The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-05-16
MIR, Waller Placed Right on the
Record.
GREENWOOD, S. c., May Is, 1877.

GREENWOOD, s. c., May Is, 1877.
Editor Press md Banner:
SIR: AS your synopsis of the extern
]noraneous remarks made by me in the
last meeting of the Central Democratic
Club seem to place me in a position not
exactly in accordance with the one l held,
| would ask your indulgence in giving q
: resume OF those remarks. l said, IN sub
stance, as follows:
Mr.. Chairman-I came here fully bent
. upon silently listening to the arguments
, that would be adduced for and against
the prescription policy, but / am surpris-
ed by the development of so general an
, apprehension as to the ability of the De
mocracy to hold the vantage ground 1t
gained at the last election, and l therefore
feel constrained to lend my shoulders to
the displacement Of this bugbear, which
! blocks the flow Of those generous impul-
SEES inherent to brave victOrs. Nothing Is
more fully established than the fact that
the Democracy Of the South once success
full has always been so. State by State
; has shulicd off the coil Of Republica !
misrulc and oppression, fastened around
it by the workings of the Rcconstruc-
ton Acts, to don it again no moro. We,
too, struggled to attain the emincnce o.
success and gained that fort. Now it's
ramparts are ours, and by the EternaFs
help. uc attend to hold them. You know
over a wear ago I upheld the prescription
policy in order to secure success. 1 am
free to saw 1 would still advocate it, were
| we not successful. But now it is the bios
som of a time gone by. When we
threatened prescription we at the same
time proclaimed that the election Of
! Hampton would eventuate in the inaugu-
ration Of q policy Of peace and ~reconcllia'
ton. Although upholding it, 1 have al
WAYS had NV doubts as to the propriety
of prescribing for mere political opinions.
In prescribing robbers, thieves and per-
SONS socially obnoxious, we could have
had recourse to the Labor Reform Asso-
Citations. Such punishment would have
been condign, but by prescribing tol
mere opinions sake, we not only ellcll
sympathy for the prosecuted parties, bu,
we thereby chrystaliZe them into a nu.
cleus for future party organizations ana
stimulate them with interchangeable efforts
to attain success, and through it, relief
from its damning yoke. Then, when we
consider the arguments which were
brought to bear upon the colored man
we can but pity him. He was told tina
the Republican party freed him that i
gave him the right to vote that 1t helo
soldiers ready to protect him that 1t hao
the Returning Boards and declaring pow.
er, and hence would still be in power
whether in the majority or not at the
election, On the other hand, he was tolc
that the success of the Democracy woult
be the death-kncll to his freedom, anc
that countless social evils would he heap
ed upon him in that event. Swayed b.
these appeals to his gratitude and fears,
piticd the colored man II the Ignorance
which made him a dupe to be misled by
designing men. In view OF these facts
il was a question in Que township wheth
er or not prescription was, as a policy
bctser Than prescription. Many of u
held to the Spanish adage, diet cure'
more than the LANCET" and that the smell
of the bar and the*kitchen was the mos
captivating argument Tor the prejudicct
colored man. While many contend
cd that he was q fish in politica
waters to be caught more easily will
a bateleSs and naked hook, thar
in a baited basket. This was the differ
ence between prescription and prescrip
ton policies. We used both in our town
ship, and 1 alter the firmest conviction
when 1 say that the prescription worked
best with US. I recollect distinctly tn
moonlight night when our distinguishes
t fellow citizen, Gen. MCGOWAN, addressed
the colored people of our little town ant
vicinity, when he brought so many q
them to a state Of silent convic
ton by the force of his "moral suasion.'
We brought the prescription policy t
bear upon them and cultivated those con
, v~ictions to ~outcropping in bold expires
, sion. You have all heard the story Q
how we applied the prescription polio.
/ upon the hight before the election, and il
consequence thereof the magnitude G
the colored vote pollcd at the Greenwood
, precinct. 1 am in favor of the resolu
lions also, because they are in accor'
with Hampton's policy.
, In answer to the question, what shal
: be done with the white Radical? l hav
no defence to make for him and can sa
: amen to any denunciation made agains
I him as such.
$. Yours Respectfully,
c.. A, c. WALLER.