersand sup porters will do in the event the peo pIe of the Democratic party of this State should fail to nouminate its head for Goenr Third. As to the candidate, let me in the first place state my deliberate con viction that MIr. Tillman's candidacy wsthe result of the earnest importun insof his friends-thle friends of the Farmers' novementin this State. Many of those gentlemen, remembering that. Mr. Tillman in some of his first letters and speeches had said he "was not a candidate, etc.," anxiously turned to different portions of the State to obtain a candidate who has never made any such utterances, and who would carry into effect the principles and policy of the Farmers' movement, if elected. They wished a farmer fully identified with the principles and policy of the Farmers' movement. They wished a bold aggressive leader. They wished a true son of thisState. They wished a son of this State the people trusted. And Capt. B. I. Tillman of Edgefield possessed these qualifications more thoroughly than anyone they knew, and, on this account, they prevailed upon him to become their candidate. And now, sir, the farmers and me chanics of this State, having forced Mr. Tillman to the front, is it any wonder that these people are more warmly attached to him, every time a public speaker, or newspaper editor strikes him'? Mark my prediction; many of the very men who carp at the March con vention and its candidate for governor will soon applaud another candidate of another convention which shall be assemblcd long before the State Demo cratic convention shall assemble in September next. Mr. Tillman is known to me person ally and that knowledge enables me to think of him most kindly as a man. His public acts lead me to trust him very heartily, and his ability asa farm er, as business man, as the pioneer in every channel that presents itself for uplifting and bettering the condition of the farmer and mechanic, make me doubly sure that all other classes and industries in our State will have cause, after his election as governor, to hail him as a most worthy chief magistrate. I have occupied so much time that I cannot discuss the questions relating to reapportionment, although it is most important to the harmony of the people and the constitutional rights in this State that a legislature shall be chosen pledged to the discharge of this high duty. And likewise I will not now occupy your time with my views on retrench ment and reform in the expenditure of the people's money. LET US HAVE PEACE. Personalities Should be Left Out of the Campaign. [Greenville News.] We find the following printed in the News and Courier: To the Editor of the News and Courier; Mr. Tillman went considera bly out of his way in the meeting at Anderson to speak in the hardest man ner of me. I am not a pagnacious man, and I deplore the injection of personal matters into this important canvass. But as I shall be at Anderson on the (lay (.June 18) appointed at the State Democratic Executive Committee for a meeting there, I shall a'sk the good people assembled to hear me in vindi cation of my course in this campaign. I think it may interest those who' heard what Mir. Tillmnan said of me in my absence to hear what I shall bave to say of him in his presence. JOHN J. DARGAN. Statesburg, S. C., Mlay 1.5. We do not know what it means, but it does not read pleasantly. Nobody in South Carolina can doubt Colonel Dargan's courage or honesty, but the above card gives grave reas4on for doubting his discretion. The people of this State have the right to demand that men who have p)ersonal differences shall settle them personally, between themselves. If fighting is necessary in any case, it ought to be postponed until the cam paign is over. Quiet people who at tend political meetings to hear politi cal discussions should not be disturbed or endangered by personal brawls; and what is more, they will not submit to being so troubled. In this part of the State we have practical ideas regarding such matters, and any gentleman who manifests a disposition to make trouble at a p)ublic meeting, with provocation or without it, on the stand or oft it, is liable to find himself collared by an officer and ignominiously marched off to the lock-up. Col. Dargan has many friends in upper Carolina who would in ordinary circumstances be delighted to see him. In this case, however, the great major ity of themi, we think, would advise him to stay away. He can do no good to any body and may do much harm by coming to confronit M1r. Tillmian at Anderson. It is of preeminent importance to the State and its every interest that this campaign shall be conducted peaceful ly. A single disturbance may do in calculable harm. It is the duty of ev ery brave and patriotic man to under stand those facts and govern his con dulct by them. If Captain Trillmlan goes about insulting people there will be plenty of time and opportunity to call him to account and nothing will be lost by delay. Solctude for White House Guests. [From the Washington Post.] The Executive (Committee of the W\oman's Christ ian Temiperance Union of the District, at a largely attended meeting yesterday afternoon at their headquarters, p)assedl the following reso lution: Resolred, That the Wonman's Churis tian Temperance Union of thet District of Columbia, deeply regret that P'resi dent Harrison furnishes wine to guests at the White House. The committee authorized