The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-12-18
The South as It Is.

correspondents lLdfSiiiiS litOuS IL INV
South, writing series of interesting
letters to that paper. From one ola
ted Charleston December I'd, we tax.
The following, headed "The Reason
Why :"
The reasons may be summed up in
| the simple staten. ent that Charleston
has always lived for herielf, and her.
self only. For South CarOlinian
the sun rises and sets only with the
borders of the State for Charles
tonian it rises in the Cooper and sets
IN the Ashley. 1t is sheer narrow
ness of public opinion that has kept
the city tagging in the rear. / might
write volumes of the intolerance
which has been displayed towards
Northern men, but it not more mark
ed than the intolerance which these
people manifest towards each other.
Equally in business, politics and so
ciety, cliques coAtrol and direct pop.
ular sentiment, and there is not
man in Charleston bold enough to
defy them. II am glad you have
come" said a leading business man
in the course of conversation the
other day, "ier | want the people Of
the North to know that we do not
have free and fair elections down
here. 1t is useless for me to protest
against it; should simply ostracise
myself. But when the managers
came to me for money during the
last campaign l told them l would
not give them a cent that they in
tended to stuff the ballot boxes to
suit themselves, and they didn't need
any money" Said another gentle.
man: "Before the war, when | went
to a Northern hotel and registered
as from South Cardinal was locked
up to as presumably gentleman of
character and intelligence. When |
go North now and register from this
State the people look down on me
contemptu0usly as if to say, That's
one of the cheats | tell you when
the President Of the United States
has to send the census enumeratoIs
down here three several times to sat-
isfy the country that we have not
been making a false return. it shows
that our reputation is about as low
as it can well be-" Said third citi-
zen-a straight-out Democrat, like
the others: "There was time right
after the war, when prosperity was
within reach of Charleston. Northern
men were coming down here, real
estate was going up and capital was
seeking investment. What did we
do? Instead of welcoming immi-
J grafton, we turned our back upon it,
and even to such men as William B.
Astor refused social recognition. 1t
is the curse of our civilization"
Still another gentleman remarked to
me: Il am and never have been any
thing else but Democrat, but we
have got to get rid of this notion
that the State is bigger than the ma
ton. don't wonder that the North
ern men won't come down here.
Knowing what | do, | couldn't ask
them to come" During a chat on
the same subject one of the most ac-
tive business men in the city said:
II have been here almost constantly
since 1859, and yet these people re
gard me still as a carpet Dagger. ]
want you to say that we ostracise
each other just AS persistently as we
do your people. My family is hun
dred times better Than any here and
have the entree to all the society |
want, but, with very few excep-
tions, | have no intimate friends."
Equally suggestive was remark
made by railway official who holds
prominent position on one of the
railroads leading out of the city. II
came to Charleston over two years
ago, and | have done my utmost to
| foster the interests of the Charleston
merchants, yet the very men who
come to me for favors and talk as cor
daily as if they had known me all
their lives, pass me on the street
without recognition, and sometimes
have to be introduced over again."
l might multiply instances of this
kind indefinitely. A gentleman who
has resided here for over half a CEN
fury, and has never committed the
crime of voting the Radical ticket,
told me that he made the greatest
mistake of his life when, instead of
going North after the war, he allow
ed himself to believe that the immi>
grafton of business men from other
parts of the country was about to re-
store the city's prosperity, and re-
manned to lend helping hand. l
have purposely avoided giving the
opinions of Charleston Republicans
in this letter, for when pronounced
Democrats tell me, as they have al
most without exception, that this
state Of things exists here, it is not
necessary to look further for witness
SEES. / wish it were not so. 1t is
saddening to see men of intelligence
and integrity overawed by misera-
ble clique of self seeking politicians
and sham aristoerats, but that they
are 0verawed they confessed them
selves in the same breath that they
asked nae not to mention their
names in the paper. "Seyeral times
/ have gone away to New York."
said an Confederate officer. lust
to escape this Intolerance of opinien
which prevails here. but business in
terests have compelled NE to return.
Perhaps ysu think / ought to stay
here and make fight for my opin-
ions. | have often thought of dong
so, but that would mean social ostra.
! ciSIn tor nav wife and / am NOT IRE.