The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-06-10
The RiQht Position.

headed "Gov Chamberlain" which we take
from the Anderson Intelhgencer. 1t takes the
right position in very dignifed manner The
Conservative people OF South Carolina are will
ing and do give ample credit to Governor Cham
beran for the stand he has taken against the
corrupt and venal practices of his own party,
by putting his personal influence and official
veto in opposition to future peculation, fraud
and downright robbery among the officials of
the State; but they are not ready to fall down
and worship him, as d man without official talnt
or blemish. They cannot forget his silent ac-
uuiescence in the tremendous frauds committed
by those officials with whom he acted upon the
Financial Board and Sinking Fund Commits
sion; they cannot forget that during the four
years &c was Attorney General of the State all
the Infamous frauds for which the people are
now made to suffer, were committed, and to
satisfy which system of high taxation, unpar-
alleed in the history of nations, was inaugu-
rated and is still continued. He may give us
the "two clean years" he promised, and thereby
incline the people to lock with leniency upon
his past official misconduct, in the light of the
repentance he processes, but they Cannot
blindly pledge allegiance to his political for
tunes nor trammel themselves with unbounded
promises of support in the future" If he held
his skirts so high during the four years he was
the prosecuting officer of the State that none
of the official filth of those Shiny days attaches
to them, the people are wiling nay, anxious,
to acknowledge that appearances and associa-
tions deceived them. Upon him lies the duty
to show that he is innocent of the charges
made against him, which duty he seems 10th
to perform.
The Columbia Union-Rerald, in the most
arbitrary manner, says the article of the An
! Ia,
tinent in Tone" No doubt it appears so to the
hattering unction to his SOUL for the past six
months, that Gov. Chamberlain was stealthily
drawing the whole Conservative and Demo
cratic people over into the Republican ranks,
to be oficered and drilled into service by Re-
publican officers and in Republican party tao
tics. The first bold voice raised to affect this
scheme must be slenced or the plot will fail.
It is, therefore, supercilious and impertinent
for county paper to speak of Gov Chamber
lair save in the most laudatory and fulsome
language.
AS Governor, for less than one gear, he has
performed his duty as faithfully and satisfacto-
rily to the tax-paying people of the State as
the circumstances which surround him would
permit but the time of his probation is too
short to wipe out altogether the suspicion of
participation which attaches to his four years
connexion with the most corrupt, venal and
demoralzing government that ever blasted the
good name of proud State.
Nor can we evade the suspicion that he is
10th to encourage an investigation into the
conduct of the officials who held high positions
during those four years of his association with
them. He appears more anxious to secure
'stwo clean years" as Governor, than to cleanse
his skirts of the dirt of four years as Attorney
General. 1t does seem to us that man so
sensitive as he processes to be, does not court,
aye, demand, an investigation of his past off
cial conduct; but instead of that he seems to
ask that thick veil might be thrown over it,
and that the people should submit to tho en-
tai4ments of his past sins, of omission or COM
and sufficient equivalent for all the wrongs he
may have done them in the past.
1t is now over four years since case of ku
kluxing, or any other disturbance that could be
tor red into q political outrage was committed
in TINS State. The Conservative people have
all that time studiously and conscientiously
put forth every effort to maintain peace and
| quiet with all classes of our citizens they have
promptly paid the enormous taxes annual
| ly levied upon their property and in every
other way striven to show that they honestly
"accept the situaLion," but in the face of all
this, the Republican papers and leaders are
continually charging us, in the most offensive
style, with the former disturbances which, we
believed then and still believe, grew out of the
corrupt and fraudulent practices of the govern
ment of which Mr.. Chamberlain was promi-
nent officer and must have been cognizant. In
the face of over four years of unbroken law
and order we are held up to the world as
bloody handed and still unworthy to be trusted
with the affairs of government; that we are
not sincere in our professions, but if we had
the power we would repeat the wrongs imputed
to us four years ago.
But when Republican official refrains, for
sir months, from committing or countenancing
fraud and stealing, and does what is nothing
more nor less than his plain duty to the people,
and what his own party, North and South, i'm
peratively demanded of him, to keep it from
complete destruction, we are expected to play
the toady to him, and if we do not, we are
called impertinent and superclious. The old
adage, "what is sauce for the goose is sauce for
the gander" is very applicable here.
So long as the tax gatherer annually reminds
the people that they have to pay for the ex-
travagance and thieving of the State officials
during the four years that Mr.. Chamberlain
was in Office as Attorney General; so long as
such Republicans as Joe Crews will continue
to persecute the people by arrests for trumped-
up outrages committed many years ago, and so
long as the Republican press and speakers con-
tinue the cry of Ku Klux against the Conserv-
ative people, just so long will the Conservative
press and people Of this State be justified in
suspecting the honesty of any man in the Re.
publican party who processes to have repented
of his former sins. Four years of exemplary
conduct on the part of the Conservative people
is not sufficient to inspire confidence in the
honesty of their professions but they are asked
Republican whose name was mixed up with
fraud and robbery for four years, as sufficient
proof that he and his party are worthy their
most implicit confidence. If that is not an
impertinent and supercilious demand, we don't
know what Union 2snaes