The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-07-11
CARPET-BAGGERY:.
THE NATION ON THE WORE OF THE
TAXPAYERS CONTENTION.
A Northern Diagnosis Of the Political
Diseases OF the South.

A Northern Diagnosis OF the Political
Diseases OF the South.
From the Nation.l
The report of the convention oftaxpayers
which met at Columbia, g. c., In May, mas just
been issued In an authentic shape, and con.
tains perhaps the most coherent statement OF
the opinions OF the dsfranchised class OF South
erners that has appeared since the process OF
reconstruction began SdeSes 1S Iaons an Sae more
makes about the condition of affairs IN South
Carolina are now generally acknowledged by
Northern observers to be true, or, at all events,
well founded. When the first outcry reached
us from Southerners about the doings. OF the
new governing class which was called Into ex-
istence by the Reconstruction acts, there was
very little disposition at the North to pay any
attention to 1t. 1t YVES thought: not at all un.
natural that the shareholders should vince at
seeing their old slaves and their late enemies
legislating for them, and then the southern
press and Southern orators had such reputa,
hon for rhodOmontade, and exaggeraton, anu
MISREPRESENTATION, that very few people here
paid much serious attention to anything that
came from them. There was, moreover, 8 dis
position which has now nearly, died out,
but which was the natural product OF the
war, 20 treat all the misfortunes OF the "ex.
rebels as no worse than they deserved; and
rows of fallen aristocracy to be understood
or sympathized WITH, even II understood, IN
Democratic community. The enormites OF
the ''carpetbaggers" began to come to lignt
at a very early period, but they made nttie
impression, tor two reasons: one was that
there was general expectation at the North,
after the war, that the regeneration OF the
South would be worked by an Influx OF set
tiers and capitalists from the North; and there
was strong and widely difused disposition to
encourage this Northern emigration, and to
think and speak well of the emigrants, and a
strong ipdisposition to believe evil Of them.
Tie denunciations of.the natives were, there.
fore, disregarded or laughed at, and, more
. than this, there was an amusing effort made.
by the Northern press to take all the reproach
out of the word ''carpetbagger." We were
told that the Pilgrim Fathers were carpet
baggers;;n that all New Englanders In the West
were carpet-5aggers; and. in fact, that every
man Tho went TO new country IN order 10
better his condition was s'carpet.bagger, Just
as If the term connoted nothing but cnange OF
residence with small amount OF baggage.
The carpetbaggers, too: being al politicians
received q good deal of sympathy and support
from their brethren at home. They were look:
ed onether as missionaries spreading the faith
in troublous places, or as very shrewd mana
gers, whose skill deserved anything IN the
shape of reward they could lay hands on.
61aEf - DOOE UcVu, HuUGS ihUSIo IL
caucus and convention at home brought up
hothing better than one chance In twelve OF q,
postoffce or weigher-ship, envied the lucky
Fellows who had gone to the South from their:
side, and turned in few months members
of the Legislature or Of Congress, or State
treasurers, or auditors, or county clerks, I'M
lands where 0okkeeping was In Its Infancy,
and constituents were neither inquisltfve nor
suspicious. All these were, In their eyes, the
legitimate prizes of an arduous and poorly
paid calling, the winners OF which might be1
envied, but not denounced. The convention
almost the whole of the taxpaying portion OF
hefpopulation To tts competency to speak
for the community even such Radical organsas]
the Charleston Republican bore strong testt-
mony, and 1t Is safe to infer, therefore, that
something useful may be learned from tss pro-
ceedings, both of the actual condition of gov
ernment and society at the South. and Of the
of persons who, though temporarily excluded !
from all share in the government, are, 1t is |
conceded on all hands, the persons who must
eventually purify Southern politics, If they can
be purified We say Of the aGtuats m .h
cause, although we are only talking Of South
Carolina, that State presents; an aggravated
case of disease from which most OF the South
ern States are suffering, +
The first thing the Convention did was natu-
rally enough to.look into the condihoHof the
STATE ananees aaq s rspot e 1So are
terested In what we may call morbid politics
that s the politics Of sick societies-tor Its re-
semblance to the financial exhibits Which mu.
nicipal reformeTs occasionally lay before the
public In this city is very curious par leulariy
In the Item of salaries, which, we need hardly
say.,hsye all risen greatly The committee Of
the convention compares the amounts paid IN
1866, when the new regime was established,
afd those paid this year, and the way the IN.
crease is distributed gives one an 1nsuecuve
glimpse: of The capetbag ideas aooue aamin,
fstrarion and carpst-bagiwaSs of estimating
tbe TaIns and !mportance Of services. For
instance, the Governors salary remains the
same; $500, and: the annual amount paid TO
the Judges is actually diminished from $50 o,00o
to s28. 600, though. there Is q slight In
crease In the salaries Of the CHIEF JUS
tice and the associate justices. But the
Guiding his salary, rose at one jump from sSov
to $4,000. The "adjutant-inspe ector or,general,
who has. we believe, no duties, and is himself
q hollow mockery, cost the State nothing ID
1856, but now the sorry wag pockets szoVO Uoa a
year. The treasurer's office used 10 cost sszoo
general used to cost $ll00, he now costs $4,000.
the clerk OF the court OF appeals used TO- cost
$500. he now costs $500. The solicitors"
Whatever they are, used to cost S4500, Dut tne
State now pays them $1,000. sThe auditor OF
state" apparently new officer, gets $4,000.
But the gem, of the accounts Is the Item called
ttlegislative expenses,n to-. which we nave,
however, called attention In the Nation before
now. These were, .nl866, $45.s50, and less,
we believe; revtons,cJ I'm 1871 they were
AO0, 900. Ofthis. enormous sum we believe q
large portionia drawn 'front.' treasury on
the Speakers order; or: that OF the president OF
the Senate, Ia advance OF any appropriation.
The most taking Item in the account, Wnicn
in many ways surpasses anything to Whlcn we
have been treated in New York, Is $4,000
to o sscommission to codify the laws, tne
duties Of which, the report says, Nmlgnt pc
discharged by clerkn-which Is eitner,a
severe reflection on;carpet-bag Jurisprudence
or very high praise Of II. Laws thatis clerk
can codify were either not worth making, OF
were 80 we'll made that he:who runs may read
them. Finally: the State taxes OF the year
reach 1000, 900, as against $4000 900 before the
war. while the value of the taxable property Is
diminished by one-halE Want of spece coun-
sels us to pass over without notice the charges
brought by the convention against the State
Eoysrnment. in connection with their man
apement of the state credit; the Reputation
ofthe sire loanp contracted to rebuild Charles
ton in 1888; their failure to publish accurate
accounts of the amount of the State debt, or
to exact proper bonds from the State financial
scents: their reckless lending. Of the State
credit, and their preparation OF divers )obs OF
greater or less magnitude.