The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1876-11-02
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Drag0Oning the South.

upon the Southern States can no longer
be doubted. The threatened interference
by the bayonet with the freedom of cleo
tion is more than a-brutal tulnaen. Fed
eral troops, acting under Washington
orders, are scouting certain counties of
South Carolina and arresting leading
members of the Opposition. All the men
seized belong to one party. This single
fact sufices to expose and condemn the
whole proceeding. It takes two to make
a quarrel, and if there are disturbances
in South Carolina demanding the inter-
vention of Federal soldiers, tits simeon
ceivable that the offenders should all be
of the same party connection, There
are no such disturbances OF reasonable
pretenses of any. South Carolina is as
quiet in all her parts as New, York and
neither Governor Chamberlain, c who calls
for the troops, nor Attorney General
Taft, by whose commands the arrests are
made, affects to believe that the peace Of
the State is endangered i'm the slightest
degree. It would be very convenient
for both Of these men if they. could
honestly assert that South Carolina is i'll
need of Federal protection ct this time.
Such plea would make tolerablel ex-
cuse for the high-handed measures in
progress, In the absence of such JUS
ti6cation these political schemers and
their Washington friends are driven to
another expedient. They profess to be-
lieve that the South Carolina Conserva
tiyes are intimidating and coercing vo-
tiers of the other party-that the minori-
ty are tyranizing over the majority-that
the few are bullying the manyl Aside
from the intrinsic absurdity of this no.
tion, there is no proof sof ita foundation
in fact. The evidence is allFthe other
way. Governor. Chamberlain and his
myrmidons at home and his abettors of
the administration hold the State firmly
in their grasp. They, and not the oppo-
sition, have the absolute control in Sonth
Carolina. Those of the whites and their
colcred allies who are seeking to free the
State from this deadly thraldon are, above
all things, anxious to avoid giving any
occasion or excuse for Federal meddling.
They have repeatedly offered their ser
vices as militia, under command of the
Governor HIMSELF to enforce the laws
against all violators in the State. These
tenders have been steadily rejected-for
20 other reason than because the Gov
ernor wished to make it appear that the
State was in a turbulent and desperate
condition, asa hollow pretext for inyi-
ting the interference which has nowbeen
made on other grounds equally untenable.
The arrests now being made will be
limited in number according to the de-
sires Of Governor Chamberlain and his
political counsellors. They could cause
10000 or 10000 active men of the oppo-;
sition to be seized and placed under bail
or in prison, if they cared to do it. Evi-.
dence could be as easily manufactured
for hatnumber of cases as for any other.
But. they will probably be content toiar-
rest and annoy only 100 or 200 Of their
Opponents. THIS would save trouble for
the military and the Federal officials,
and would answer the same purpose of
overawing the white and black Conserya-
tives of the Stato. There are doubtless
some voters in South Carolina who will
take the alarm from these proceedings
and abandon their design of voting
against Governor Chamberlain and his
party in order to gain their good will
and avoid difficulty. But we mistake the
temper of the American ple-whetE-
er they live in South Carolina or else
where-if these wanton, dictatorial and
wholly unjustiiable measures have the
effect of frightening voters out Of their
own convictions. Such course must, on
the contrary, contribute to nerve up and
unite all good citizens to make one SUI
preme effort 'forithe overthrow Of gov
ernment system. which, under the pre-.
tense Of defending the right of. suffrage,
wantonly oyerrides it.in;the boldest man
ner. That such an effect should he most
widely and powerfully felt, the party in
South Carolina for whose injury these ar,
rests are made should be studiously care-3
fulto obeyttheilaws and keep the peace,
as tits now doing. Such ., policy puts
the administration wholly in the wrong,
and must hurt it in the canvass. .-Neao
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