The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1868-09-30
Democratic Prospects ia tie

ing Il table showing the number OF re&l~-
tered voters in the State, the vote cast to.
and against the constitution in April last,
and tile number OF persons not voting ut
that election; and we do thisin order that
our people may be convinced that they
can roll up large vote for the Democratic
candidates at the elections TO be held IL
November. The odds against US are not
so great that victory is impossible, and. at
the worst we may be sure Of carrying dis
tricts enough to make 'he Radical tenure
otpowerin this State miserably uncertain.
According to the registration OF March
81. 1868, there was an absolute white ma
lority in Anderson, Chesterfield, Green
Vile, Horny, Lancaster, Lexington. Ma
rion. Pickens and Spartanburg, and in
York the colored majority was only 10:
But in Anderson, uorry. Pickons and
Spartanburg alone was the negro consti-
tuition defeated at the elections held in the
following april. The other districts, five
in number in which the whites had ma,
lority of the registered votes, were car
ried by the negroes. This sad result was
caused by the supinencss of the white
voters; for the official returns show that
the five districts referred TO could have
polled a large majority agalnst the con-
stituton, if none of the qualified voters
mad stayed away from the polls! Tho
Radicals and their allies voted in q solid
phalanx; but hundreds of white men, and
hundreds OF negroes who would have vo-
ted with the white men, did not go to the
polls at all. 1t was taken for granted
that contest would be vain and futile,
and in Chesterfield, Greenville, Lancaster,
Lexington aud Marion alone, there were
three thousand sic hundred and nanety-three
persons who did not cast their votes. The
majority for the constitution in these dis
tricts was but fifteen hundred and ttrenty-
fre. Nor was this all; for i'll no less than
seven other districts in the State the.
qnaIitcd voters who did not vote could
have turned the scale and defeated the
constitution.
1t was now too late to accomplish this
great end; but the Democracy of the
State made ready to work in earnest, and
under the auspices OF the State Demo-
cratic Convention arranged a plan OF opc-
,4.tinns for the ensuing election--that of
county otticcrs-which took place in June
last. With the result of that election ev-
ry one is familiar; but it may do goodto
recaptuate here the circumstances OF the
struggle and the glorious result.
At the elections held in April, the negro
constitution was ratified in every district
but Anderson, Horny, oconee, PiclSens
and Spartanburg. The negro registered
majority in the State at that lime wac
about 81, ,Uv0; and 50, ,55l qualified voters
did not voto. The Democrats OF tie
State had about months time, and they
made noble nse of it. The day OF cleo
ton came There was no question OF
whethcrft was worth while TO vote-wheth-
or it would do any good. Men voted them
selves. and persuaded their friends and
their hired men to vote. Some, of course,
were careless and indolent. but the great
majority of our people strove with all
their might to drag victory from the
teeth of a numerical majority. The news
was not long in flashing through the
State. Fifteen districts gave Democratic
maiorlties. Darlington bad gained 69S
votes, Laurens 1918. Chester lc6U. Orange
burg 243, Union 1918, Spartanburg l92,
Lancaster llS, Kcrshaw l7Z6. Oconee
llO. Abbeville 2u76, Greenville 99T. York
2uu7. and other districts had gained in q
similar proportion. This was the fruit Of
working systematically and intelIigcnlly
about four weeks, and surely il was
enough to cheer ON our Democracy in
any contest which might follow.
The question now is, whether South
Carolina will. in November next, cast her
electoral vote tor Seymour or for Grant.
We know that the State can he earned
by the Democrats, and we believe that 1t
will. The Democratic party is now as
thoroughly organized as rhc Republican,
partv has ever been. In each district,
and in each ward or precinct, there is the
Democratic club Every respectable white
man il the State is Il Dcmocrutc can
vasser. and the negroes by the hundreds
arc Joining the clubs of the colored Dem
ocr;.ts Measures have been taken that
will prevent iraduient voting. NO negro
will be able with impun.iy to cast dozen
votes for Grant aud ColtaX. Every man
will be watched. and it will be seen that
each one does his duty. And what nave
we 10 work against? Only negro NM
ioritv of say forty thousand, to which
may bo added perhaps fifty white men
,~h3 will choose to vote the Radical tick
et Forty thousand and fifty votes in
this great State is all that we have to
overcome, if We assume that every negro
in the State will vote the Radical ticket.
From tl.is majority VIC may dcdnct the
increase in tic white vote caused by the
fact that, by the negro constitution under
which We live, no one is DISTINGUISHED.
This should amount 10 over eight thou
sand votes, and reduces the majority
against MS to thirty thousand. Every
white man will go TO the polls, ana Il
every two white mcn will bat take one
negro to the polls with thcmyas th'y y, can
q nturul vntrS OF SOulN CHrO-