Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

TILLMAN TO ELLERBE. The Senator Makes Public That Famous Letter. * SOME RED-HOT BEADING. fSpecial to The Register.~[ Spartanburg, S. C., May 22 -Sen ator Tillman, wtr gassed through, this place to-day, gave ont the follova inp* statement to the press : /' Governor Ellerbe having declined s to give my letter to the press as ' I requested, I waited to hear from him j before gi bing it out lt was written very hurriedly, and some things in it : " seemed to bim to be a reflection on \ \ bis administration, and'he also object pf ed to my strictures orv some men and things as coming through him for - ! fear they would be considered as re x ceiving bis endorsement. As I in tedded no reflection on the Governor, ; and bad no purpose of "striking v others over his shoulder," 1 have modified the language which he con sidered tc reflect on him and give * the letter to the public in the form of a statement. I only addressed it to '?: him, in the first place, because, being Governor, hcalone could order an in if vestigation It is substantially as first written, except that I have changed my comments on the Agri cultura! Hall matter some, since read 5 ' iag the opinion 4of Justice Harlan, I and left out one or two sentences which might be considered as mak ing boastful comparisons The Dispensary scandals and the re cent discussion in regard to the Agricultural Hall case have excited a deep ; feeling cf . concern in the minds cf the peo ple of the State,'and have given my 1 enemies a good excuse to engage anew in the plesant pastime of abus ing and slandering me in confection with both I commend heartly the Governor's action in pressing the re cent investigation and join? iu the sentiment : "Let no guilty man es cape." I have no desire, nor do I believe has the Governor, to make scapegoats of anyone, bot if there are any big fish in the net, let them net break through and pnnieh ou ly the little ones There bas been more or less loose ness in vogue in regard to samples from the very star.;, and it is probable that contraband liquors and samples became mixed in the minds of men connected with tbe Dispensary, so that due regard to law bas not been ? bad in the disposai of contraband seizures. But if there, are no graver crimes yt'i in connection with he management than these with which they have thus far been charged, 1 do not see that Bpmich good wili come, even if Scruggs and Gascon are punished to the full 5v-;; est extent of the law In this con nection, I wo?ild suggest that too much stress seems to be given to the having of a "ho cus pocus" key Scruggs was tbe trusted agent of .the Board of Control, so much BO that they refused or failed lo elect a Commis sioner, and I cannot see what/ need be had for a key. Shipments m UP i have been received constantly, aud I do not know how they could have been pkced in the Contraband room unless there was a key always in bis possession to open it with. It is possible, at this distance, however, and for the lack of familiarity with tbe present workings of the Dispen sary, that my criticissa along this line are worthless Samples were sent in great quantities when I was connected with the /Dispensary, and not knowing what else to do with them, they were freely distributed among the visitors to the institution, as one means of determining the qualities of the liquors, and also as courtesies. I carried some to my bouse and used them, as did Gov ernor Evans, and also, I presume, the present State Board of Control have done likewiV and I have no apology to make ir it During my term there wei very few other articles than liquor seized, through I recall the fact that kegs and small barrels of liquor were founu packed in rice barrels and also in casks of hams 1 instructed Mr Traxier to take ac count of all contraband articles and dispose of them according to law. While there is a great howl raised j in regard to the Dispensarjr by the old barroom advocates, it is done with - the view of undermining and destroy ing the Dispensary system, and they do not care so much for the punish ment of these men as they rejoice in the opportunity the recent exposure have afforded them for revamping the old slanders about "rebates." The obvious purpose of the anti newspapers-anti reform, anti-tern perance and anti-decency-their ob vious purpose, say, is to follow up the line of fight laid down long ago ; to besmirch the character of any and every man connected with the Dis pensary, and to magnify everything which can be criticised in its man agement in order to break it down in the affections of the people and to accomplish the restoration o bar rooms in some form. The system has no inherent vice which ought to woik its dissolution, and it only requires to be conducted as the asylum or as the tax depart ment is run to command the respect and support of the