Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-05-21
South Carolina.

1t will be remembered by our readers
that the Democrats of South Carolina
want the General Government to interfere
in behalf of honesty in their State Govern
ment The matter was referred to the
Judiciary Committee of the House. A
majority report against intervention was
! made few days ago, and yesterday the
minority, through Mr. Eldridge, of Wis
consin, reported in favor of intervention.
Tits impossible" says this minority re-
port, "to turn deaf ear to the supplicat-
ing wall of the 100000 oppressed and
despolled citizens of that once prosperous
and happy State" But when the wall
came from those held in most cruel slav-
cry the Democracy could easily enough
turn a deaf ear" What is heavy taxa
ton to the loss of all personal liberty :?
But, waving all that, we still find no
justification for intervention, nor for the
charge that the Republican party in
South Carolina is responsible for the
present condition of affairs in that State.
The correspondent of the New York
Tribune, which paper is certainly not
partial to the Republican party, writing
from Charleston, charges that the leaders
among the old regime which embraces
| the men who formerly upheld slavery and
always opposed reconstruction steadily
refused to accept the offers of assistance
made by Northern Republicans living in
the State, and have continually denounced
and ostraciZed them without regard to
| their personal character. "They have
Jumped them together" he says, cas- a
set of thieving carpet baggers. They now
| turn to Congress for the relief which
| they well know Congress cannot give, but
which they could themselves have
wrought with the aid of the boiling Re
pubicans in 1872, had they had the
minds, and sense, l may add, to do so.
They are reaping the harvest of their own
folly. 1t is a bitter one, but one of their
own sowing" In proof of this he adds
the following resume of facts;
| Indeed, most of the Northern-born Republicans
| living in the State who took part in political af
fairs with the aid OF few native Republicans like
| GOV. Orr, made the only organized opposition TO
| Moses and the corrupt wing of the Republican
! party which was made in the State They nom-
| mated for Governor native of Pennsylvania, Reu
| ben Tomllnson, against whom not one charge
which his opponents could pretend to substantiato
was made, and a State ticket composed OF men
against whose character no charges OF corruption
| could be brought. The Tomlinson ticket received
| the unqualified and earnest support OF every prom
| inent Federal official in the State. These men
made gallant fight, and before the nominations
were made were led by the anh-Republcan news
papers TO believe that their ticket, would receive
the votes of the native white citizens nj the polls.
| Bnt what did these same white citizens dos I'm
der the lead OF the Charleston NeDs and papers Of
| like sort they asserted in SO many words that
| while they knew Tomnson was an honest man
| they preferred native whom they all knew and
admittcdJo be corrupt and unprinciplcd beyond
measure to a Northern Republican, and 10000
| of them stayed away from the polls, while many
Others even went so far as 10 vote for the Moses
| ticket And the effort to purify the Republican
party and to give the State an honest administra-
| ton failed
To the native whites, the property-holdcrs, and
| the men who chiefly composed the late Tax-Pay-
ers' Convention Gov. Moses In great meas
| ure is indebted for his election Tomlinson d-
vided the colored vote, getting % or 80 per cent
OF It, and had these native tax payers beer a. anN
| ious to get good State government a. they We're
to denounce all Republicans who were not born in
South Carolina n "carpet-baggers" tho position
| OF South Carolina would be very different from
| what 1t Is now,
There are some mean men in the Re
publican party. The proportion of scoun.
drels is larger at the South than in the
| North; but if the tax paying Democrats
would join with the honest Republicans
reform could be secured. If they are
unwilling to do that, then let them suffer
the consequent robbery. The adage is AS
| true now as ever, that " the gods help
those who help themselves. --Chicago
J0u3ulE