The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1876-07-27
THE BAYONET In POLITICS.
A Democratic Convention to be Dis
persed. by Troops.
WAsu1NGToN .July 90. l87

w WASHINGTON, July ZV, lou. p
Gov. Chamberlain's friends here boast
that the requisition for troops will result
in the instantaneous adjournment of the
South Carolina Democratic Convention.
which assemblies at Columbia on the 10Th
proximo. It is the Governors design to
have the Democrats defer their nomina'
ton until the Radical convention meets
and thus intimidate the Republicans into
nominating him for reelection. Cham.
berlain argues that with the prospect Of
troops in the State the Democracy will
have no hope of winning, and will de,
cline to put "straight-out" ticket in the
field if he is nominated by the Republic
cans. The facts are that Chamberlain is
the easiest man to defeat in the Radical
party of South Carolina, as all the troops
in tile country could not make such men
as Bowen, Whittemore and others, with
their followers, support him. Chamber
lain is. at last found in his old role
None but himself would have thought Of
disbanding a Democratic convention by
making requisition upon the govern.
ment for troops. Let South Carolina
Democrats disregard him and his ma.
chinations and move onward to victory
Chamberlain is said to have been very
bitter against the South Carolina white:
in his interview with Grant yesterday
applying such epithets as 'scoundrels, y
"murderers," "Ku Klux," &C. When
twitted by Grant for making SO many
gushing speeches to them, he added 81
see now that / was casting pearls before
swine, and they are bad people and
totally undeserving Of generous treat
ment."-Ne,o York World.
Per contra, the Columbia correspondent
of the Charleston Neaus and Courier gives
the following information as the result ol
an interview with Gov. Chamberlain on
last Saturday:
COLUMBIA, July %.
The Governor returned to the city this
morning. In reply to my inquiries con-
cerning the object of his recent visit to
Washington, he stated that he went to
that point in accordance with request
from the Secretary of War and Attorney
General, who were desirous of obtaining
from him an account of the Hamburg
riot and the condition of the State gen.
orally, with his views as to what should
be done in the former matter.
I called the Governor s attention to the
fact that it is generally believed and as
serted in this State and elsewhere that he
went to Washington for the purpose Of
securing the assistance of the Federal
troops in arresting the parties concerned
or supposed to be concerned, in the Ham
burg disturbance, and asked if these
statements were true. He replied most
positively that he had neither made such
request nor entertained the desire that
the troops should be so used, and that he
had not even been informed that any
such move was actually contemplated.
stated that telegranhic dispatch had
been received from the War department
to-day, ordering Two companies of the
Columbia garrison to proceed at once tc
Hamburg for the purpose already deslg,
mated, and asked if he could give any
information rs to their movements. Tc
which he replied that he could not do So
as he had but a few minutes previous tc
our conversation been informed of the
fact of such order having been received
and that he knew nothing more concern
ing it than what was current in the town
In the course of the same brief inter
view I asked the Governor if he, too
considered the Hamburg riot in the light
of a political affair, and the men who
participated in it as representing the In
tentions of the Democrats of this State
To this he replied, unhesitatingly, thai
he did not consider it to be anything
more significant than a mere local affair
the result of bad feeling in that particu
lar section, and that he believed it to bt
generally condemned by the better class
and, indeed, by large majority of al
the white citizens.