The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-11-07
To the Republicans of Charleston.

There are in Charleston many men of in
telligence, integrity and respectability, who,
although no bigots in politics, are consis-
tent members Of the Republican party
They attend steadily to their business, abuse
no man because of his political creed, and
believe that there are honest and RESPONSE
BILE citizens in the Southern States, as well
as in the States of the North. To these.
men, the reliable and upright Republicans,
whose fortunes are bound up with the for
tunes of our city, we have few words to
say.
The contest for the Mayoralty is not in
any sense political one; it is contest
which will decide whether Charleston is to
be wisely and economically governed, or
whether it shall be placed under the con-
troll of gang of adventurers, whose only
capital and claim to consideration is the
bitterness of their political faith, and their
detestation of every Southern man who, at
the close of the war, could not conscien-
tiously subscribe to the famous 'iron. clad"
oath. There is in the struggle, between
Lesesne and Pillsbury, no question of the
success or defeat of the Democracy. All
that the supporters of the Citizens candi-
dates strive for is such Municipal admin
istration as will enable Charleston to -four
II. - tai- fho 10 Of
their past or present labor.
No intelligent Republican will deny that
upon the character of our Municipal ad-
ministration hinges the degree of our mer-
camille growth and prosperity; but it may
be asserted that our opposition to Pillsbury
| is due more to his intense Radicalism than
to his follies and faults as man. In reply
to such an assertion, we would call the at
tention of the responsible Republicans of
Charleston to the conduct of the leaders of
the Republican party of the State in regard
to Pillsbury and the Municipal elections.
For more than six months the moderate
white Republicans of the State and city
have been hostile to the party nominee for
Mayor. They did not hesitate to declare
that the election of Pillsbury would be hurt
full to them and to all good citizens, and
their feeling upon the subject led to an at
tempted compromise between the moderate
men of both parties. This compromise
could not, at the time, be made successful;
but the idea was revived when the day for
the Municipal elections was fixed, and it
had been found that Pillsbury would not be
bought off from the nomination for which
he had striven so hard.
The leading Republicans in the city re-
solved to support Mr.. Clark, the present
Republican Mayor, on the score of his po-
litical temperance, and they sedulously ex-
p,ained to the colored leaders that they did
so because the election of Pillsbury would
be fatal to their most vital interests. These
Republicans, who are presumed to know
Pillsbury well, spoke Of him SIS an unprin-
cipled and irresponsible demagogue, bring
ing to light dark places in his history which,
without them, had never been known.
Mayor Clark was peculiarly and disinter-
estedly emphatic in his condemnation OF
Pillsbury. He said that if Pillsbury we're
elected city stock would 60 down to twenty
cents on the dollar. He said that Pillsbury
would, beyond all question, ruin Charles
ton ard every decent man in it. lie said
that orders had been received from party
maguates that Pillsbury must be defeated at
any cost. There was no difference of opin-
ion. Every respectable man in the Repub-
lican party condemned the man who, by
trickery and caressing the colored men, had
won the party nomination.
But Mr.. Clark could not obtain that sup
port from the white citizens without which
he could not possibly be successful against
Pillsbury. A nominating convention was
called together, and nominations were made
wholly irrespective of political party. This
a glance at the ticket will show. Mr..
Lesesne, the nominee for Mayor, has never
been political partisan. Holding himself
alosf from political parties, he has kept the
even tenor OF his way, never allowing him
self to be tied to the wheels of the party
chariot Throughout his career he has been
an upright, conscientious gentleman prov