The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-07-05
NEGRO RULE,
How it Has Affected the South
Carolina Legislature.

York Journal Of Commerce, who is trav-
cling through the South, and has
written some very interesting letters
from that section, writes as follows,
from Columbia, South Carolina, I'M
der date of June II:
A GLANCE AT THE LAWMAKERS AND
POLITICIANS OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
Before the war it was considered a
high honor to be q member of the
South Carolina Legislature. Some of
the ablest men in the State were sent
to Columbia to represent their Sec
tons. The Legislature was then a
digniied body of intelligent men,
The salary of members was So per day
each. Members had no pages, ex-
cept their own servants, IL follow them
around and wait upon them. The
body usually sat three weeks in each
year.
How changed The scene! Now
men of standing in the community
would not suffer their names to be
seen in connection with a nomination
to the Legislature. 1t is composed
mostly of ignorant negroes who can
not read and write. and inscriptions
white men, though it is just possible
that there may he a very few honest
persons among them. They meet at
Columbia, aud remain in session sew
eral months in a year, at a salary OF
six dollars a day, and mileage to and
from their respective homes. They
adjourn over all holidays, and rcas
scmble in order TO secure the mileage
fee. There are one hundred and TWEEN
ty four members of the lower house.
These have more than one hundred
and twenty-five men to wait upon
them, nearly all colored, for whom the
State has no sort of use or employ
ment. They lounge around commit.
tee rooms, clean the pitchers and glass.
es, and keep the WHISKY and brandy
bottles in good supply Every com.
mittee room is deliberately furnished
for the reception Of negro guests. The
little matters-such as brandy, whisky,
wine, cigars, etc.-are called 'scentin-
gent expenses" and paid for by the
State. Though the Capitol is a very
large building. and ought to accommo.
date several such bodies as the pres
ent Legislature, yet when they + in
session they REM houses and rooms
throughout Columbia for committee
rooms. These places are furnished
and supplied at the expense of the
State, and are said to be the head
quarters of corruption and debauch-
cry during the session. Instead of
rejecting upon the impoverished con-
dition of the State and exercising
economy, they furnished, to begin
with, the House of Representatives at
a cost of $4,000. Now. when it is
considered that the room of the Speak
er of the House at Washington, which
is about half as large as the House of
Representatives here, cost, with its
magnificent trimmings, less than ST.
600 to furnish, the extravaganza here
may be imagined. Each window is
draped with the finest and heaviest
broeade silk, and charged at the rate
of $4,000 and $4,000 per window
Even the ~spittoons are gorgeous af.
fairs, made of fine porcelain, orna'
mented, and cost fabulous prices
They are SO literally supplied that the
clumsy negro Legislators fall over and
break them to the average number OF
one or more each day. The men who
presented the bills for fu:niture say
that when they were filed in the com
mlttee of Ways and Means for exam
nation they amounted to $4,000, but
when the committees reported them to
the House the same bills amounted to
$4,000. They say they thought the
first amount would cover all reasona,
BILE stealings, but the members of the
committees and the House made them
feel ashamed of themselves. for at
tempting to steal so little. The furn-
iture supplied is valued, upon the fair
est and most liberal estimate, at about
thirty-fve thousand dollars. Even
that is much more than has been
spent for furnishing the Senate Chan
Der, House of Representatives, Presi-
don't, Vice President and Speakers
room, and all the committee and re.
ception DON in the Capitol in Wash.
;ngton, in any n year since the foun
dation of the Government.
In 1869 the Legislature OF South
Carolina created q land commission,
for the purpose of securing, as they
said, at a moderate price, lands in the
State for sale to actual settlers in
small quantities for cultivation. That
sounds like a first class object. But
the commission, presided ver by 6
member Of the Sonata, met and bought
lands for which they paid 500, 900 o
the peoples money. 1t is charged
that in almost every instance where
purchases were made the seller wa:
paid double his price on conditiont tina
he would sign receipts in full for foul
times the price demanded by him
That no man who was not in 9Th.
ring" could dispose of lands to tb,
Commission. That these lands nov
lie uneuliyated, unstable, and no
worth 500, 900. The Chairman, When
an Investigation was talked of, delib
cratcly rose il his place and defed thu
Senate, telling them that if an inves-
tigation was made, he would ORA.
half the Senate to the p~enitentiar,
with him. No investigation was at
tempted, and the tax payers conyen
ton indorsed this swindle, solely be-
cause they did not desire to destro,
confidence in their intention to pay
. .bo;, n,l,I,o yob4