people. No one can claim that this is a matter of im possibility* aod if the system e finally fail it will be owing to the proper administration of the law. So much for the general subj Now, for particulars I have wa to see this week's Headlight, so a have Gantt's specific charges co' ing the administration of the under VBen Tillman and Traxlei and, li others, I have been asl ished ap the affrontery which gi out so-much smoke iind so little i He merely dips his syringe into gutter of filth and slime emanat for the last three years from News and Courier, the State, Spartanburg Heraid, and the Gre vi! e News, with which the peo have been so disgusted, and spatt me along with others with its c tents. He, however, winds up w a reiteration of the cry : ''lnvei gate : Investigate : Investigate I have not shunned nor dreaded investigation, and I do not shun ! now ; bot I venture the predict: ! that my enemies will be sorry if c be held, and will declare that it not honestly made. They do i want the time to come when th cannot dig np the question of reba! and cast insinuations against my h< esty. When these stale sland< about rebates under my administ: tion wer pot in circulation by t newspapers and then taken up General Butler, in the canvass thr years ago, T met them promptly a vigorously at Union and elsewhei and last winter I joined with Gove or Evans in asking that the Legisl tore should appoint a committee look into the Dispensary's manag ment and set the charges of corm tion at rest forever. The books the Dispensary and everything co nected with its financial affairs ha been investigated and reported < time and again by a legislative cot mittee, one of whose members w au anti, incapable of seduction or being induced to cloak wrong Tl committee bas never yet made a r port reflecting on the integrity < honesty of its management Nov the cry is "Investigate !" and whi Gantt and no one e!6e has or cs give anv satisfactory reason why ni administration of the Dispensai should be investigated, I desire t ask the Governor to select a com mi tee of citizens to enter upon an ii vestigarion immediately, and I ai willing to answer any inquiries mad* and doubt not that every other ma connected with the Dispensary i any official way would be willing t do likewise. The expense cannot b great, and could be paid out of th contingent fond, and the matter is < sufficient importance, I think, to wa rant the outlay. The friends of the Dispensary. car not allow it to be undermined an smothered in filth by the guttersnipe who are running the editorial page of our daily papers, and if any cor ruption can be shown, other thai what has already been shown- to es ist, punishment swift and sure should follow. I stand ready to expiait and justify every act of mine in con nection with the law" and I doubt no that Governor Evans can do likewise Let the matter be set at rest and thi smoldering embers of envy and hat< be put out once for all Now, in regard to the Agricultu ral Hall matter. I presume to of ei advice because I am solely responsi ble for the State's attitude in th case, and felt; at the time I took ac tion and feel still, that it was the only proper coarse to pursue. I haye seen the full text of the decision o: the Supreme Court, and speak in fol knowledge of its import The situa tion is this : Mr. Tindal cannot de liver the property if he wanted to. I cannot believe that Simonton or any other judicial tyrant will under take to take the building by force from the present State officers Ii they do, then the act of dispossessing the State will in the minds of fair minded persons show the falsity ci the decree that it is not a suit against the State. The whole fight binges on the possession of the building, and so long as the State can hold that, it must retain the advantage Once Wesley and his attorney get possession, with or without the con sent of the State, the situation will become very grave. If the State surrenders the property, then it must either sue on the mortgage for the payment of the purchase mouey or. by failing to do so, confess that it has received full payment and thereby validate by its own act the Blue Ridge bond script If it sues, then the question of the validity of the tender of that script must be deter mined by the United States Supreme Court and the legality of the Blue Ridge bends be settled by that tri bunal Judge Harlan goes into this phase of the question very fully. Attorney Lyles io his testimony before (he court and io bis statement now iu the news papers clearly sets forth the conspiracy by which the Blue Ridge bond script is to be brought before the court for judi cial determination The Judge de clares that Wesley has a right to do ! thia. TheD, with a lot of legal jargon j which only confuses the question, be cause it ls in no sense an analogous case to that of General L?e's suit for Arlington, be