the Secre tary of the society to send acopy of this resolution, officially signed, to the TO CAPTAIN TILLMAN. An Open Letter from Conii-rioner of Agriculture nutler. To the LIitor of The Daily News: In your report of the meeting at Ander son on the 10th inst., Captain Tillman is alleged to have made certain charges against the management of the Depart ment of Agriculture, in reply to which I beg yot. to give space to the following letter. A. P. BIriL:rn . CoLu3m1IA, S. C., May 15th, 18:10. Captain B. R. Tillman: In the news paper reports of your speech at Ander son, on May 10th, you are reported as charging, substantially, that the De partment of Ag"ieulture has permitted the. farmers of South Carolina to be de frauded in the purchase of commercial fertilizers by failure to punish nanu facturers whose gords fall below their guarantees. You are further reported to have said that you could prove all you charged and quoted from the Annual Report of the Department for the year 18l as authority upon which to sustain your statement. The legal penalty in regard to deti cient fertilizers is seizure, condeimna tion and sale, and because this penalty has not been inflicted, you deny that any other penalty has been imposed. This provision of the law cannot be enforced for the sutficient reason that when the analyses are made the fertili zers have been put in the ground and are out of reach of an action of the kind prescribed. The defect in the law has been reported to the Legislature and could have been amended if that body had thought it necessary or desirable. That this has not been done, forces us to the conclusion that the representa tives of the people honestly believed that that the existing laws were sutli cient, or that the action of the Depart ment itself had made amendments ne cessary. While therefore, we have not seized and sold deficient fertilizers, we have detected and exposed deficiencies, as the very report from which you quoted shows. Finding that the law did not reach the case, as contemplated, the Depart ment resorted to the publication of the manufacturers' guarantee alongside of the official analysis, printing in italics those brands falling below the guaran tee. This directed attention inmmedi ately to all deficient brands. It silould be understood, however, that the De partnment has never undertaken to ex ercise the judicial authority to declare which, if any, of such brands were fraudulent. This penalty, voluutarily imposed by the Department, was, after detection, put upon every brand no matter how slight the deficiency. In one case this deficiency amounted to only one one-hundredth e one pier cent. of potash, the cheapest ingredient used in commercial fertilizers. The Depart ment could not say that this was a fraud any more than it could officially pronounce other brands fraudulent where the difference was greater. Just what constitutes fraud is a question to be deter mined by the courts alone. There nmay be a difference of op)inion as to whether merely exposing the de ficiency was sufficient punishment, but the Legislature has so regarded it be cause it has for ten years failed to pro vide other punishment, even after the defects in the law had been officially reported. But the best evidence of the effect of this method of punIIishmwent is found in the subsequent reports of the Department. This plan [for italicizing deficient brands] was first adopted in 1884. An exanminmation of our reports since that time will show that there has been a steady improvement inm the value of fertilizers. It was not ex pected that it would in one season result in bringi:ing every brand up to the guaran tee because new brands are being intro duced every year and the manufactu rers of such brands, not having real ized the effect of this p)enalty, might take risks that those who had once been exposed would afterwards avoid if possible. With the exception of the ammoniated fertilizers in a single season, the improvement in the grade of fertilizers has been marked. Take, for instance, the report that you so garbled in miaking your charges. It is there shown that the averages of the manufacturers' guaran tee for ammoniated fertilizes were: Available Phosphoric Acid..8.22 Per C't. Ammonia.... .............2.I8 " " Potash.......................1.49 " " Commercial value.......... 820.7n The averages of the analyses by our chemist were: Available Phosphoric Acid..S.30 1Zhr ('t. Ammonia................... Potash.......................2 17" Commercial value............ $24.47 Now this shows that, taking the gen eral sale throughout the State, these goods for that season e:receded the imanufacturers' guarantee in P~r. et. A vailable phmosphoric acid..........1.0)8 Ammronia ..................... .......43 Potash .............................. Conmmercial value 8.68 per ton. Why did you not explain this aolso'.' Was it because vou had dleterminted to denounce the Decpartmenmt of Agricul ture regardlless of facts anid sinmply miade use of such garbled extractsa:s suited the putrp)ose you had ini view' I am forced to that conclusion. Tlhiis is coni firmed by the further reply you are saidl to haive imade~ wheni asked what had become of the Imonley of the Department, and( replied that you "did not know." The report in) which you found so much to con demn, contained, as you well knew, an itemized statement of every expen diture made by the Department for that