The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1870-03-12
COLu MBIA. s. C.
Saturday slorning. March IL, 1870.
"Fighting in Detail"-The Views OF tn
'r Chester Reporter.

"The Charleston News, after having
exhausted its ingenuity in constructing
Democratic platforms, suddenly lays
them all aside as rubbish, and runs up
the colors of the Citizens Party. The
PHGNN, pursning the even tenor of its
way, is for sticking to the old name and
organization. but thinks it best to draw
it mild-to have some kind of pro-
gressiYe, conservative Democracy. The
Laurensyille Herald is for bold, square,
stand-up fight, under the old organiza-
tion and old colors. The views Of these
three able contemporaries fairly represent
by the opposition press of the State.
Now we don't agree fully with any of
them" '5
The Reporter goes on to explain why,
in it's Judgment, the term "Denaocrat"
should be eschewed, but why the term
"Citizens' Party should be discarded,
and goes on to remark:
B"But lest we may seem hypercritical,
aud illustrate the old truism that it is
much easier to pull down than to build
up, we frankly own that we arc in favor
OF no organization, and consequently of
no name. The policy of the opposition
party, in our judgment, is to take the
platform some time ago proposed by the
Union Iimes-opposition to official dis
honesty-and urge guerrilla warfare
oil over the State against the party in
power; leaving it to each County to
adopt whatever measures may seem best
to secure the election of honest men to
the Legislature. BY this plan, the radi-
Gals will be prevented, in great measure,
from consolidating the terrible enginery
of their League against US. Fighting
them in detail, they will have to fight US
in detail. We can bang away at them
from behind every rock of principle. we
can keep up running fire from behind
all the rascalities and thieveries they
have committed, we can, to great e1-
tent, prevent concert Of action among
them, and will thus be enabled to cut off
many OF their bummers and foraging
parties. To secure one or the other
branch OF the Legislature in the hands
of honest and capable men, is the thing
We must lend all our efforts to. And to
accomplish this, the plan suggested by
us, seems the most hopeful of success" {"
Our cotemporary will allow Us to say,
that we regard its mode of fighting as
fatal in the extreme. The anti-radicaI-
lists of South Carolina have before them
a disciplined body, under admirable
party drill. To fight this party sin de-
tail" is for us to be whipped sin detail. "
Not in this way will the State be re-
deemed from the control of the dom;-
nant party. The fact of the matter is
simply this: We must consent TO defeat III,
some Counties, in order to be successful
in others.
Comrades of the Reporter, let US have
line of battle extending from the sea-
board to the mountains, and let not this
line be broken at cold Chester" Nor
need you sink the name DEMOCRATIC
That name is historic. Rightly inter
preted, it means no harm to the negro.
And let this be borne in mind, that the
colored voter, as u general thing, votes
the radical ticket, not because he hates
the term DEMOCRAT, but because he
cllpgs to the term RADICAL. You can
toll him off from radicdlism no sooner
with one party name than with another
We may have made Democratic blunders
in 1868. Why need they be repeated
No! we need no new psrty-no new
name. We may need change of linen
or change of shoes. AS the New York
World suggests, because the Democratic
party may be pairing its nails, let no one
suppose that it is disintegrating.
Again-we notice that the Repoyte,
alludes to us as pursuing the even tenor
of our way" The Reporter does us JUS
tice in saying this. Amid the doubts ard
varying suggestions that have been made,
we have moved steadily on, advocating
a plain, direct, active, consistent pro-
gramme. Under the Democratic flag
which we appraised in 1868, we stand
now, changing only so far as it is neces-
sary to meet new issues, and to acknow-
ledge accomplished facts. Now, as then,
we seek to recover the State from the
dominant party. Now, as then, we ad-
vocate political reform, industrial acticiiy,