declares that it is not a suit against, the State, although the whole question at issue is ooe affecting the legality of the repudiated bonds, and not the title to the Agricultural Hall at ali. His purpose U to have the State herself declare the bonds valid by not aoiDg on tbe mortgage or force her : 1 B-B---c-n ioto court OD a sait, which will aim inevitably determine their validi fie would thus accomplish by indin tion what cannot be done directly. Wesley bas already bad one suit these bonds thrown out- on tbe grou that it was a suit against the Sta With bitter irony he concludes 1 opinion in these words: ' lt is ss that the judgment io tbis case m conclude the State." Not so it if judgment to the effect only tbat, as fc tween tbe plaintiff and defendants, t former is entitled to possession of t property io question, tho latter havii shown no vaii authority to withb<' tbe possession from the plaintiff ; tb tho assertion by the defendants of right to remain io possession is wit out legal fouodation. The State o beiog a party to the suit, the jud ment will cot conclude it. Not ha ing submitted its rights to the detent nation of the court in this case, it w be open to the State to bring any acti( that may be approp-iate to establii and protect whatever claim, it bas the premises in dispute. Its claim, it means to assert one, will thus I brought to the test of tbe law as a< ministered by tribunals ordained to d termine controverted rights of prope ty : and the record io this case will n be evidence against it for any purpo touch:ng the merits of the claim. If this were only a suit for tbe po session of tbe Agricultural Hall, tfaei would be DO cootroversy, for tbe Stai would never have held be property aE refused to deliver it but for the consp racy and fraud which was divulged b the tender of tbe hood script If th State takes that course, theo it volut tarily enters the Federal courra ult mately and asks for the validity of lb hoods to bo passed upon. The situs tion leaves the State but ooe course force them to dispossess its cfficei who are not parties to the suit, to pc Wesley in possession or hold the prop erty, and thus protect litigation nor Wesley and his speculating attorru (I suppose Lyles is working on a con tingent fee) shalfbe tired out. If th State is d 8poss2ssed by force, then th sophistrj and falsity as to its beinj* *> suit against (he State is proven, au we will occupy a better posiiion afte this judicial tyranny is practiced upoi us than to be dragged into the court i this underhanded and unconstitutiooa way. Unless the court was to go to the ex treme of dispossessing the present Stat officers, who are in no way conne tei with Mr. Tindal and do not hold froa or under him, the only thing tbat nee< give us any concern is the settlemeo of Mr. Tindafs bond. This, of course the State is io honor bound to pay But if it can bold possession of tb< property and thus get around tb* odium and danger of having the bigb est court in the Uoited States pass upot the repudiated radical bonds held bj Mr. Wesley, the taxpayers of the Stat may weil congratulate themselves. There is ao old legal maxim that pos session is nine points of the law, anc to Ais case it is ten points, because af long as we retain possession we retain everything, while the surrender of the property carries with it tbe loss ol everything or a serious risk of losing it, for I firmly believe that these Judges, who bave been so uoiform in sustaining Judge Simonton's interfer ence with tbe State government, will take pleasure in puttiog one more stigma upen South Carolina and give one more blow to ber sovereignty. Then if this script is validated our State debt will be increased to that amount, as the script would be good io payment of taxes if it is good in buy ing the Agricultural Hall. Io view of these facts (and aoybody is at liberty to pick flaws io the argu ment if they can), I leave to the peo pie of the State to judge between un enemies and me. The "I told you so" crowd, who have ' known all aloog that the State wculd lose and the taxpayers suffer for Tillman's desire to advertise himself," may explain if they can how else the questioD of the validity of the Blue Ridge bond script by the United States Supreme Court could have been prevented B R TILLMAN. Wounded in Leg by Dispenser J. B. Byer. Special io The Stute. Charleston, May 24 --President J. II. Dosher ol' tue Germania Brewing company was shot this afternoon by Di8peti8erJ. B. Hyer. The shooting took place at the brewery about dark and was the result of a quarrel. One word brought on another and the matter finally culminated when Dos her knocked Hyer down, the latter pulling his pistol and firing as he was falling The ball entered Dosher's leg. flyer is the dispenser at the brew ery and has supervision over all beer that goes out and conducts the place generally lt is