year. You therefore (lid know the purposes for which it had been ex- I Cl pended, and your answer was worse than a simple evasion of the question. L You have assumed that all fertilizers found deficient are fraudulent, and that in all such cases the farmers are swindled. The agricultural value of many brands of this character is not affected by the slight deficiencies de- he tected, but all are published because be consumers have a right to know the hi exact results obtained. It is often the de case that the commercial value of such th fertilizers exceeds the guarantee. But, w] there being a difference between com- pt mercial and agricultural values, we re gard and treat any plant-food as "defi- of cient." You, ignorantly or malicious- sa ly, take extracts from a table com- vi piled in this way to show that all "de- gr ficient" fertilizers are fradulent. p1 The imperfections in the fertilizer m laws have been admitted and pointed ar out and efforts made to correct them, so but, until that is done, the Department foI of Agriculture can only execute such de laws as exist. At the risk of again being charged ev with collusion with the manufacturers, tri I will say, that in my opinion, based fai upon official experience for the last ten an years, the manufacturer who deliberate- -l ly and intentionally attempts to th defraud the farmer is the exception, la< and further, I believe that in every of case where this has been attempted, it fol has failed of success because of the De- as partient's. supervision. If you know anything to the contrary you should an state it. I therefore challenge you to point to of one instance where the farmers have th been defrauded by the manufacturers of an fertilizers, where such fraud was not th punished with all power that the De-w partment had at its command, and de- ge mand that you make good your charge or retract it. A. P. BUTLER, els Commissioner of Agriculture. o MR. TILLMAN ASKED TO ANSWER. do To the Editor of the News and Cour- th ier: I have just been shown by a friend ab Commissioner Butler's open letter to wc Capt. B. R. Tillman, published in the w< News and Courier in reply to charges an made by him in his Anderson speech- col I am free to confess that I have been a ou warm supporter and an ardent admirer thi of Capt. Tillman, because I have be- pe: lieved him to be a sincere and true ne friend of the farmer, and that when he ] uttered the charges of "rottenness, cor- th, ruption," etc., etc., against the State th: officers that he had indubitable proof, crc however much we might regret it, and ab] that they would be sustained. But ev4 since reading Commissioner Butler's ar( calm and dignified reply, and which del 4eens to me so truthful, that I am con vinced that Capt. Tillman must bring ms Forth positive proof to sustain the ta> charges made not only against the fac ther State officers, or he will and bo rnust go to the wall. he Mere accusations will not do, if the sharges are not sustained by positive va] md undeniable proof. I don't believe to :hat the honorable people of South sor l'arolina will elevate by their votes any nlo mxan to rule over them who will delib- th( ~rately make false charges to the injury no >f the gentlemen who have been placed poi n the highest offices within the gift of ter .he people--men who have served their As yountry so well, both in peace and war. bli ['le true men of South Carolina will thi a)t permit any man to go into the hu bigh and distinguished office of Gover- iti :ior over the bodies of men who have go :>een attempted to be dragged down by in ralse and unsustained charges. Capt. St l'illman must reply to Commissioner ( Blutler's lett.er of denial with proof, or for be will and must go down to posterity cal 'unwept, unhonored and unsung." He [> cannot, he dare not try to'escape by of remaining silent, and if he fails I be- wr lieve every true son of this State will wi Lise every honorable effort to defeat is bim, and will defeat him. WV. W. WILsos. for Th H. Should Get Himself Together. -- hal [Anderson Journal.) tay Capt. Tillman should get himself to- ] ;ether a little better when he speaks ex mgain. In his recent speech at Ander- du on, he said, and re-iterated, that he tio was a "candidate for Governor put up ] >y the farmrers," &c., and in the same tio speech lhe said the March convention wi was not a farmers' convention, and if mi mny one disputed it he would prove his statement by reading the Shell call. pr~ [f that was not a farmers' convention mi bow did he get to be the farmers' can- wi lidate 7 in Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly. on --- are Frederic Arthur Bridgman,t he Orien- tar ~alist painter, is characterized by Mrs. int Schuyler Van Rensselaer, in Frank J Leslie's Popular Monthly for Junie, as a poi :yp)ical American artist, because in art, cai "just now, it is the cosmopolite who is to cy pical, the thorough-paced American po who is exceptional." Some admirable pih engravings and fac-similes of Mr. Bridg- do 'nan's pictures are given. Another not- pel mble attraction of this number is a pro ~usely illustrated article on that "mile tel 4 history," the Bowery, of New York oui ~ity, by Felix Oldboy, the well-known thi oral historiani, who seems to have in ierited Irving's charm of style and tre ~und of GJothami-lore. Other interesting wi Ilustrated articles are: "The Life of a rLongshoremnan," Dr. Guernsey's con -ludinug