The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-10-30
FIGHTING MIR. TnDEN.

FIGHTING MIR. TnDEN.
The News and Courier of last Thursday
contains an article showing thatth NOM
ination of candidate for the Presidency
next year has narrowed down to a selec-
tion between Tilden, Hancock and Bay
ard on the Democratic side, and arguing
in favor Of the selection of the latter.
With the conclusions of this article We
fully agree, but we cannot endorse the
tone of tho Ne,cs aud Courier towards Mr..
Tilden when 1t sayss
Mr.. Tilden cannot be elected because
he cannot secure the vote Of the Solid
South. The argument is that the local
necessities of the Southern people will
impel them to vote for the Democratic
candidate, whoever he may be. This is
plausible where local needs come into
play and the vote for Presidential cleo
tors is combined with the vote for State
and County officers. 1t is futile in South
Carolina, where a citizen must cast two
votes in different places, if he would give
his support to Mr.. Tilden. Under the
Act of March %, 1878, there must, at Con-
gressional and Presidential elections, be
two ballot boxes for each precinct, which
boxes must be kept separate and apart
and not in the same apartment" In one
box are deposited the ballots for Con-
gressmen and Presidential Electors, and
in the other box the ballots for State,
Circuit and County officers. Now there
is as much public spirit and as much 10y
atty to the National Democracy in South
Carolina as in any other State, but Mr..
Tilden is regarded as chronic sneak
and constitutional coward, and neither
the mandates of Conventions nor the ap-
peals of the Press will induce the people
to put themselves to any trouble to vote
for his Electors. To nominate Mr.. Til
den is to throw away the electoral vote
of South Carolina, and to lose two or
three congressman. Can the National
Democratic party afford it? Nor is the
evil confined to South Carolina. There
will be trouble with both Florida and
Louisiana, If the candidate be Mr.. Tilden.
To speak plainly, while the South, WELD
ing enormous power, is not disposed to
dictate who shall be nominated, it has
already said that the nominee shall not
be Mr.. Tilden.
We do not agree with our contempo-
rary in saying the vote of this State can
not be carried for Mr.. Tilden, as we be-
lieve that South Carolina Is Democratic
State, and that her people will vote for
the nominee of the party, whoever he
may be, knowing that be is sure to bo a
better man for the country than any man
tho Republicans will nominate. We be-
iieve the same is also true of Louisiana
and Florida, for the Southern States can
not afford to permit a Republican success
next year. Any thing like the policy in
dicated by the Ne,us and Courier would be
worse than suicidal to ourselves. 1t is
nothing more nor less than encouraging
Independentism, which is the hidden
snaro that is already prepared for the De-
mocracy in South Carolina. flour peo-
pie prize their liberties and the blessings
of good government, they must stick to-
gether in politics, voting the ticket NOM
mated by their party. and the whole
ticket, whether It suits them personally
or not. We are now fighting to establish
great principles, the success or failure of
which decide the final destiny of our Re-
public. Men are matters of small conse-
quence in such a struggle, and personal
likes or dislikes should have absolutely
no control over a mans ballot after the
nomination has been made. 1t will not
do for man to say that he will not vote
part of the ticket and still claim to be q
sound Democrat, for the discretion which
he exercises can be exercised by others
as to other parts of the ticket, and by still
others as to the whole Of the ticket, in
each and every Of which cases the voter
is giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
1t would present the spectacle Of men
claiming to be Democrats and yet help
ing to elect Republicans, as John Kelly
snd his followers are doing in New York.
We have no doubt that we have plenty
of John Kelleys in South Carolina, but
we do not believe they will find any con-
siderable following. Whatever fight,
therefore, we have to make on Mr.. Til |
den should be made inside Of the party,
and not in such way as to weaken the
organization or to encourage disaffection
and independentism. Our objection to
Mr.. Tilden is both as to the propriety of
his nomination and as to its expediency.
We believe it would be unfortunate, be-
cause he would be kept explaining and
apologizing during the whole canvass,
keeping us on the defensive throughout. |
He is not the strongest man in New
Jersey, Connecticut or Indiana, and has
no more strength, if as much, in New
York than Senator Bayard would have
We are decidedly in favor of Bayard and
opposed to Tilden, until the nominating |
convention is over, and then we are in
favor Of whoever it dominates. This is,
we believe, the proper ground for the
South.