known that bad blood has been existing between the two for some time and to-day's affair is not in the nature of a surprise to those conversant with "brewery af fairs Dosher refused to be seen to night Several visits to Hyer's resi dence elicited the response that he was out Mrs, Hyer significantly stated to The State's repiesentative that, "Mr Hyer is a very conscien tious man and will not do many things that other men resort to in business j affairs v This is probably a clue to ; the origin of the bad feeiirig between j the men. Writing paper 15 cents a pound at H. G. j Osteeo k Co's. Excitement in Spain Over the Action of tbe United States Senate. Madrid, May 21 - Io tbe Spanish Sauate to day was a heated and tumul- 1 tous debate regarding the resolution passed by the Ucited Stares yesterday to recognize t!-:e Cuban belligerents The debate here was followed by an j excited discussion in the lobbies This led to a dispute between the Duke of foreign affairs, and a Liberal Senator, Senor Coscas, which ended tn the Duke i boxing the Senator's cars. A great commotion eosued and the sitting of the Senate was suspended Tbe Lib eral minority afterwards held a meeting to consider thc situation, and ex-Pre mier Sagasta, the Liberal leader, wzs summoned to confer with bis followers. The Dake of Tetuan later io the day resigned, as a result of the incident. Senor Canovas, the premier, will take the portfolio ad interim. The Liberal Senators have decided to attend DO more sessions of the Senate until full satisfaction has been accorded to Senor Comas and the Liber al party by the Duke of Tetuan. Madrid, May 22 -1 a. m -The Duke qf Tetuan and Senator Comas have selected seconds as a preliminary to a duel. 2 a m.-The seconds of the Duke of Tetuan and Senor Comas have decided that as the aggressions were reciprocal, a duel is not necessary. (Senator Comas is probably Prof. Comas, who io June last, in the Spanish Seoate, supported the amendment to the address asking that treaties with the United States might be cancelled, ou tfee ground that they were a source of conflict aod endanger- i ed the peace of Spain and the Unithd Stales. He made a speech bitterly as sailing the United States and welcom ing the conflict which he looked oo as inevitable ) Madrid. May 21.-Senor Morefc T. Prendergast, a former minister, asked the government, on behalf of the Lib erais, io the Chamber of Deputies . to day, to submit all the papers relating to the rebellion ID Cuba and to the diplo matic relations of Spain with the powers Senor Canovss, the premier, reply ing, said the government could only attach credit to such information as was seot by General Weyler. He severely blamed the American newspapers for disseminating false news, and cited as * case io point recent statements attri buted to Consul General- Lee. The premier said : "Spains relatioos with other powers cootioue cordial, but the advice which the Americans are offering to us as to Cuba carAot be followed, because Spain will never accept any interven tion in a matter which peculiarly concerns herself. The documents which have been asked for would ooly refer to this advice. The government has accepted full responsibility for everything which bas been done bv Captain General Weyler " Senor Moret T. Prendergast asked if it were true that the United States Senate had recognized tbe belligerency of the Cuban insurgents. The premier replied that the report to that effect was oot a surprise to him, as it was a question of creating more difficulties for President McKinley in connection with tbe tarit? bill ; but he said be believed President McKinley, like Mr. Cleveland, would decide for himself in such a matter. io the course of his reply to the io terpelation, Senor Canovas said that tbe exchanges of opinion betweeo Spain and the other European powers on the subject of Cuba bad always been unof ficial The powers had showo great reserve in defioiog their views, and this attitude had led the government to believe that thfey were unwilling to offer any effective intervention between Spain and the United States. The ex change of views had been friendly, but Spain had refused the preferred media tion. The guarded tone adopted by the pre mier in reference to the belligerency vote of the Senate has made a profound impression, but the general opinion in the lobbies is that President McKinlay and Secretary Sherman will not allow the Seoate to drive them ioto a conflict with Spain. Why take Johnson's Chill & Fever Tonic? Because it cures the most stubborn case of Fever in ONE DA K The Cuban insurgents dynamited and derailed an exploring engine OD the railroad between Cristo and Sergo, province of Santiago de Cuba, and af terward fired on the train which f<>l lowcd it, plundering and burning three cars The remainder of the train put back to Cristo. The Democratic senators have held a caucus and