paper on "Frederick t he Great," Womien Wearers of Men's Clothes," "A Mysterious and Dreaded Saurian" for the Gila Monster), "The Last of the he MIohicans," and "Traveling by Air." mi The short stories, poems, literary and ga: >thier miscellany, supplied in the abun- -m: lance which is characteristic of this wi miagazine, make up an uncommonly th rich number. x PTAIN TILLMAN AND THE FARMER. t Him Tell What He Intends to Do to to Make Their Condition Better What Reforms and Howr [Greenvill News.] We observe that our usually level aded friend Col. Y. J. Pope, of New rry, in a recently printed interview, s a good deal to say of "agricultural pression" and in that respect follows e example of many other gentlemen 20 have given their opinions to the blic. This caters to the natural tendency human nature to find a melancholy tisfaction in regarding itself as the tim of persecution. It is likewise teful reading to a number of peo who by bad luck or bad manage :nt have failed to prosper and who a well pleased by any course of rea ning that removes the responsibility their troubles from their own shoul rs and lays it upon somebody else. a matter of cold, hard fact, how er, there is in this part of the coun r no "agri-:ultural depression." The mers appear to us to be full of life d strength and hope. They are well d and well fed and generally pay air bills promptly. None of them k the necessaries of life and many them have good supplies of its com ts. Very few of them are as well off they would like to be, but that re irk applies to every other profession d occupation. There are all over the rld men and women with incomes from ten thousand to one hundred usand dollars a year who feel poor d are frequently unhappy because y wish for more than they have and >uld like to own. things they cannot Ve do not wish farmers, or anybody e, to be satisfied. When people be ne satisfied with what they have ne they quit and become useless to world. Reforms are all brought ut by dissatisfied people. We 'uld like to see farmers continue ring in their fields and in meetings d voting at the polls to make their idition better than it is, but nobody ht to try to make them believe that ir condition is so desperate that des rate and revolutionary measures are essary to amend it. very intelligent farmer knows that condition of his class is better now In it has been in fifty years. A good p has been made and sold at profit e prices; goods are cheaper than r before; money is cheaper; lands higher; stock is in good condition; ts are less. [he changes he needs in political ,tters in the State are reductions of :ation, improvement of public school ilities and changes in the lien and nestead laws and it is to those things should direct his attention. Len and names are of no particular ue to him. It does not matter a rap uim whether Ben Tillman or John Hagood or anybody else is Gover -What he is interested in is what man who asks his vote for Gover can and will do and that is the nt to which he should keep his at tion glued during this campaign. a sensible man he should not run adly off after a man he knows no ng of and join in a whoop and Crah. As a citizen and a tax payer s his duty to know that his vote will for the man who will use his power elligently to meet the needs of the ate and the people. japtain Tillmnan is running on a re m schedule, but so far we do not re I but one practical reform he has posed. He has told the public much what he thinks is done that is ang, but he has told very little of at he thinks ought to be done that etter. fe has a plan for using the tag tax the good of the Clemson College. at is right so far as it goes. le has not indicated how a mill or a f mill can be taken from the State :es. {e has given no hint of how county enses and taxation are to be re :ed in case a constitutional conven a is called uis platform calls for a constitu tial convention but he has not told at changes he thinks should be de in the constitution. {e has expressed an idea for the im >vement of the pubilc schools which ,y or may not work successfully, ieh it is the duty of citizens to look o closely before endorsing. le has told nothing of his position the lien or homestead Jaws-which of vital and far reaching impor ice and in which every farmer is erested. {e should be required to define his ition on all these matters during the npaign. He should not be allowed go to Columbia entrusted with ver to recommend and vote on a ,tform of what somebody else has 2e wrong or left undone and of the secutions and poverty of the farmer. what the people should make him l is what he intends to do and thinks ht to be done in the State to make ir condition better than it is. ederal politics, thu. tariff and sub asury scheme, have nothing to do th his candidacy. They All Do It in Edgefield. [Edgefield Advertiser.] Ye have known Capt. Ben Tillman nearly twenty years and have niever ird aught against his character as a Ln or citizen. His recordl in this re d is as absolutely clean as any kn's in the county. He says d--n it en lie stumps his toe, but we all do it, at least all Edgefield people do it, sanp- the prachers. ASKED TO GET ?UPON A HIGHER PLANE. Efforts to Array Class Against Class Rep rehensible and Injurious. f Augusta Chronicle.] The Chronicle has been entirely fair to Capt. Ben. R. Tillman in his can didacy for the nomination of the Dem ocratic party for Governor of South Carolina, and it is in no spirit of un kindness that it criticises certain ex pressions in his Anderson speech. Capt. Tillman has as much right as any other citizen of his State to run for the Democratic nomination, but a can didacy cannot be advanced and Dem ocratic unity cannot be promoted by his 'charges of extravagance and cor ruption against the present and pre ceding Democratic administrations, and by ridiculing and; abusing certain institutions of his State whose officials and graduates have done so much in war and in peace for the honor and glory of their common wealth. There is no hope for Democratic su premacy in South Carolina but in the unity of her white people, and no man is justified in endangering that unity by endeavoring to draw a line of de marcation between them. Any es trangement would result in disaster, politically and materially, to the best interests of the party and the State. Capt. Tillman complains because certain newspapers have misrepre sented and maligned him, but he does not confine his abuse to the newspa pers. He pitches into the South Caro lina College and refers to the Citadel Academy as "a dude factory." It was not in good taste for Capt. Tillman to refer to "aristocratic poli ticians," who are now in office, as big slave owners before the war. This is an effort to excite prejudice and to array one class against another. Surely it was no crime to be a slave owner before the war. The Chronicle suggests to Capt. Tili man to bridle his tongue and to pitch his canvass upon a higher plane. He and his supporters should leave no wounds that cannot be healed. Capt. Tillman should remember, in the event of his election, that he would be come the Governor of his whole people, and that it will be his duty to deal justly and conrteously with the officers and students of the South Carolina college and the Citadel Academy, as well as those of the Clemson college. Let us pitch our politics in both States on a high standard and frown down anything like personal abuse and appeals to the passions and preju dices of the people. .There is nothing more reprehensible or injurious than efforts to array class against class, and interest against interest. The arts of the demagogue should . be discoun tenanced. Policies, principles and meas ures should be discussed, and all efforts to divide our people and to disintegrate our party should be condemned. Abuse never helps any good cause and mis repsentation should never be resorted to in any interest. In no spirit of unfairness, but with a single purpose to promote unity among the Democratic people of our own and our sister State, The Chronicle makes this appeal for justice, courtesy and harmony among Democrats in the dis cussion of public questions. The Tillman sentiment in Abbevile. [Abbeville Press and Banner.j It is claimed, we believe, that eighty per cent- of the voters of this State are farmers, and it is further claimed that they should of right have the privilege of nomiBating at least one Governor from their own ranks. Governor Wade Hampton was a farm er. Governor Thios. B. Jeter was a farm er. Governor Johnson Hagood was a farmer. Governor John Peter Richardson is a farmer. Governor Hugh S. Thompson was a teacher. Governor WV. D. Simpson was a law yer. From the above statement it would seem that the farmers have been hold ing their own sagainst the world, and we don't know that anybody ever be fore advocated the nomination of a candidate for office because he was a member of any particular profession. The objection to Tiliman is not that he is a farmer. Even ad mitting that he is a Christian. gentleman, possessing all the require menits for being put at the head of the government, and for being put forward as the leader in South Carolina society, his methods of procuring the nomina tion for that high and important office are not such as to commend him to the favorable opinion of the conserva tive and prudent element of the State. As we undersand, Mr. Tillman did not put his claims before the whole peo ple. He appealed to a class, and by the barest majority of his chosen followe rs secured the "suggestion." We think Mr. Tillman made his ap peal to the "common people," thoug h we have not the copy of the letter bc fore us. If an outsider should speak of his followers as "common people," we think the speech would certainly be offensive to the more intelligent of his friends. Again, Mr. Tillman said some thing at Ridgeway about his followers acting like "jackasses."' General Hamp ton, when he canvassed this State in 18763, spoke of his followers as "friends," "fellow citizens," "Carolinians," and "brother soldiers",of the "Lost cause." As to the eighty per cent. business. In Abbeville County we have about three thousand white voters. In the towns of Abbeville County there are perhaps about -one thousand voters, who are engaged in other pursuits than farming. Of those in town nearly all will vote against Mr. Tillman. His chief support will be from the country, but it is certain that a large per cent. of the conservative and thinking element will not support Mr. Tillman. Look ing at the situation in this light, we believe it pretty safe to say that in a primary election, where every man may vote as he pleases, Abbeville may be set down as doubtful now, with the cer tainty that Mr. Tillman can not keep I all of his followers in line until-Septem ber. The majority as shown