decided to fight the tariff bill chiefly on the beer and tobacco pro visions. The talk was based largely upon the proposition to increase the tax up~m beer, which was generally criti cised as an effort to increase thc price of "the poor man's beverage," which was pronounced wholly unjustifiable in time of peace and with $120,000,000 of idle money io tho treasury. Not Offices Enough. Result of the Contested Elec tion in Dorchester County. At the hearing of General Stopple bein's contest for the office of judge of probate of Dorchester county there was a larger attendance of the tate executive committee than anti cipated Present were : T. J. Cnn ningham, Cornwelis ; D. J. Brad ham, Manning: J A McDermott, Conway ; C. M E6rd, Lexington ; W D Evans, Beimettsviile ; J A. Siigh, Newberry ; Wilie Jones, Co lumbia ; R. B Watson, Ri^ge Spring : Sheppard Nash, Sumter ; J D. Bivens, Dorchester; W. J Johnson. Fairfield, U X. Gunter, Jr , Spartanburg Messrs. George M. Rurnph and R N. Hayne represented Mr. L C. Riggs, whose election was being contested,, while Gen. Stopplebein acted for himself. As contestant, Gen Stopplebeim opened by an noucing his grounds of contest, which were to the effect that at Ridgeville and other precincts fraud had been perpetuated by increasing Riggs' vote and decreasing his. Gen Stopplebein read a mber of affida vits in support of what he said He then went on to charge that IVir. Riggs was aware of the vote being changed. He produced the poll sheet and showed that certain men whose names were on it and who were alleged to hav,; voted did not, and bearing out this statement he read affidavits from some of the men Gen Stopplebeim challenged Mr Riggs to prove that he himself had voted, notwithstanding that his name was on the poll sheet as having voted. Ile offered a good number of papers and affidavits in evidence. Mr George M Euraph opened for Mr. Riggs. He made the point that the evidence introduced by Gen. Stopplebein could not be considered by the executive commute, as it was sitting as a court of appeal and this was after discovered evidence Mr R N. Hayne followed Mr. Rump and denied the claims of Gen Stopplebeim He read counter affi davits, and before concluding an swered fully the contestant. At one point of his speech he got rather warm and declared if he said any thing offensive to Gen. Stopplebein he was ready to settle with him at any time and place. After considerable filibustering the question of calling on Mr Riggs to answer the charge of Gen. Stop plebein of not having v ted, was discussed. Mr. Rigg's representa tive opposed his being called on to answer the question Finally the executive committee passed the following resolution : Resolved, That it is the sense of the executive committee that no nomination was made for judge of probate of Dorchester county under the rules of the Democratic primary election, and that Mr. J. T. Stop plebein has as much right to 6taDd for election at the general election as Mr L C. Riggs or anybody else This ended the contest, and the committee adjourned without action of any sort on the death of Senator Earle.-The State. Capt. Romeyn Reprimanded. Washington, May 24 -The Presi dent has remitted the sentence of dismissal imposed by court martial on Captain Romeyn, Fifth infantry, who after a sensational trial, was con victed recently of assault on Lieut. O'Brien of the same regiment at Fort McPherson, Ga. In view of the fact that Captain Romeyn will retire by operation of the law on June 1, the President believes that the ends of justice will be secured by his severe reprimand The endorsement of the President ie as follows : "Exective Mansion, "Washington. May 24. "The proceedings, . findings and sentence in the case of Captain Hen ry Romeyn, Fifth infantry, are ap proved ; but upon the recommenda tion of a majority of the members q the court mai tia! and in consideration of his long and honorable service, of his wound received in battle, of the medal cf honor held by him for most distinguished gallantry in action, of the fact that he will, by operation of law, be retired for age (64 years) on the first day of June next, and of his appeal to the executive for clemency, the sentence awarded by the court is remitted In doing so, however, I cannot fail to express my condemna tion of thc conduct of which Captain Romeyn has been found guilty, and the regret that he failed upon the occasion to control his temper in a mannet becoming his service and his age. WM. MCKINLEY " There ia Nothing So Good. There is nothing just ns good as Dr. Ki&g's New Discovery for Consumption, Coughs and Colds, so demand it and do not permit the d.ialcr to sell you some substituie. lie will not claim there is anything better, but in or der to make more profit he may claim some thing eise to be just as g >od. You want Dr King's New Discovery because you know it to be safe anti reliable, and gua rai. teed to do good or money refunded. For Coughs, Colds Consumption and for all a eetions ol Throat' Cr.est and Lungs, there is nothing s good as is Dr. King's New Discovery. Trial botile free at Dr. J. F. W. DeLorm-j's Drug Store Regular size 50 cents aud 1. 