last sale day for Tillman was, in our opinioi, more seeming than real. The Tilimanites in the county had exercised the same en thusiasm before that meeting that was manifest in the matter of the Shell con vention. They were thoroughly organ ized, while the opposition was not organized. MOCKBEE TO TILLXAN. A Chester Representative Gives Some His tory of that Railroad Vote and Does Rather Plain Talking. To the Editor of the News and Cou rier: In answer to your question in the editorial on the Tillman-Shell charge of being "bamboozled or debauched," contained in your issue ofMay 13, I beg leave to reply that I suppose Tillman, Shell, or whoever the author of that notable manifesto may be, was in need of something with which to fill upspace and could think of nothing else when he could get in those two high-sounding words "bamboozled or debauched," so as to make them effective in misleading the Democratic farmers of the State, and in hiding their real motive of seek ing place and power-the ruse of cry ing stop thief. Just here let me say that in framing that paragraph of the "Manifesto" as little regard for truth or want of in formation upon public affairs was shown as has characterized all or most all their utterances for the past two years and which has driven away from the "Farmers' Movement" some of the best men of the State. I will say as to the "charge," theonly truth contained in it is that I voted for the passage of the general railroad law in 1882 and at the next session voted to amend it-and why? Because, in my judgment, after see ing the workings and effects of-the law, it gave too great powers to the commission over the property and busi ness of one class of citizens, and at the same time it was seen that the people of the State were not receiving the benefit that we expected ,from the law as it then stood. I found it especially so with my constituents, and after con sulting with many of the leading busi ness men of Chester County, farmers and others, I determined to do all in my power to correct what I believed to be a grave mistake. Duriug the session of 1883 I was more fully confirmed in my change of opinion by the numerous petitions from different portions of the State praying for the repeal or modifi cation of the law. Notably among those petitions will be found on page 171, House Journal, 1883, one by Mr. Strib ling, of Oconee County; on page 19)6, one by Mr. Aiken, from the citizens of Edgelield County; and on the same page, one by Mr. Talbert, president of the Shell convention, "from the busi ness men of Johnston"; on page 208, one by Mr. Croft from citizens of Aiken; on page 233, two petitions by Mr. Shands, of Laurens County; on page 285, two by Mr. McIver, from citizens of Darlington-all of which went to show that the people of the State desired a change of the law, and would convince any fair minded man that those who voted to amaend it were neither "bamboozled or debauched." As to whether I was bamboozled or debauched let us have the verdict of the Democratic party of Chester County. In the campaign of 1884 1 was again a candidate at the Democratic primary, and went before the people upon my record and upon every stand in the county gave to the people, face to face, an account of my stewardship, and especially as to how and why I voted thus and so on all important measures, and particularly why I voted to amend the rail road law. Now, I would asked Messrs. Tillman, Shell & Co., do they think; the Democratic voters, "farmers" and all who in that primary election nominated me by the largest vote given any man for the Legislature, were "bamboozled or debauched'' into doing so, and if so, why did Mr. Tillman's particular friend and ally, Dr. Timmer man, of Edgefield County, who had served with me in the Legislature during the term of 1882-83 and knew my record well, recommend-me as a fit person to lead in the organization of the Farmers' Movement in Cheste: County, and which, I believe, Mr. Tilt man himself will give me credit for do ing as thoroughly as possible. In conclusion, let me say that the Farmers' Movement had my heartiest support and Mr. Tillman my sympathy until his groundless charges of corrup tion and extravagance against our chosen Democratic officials and leaders and his egotistical laudation of himself, capped finally by having a committee appointed by a Farmers' Convention, of which he was made chairman, to attend upon sessions of the Legislature of South Carolina to bulldoze "bam boozle or debauch" its members into voting for such measures as he and his henchmen had agreed upon. All of which was conclusive proof to me at least that I and the Democratic farmers of South Carolina had made a serious mistake as to our leader, in which view I am confirmed by the Shell manifesto, the March Convention, and his every utterance there and since. Democrats of South Carolina, the great Bamboozler is abroad in the land, and his name is B. R. Tillman. IR. T. MOCKBEE. The Alliance Swind1Od. [Pickens Sentinel.1 It is reported that the Alliance ex change at Dallas, Texas, has swindled the farmers to the tune of three mil lion dollars in the last three years. Politicians inside of the ring is said t'. be the cause. Sensational develop mnents are promised the public. He Des,erved a Squzare MeaL. "I lead a post prandial sort of life," said the scholarly tramp. "What sort of a life is that?" "T am always afterdnner."'