3 BRADSTREET'S OBSERVA TIONS. New York, May 21 -Bradstreet's to morrow will say: The slight im provement in trade is in the tendency of business to increase in a few cities in the Northwest, on the Pacific coast and in South Atlantic Gulf States. There is increased buying at Balti more, Atlanta. Birmingham and New Orleans, where trade has revived on the announcement that the Northern Louieana. Mississippi" and Arkansas flooded districts ate'beiug placed un der cultivation and that the damage done is less than expected There are increased sales at Milwaukee, Omaha, Chicago and fct. Louis, and exports of general merchandise and lumber from San Francisco have in creased. Advices from California are the lack of seasonable rains, and long continued dry winds have injured the wheat and fruit crops Large Eastern centres report the movement of mer chandise slow and trade dui! The season is so far advanced that no general gain is looked for till after fall buying sets in The usual industries, notably cloth ing, mining, iron and steel and manu facturers o woolens are well stocked with raw material, but owing to slow ness of orders prices are easier. Makers of cotton goods are at a dis advantage, owing to the relatively high price cf cotton and tbe increase in production of products There is no gain in demand for iron and steel, prices for which continue low. The report that the steel rail, billet and wire nail makers are seeking to form a pool to advance prices is not con firmed. Exports of wheat (flour included) from both coasts of the UniteJ States and from Montreal this week amount to 2,655,862 bushels, compared with 2,183,0C0 bushels last week, 1,906, 000 bushels in the week a year ago, 2,754,000 bushels three years ago and as contrasted with 3.106,000 bushels in the like week of 1893. Exports of Indian corn amount to 3,190,043 bushels, compared with 3, 098,000 bushels last week, 6S6,000 bushels in the week a year ago, 1, 032,000 in the week two years ago, 507,000 bushels three years ago and as contrasted with 765,000 bushels in the like week of 1893. There are 245 business failures throughout the United States during the week, which is not far from what may be called the normal. This total is compared with 251 last week, 216 in the third week of May, 18SS, 206 in the like week of 1895, 137 in 1894 and 247 in the corresponding week of 1893 Williamston bas filed papers with Gov Ellerbe asking-for ao election to establish a new.couoty tc be formed of portions of Greenville nd Anderson. A dispatch from Paris says that Eather Zsbastioinan Kneipp, well known througheut tbe wcrld fer his water cure, is dead. He. bas been suf fering for some days from inflamation of the lungs Gen. Manager E. T. Bower of the South Carolina & Georgia R. R. bas been prcmote'd to tbe Vice Presidency with headquarters in New York. Mr. Joseph Sands bas been appointed Gen eral Manager. May 24. Ed Vaughan is dangerously ill ID New York, suffering from the effects of a blow received from Jaspar Leon dur iog a fistic contest. In Denmark tbe Tbatt Ministry hav ing resigned, tbe cabinet bas been entirely reconstructed. Charleston. May 19.-At a meeting of the board of trustees held this after noon. Dr. Harrison Randolph, M. A Ph D., professor of mathematics in the University of Arkansas was eleoted president ot the College of Charleston Dr Randolph succeeds Dr E. H. Shepherd, who resigued the presidency of the institution last winter. The new president of the college will fill the cl;air of mathematics and astron omy. London. May 24 -The anniversary of Queen Victoria's birth was fittingly observed to-day throughout England and Canada. Her Majesty wa?, born May 24, 1819. London will celebrate the event Wednesday. Lindon, May 25.-The Athens cor respoudendent of the Times says : "The intentions of tbe Sultan are greatly distrusted here, and it is believ ed that be is avoiding negotiations for peace through the powers because he wauts Eibem Pasba to march to Ath ens/' Such is the density of a small lake of salt water discovered in the Ural Mountains io February by Prof. Bippens dorlf. that a wooden arrow shot into its depths is expelled with such force that it flies high into the air after it comes to the surface. Much in Little Is especially true of Hood's Pills, for no medi cine ever contained so great curative power in so small space. They are a whole medicine cod's chest, always ready, al ways efficient, always sat isfactory; prevent a cold or fever, cure all liver ills, sick headache, jaundice, constipation, etc. 25c. The only Pills to take with Hood's Sarsaparilla,. Pits