Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1880-08-12
a Radical Moeting

a Radical Meeting
Was held in the Court House at Walhalla last
Saturday. Between ono aud two hundred
negroes were present, including men, women
and children. and also fow whites. The crowd
was addressed by man named Spccr, Of Groon-
villc, who from his assertions and misrcprsonta-
tions, as wo hear them, showed cithor grcat
ignorance or wilful pcrycrsion Of the truth.
We understand he asserted that though the State
government under Scott and Moses was corrupt
and taxation heavy, that tho taxation under
Chamberlain was lower than that under either
Hampton or Simpson, and challenged contra
diction. Col. J. J. Norton being present roso
up and denied the assertion and offered to provo
it false by tho Ink books. lilo went and brought
in The records aud laid them before the speaker
but instead of accepting tho situation and con-
Tossing himself guilty Of wful misrcprosenta-
ton, he replied to tho unopened record by say
ing one who had been n State Senator had so
told him, and he Senator ought 10 know. This
was his reply to every effort to open out and
onlightcn his ulind.
The Democrats wcro charged with being
responsible for tho corruption under Scott and
Moses, tho speaker charging that the Democrats
passed the black codo, aenatcd the negroes
| and when reconstruction was ordered refused to
| aid i'll forming new constitution and govern
| mcnt, 50 that tho negroes were forced TO take
| up Scott, Moses and others Of q bad type. IIo
evidently overlooked the fact that afcr Scotts
| first term the Democrats proiFcrcd and did sup
port Judge Carpenter, known Republican, for
Governor, and tho Radicals preferred Scott and
! corruption, and that in tho next campaign the
| boiling Republicans denounced tho corruptions
| of Scott and Moses and nominated Tomlinson
for Governor, but they again preferred Moses
with his bad record. In fact, lying and plum
dcrng has been the stock in trade of tho party,
and The poor negro has been bindly led rs tool
to put money and Office into The hands of men
who neither can nor will aid them.
The speaker, we hear, farther alleged that
the Democratic party had uniformly oppressed
the poor, and that before tho war they made
every effort to keep the poor in ignorance, while
the Radicals quickly after tho war opened wide
the doors of knowledge and made provision for
public schools. This is not only false, and can
be proved false, but il can be shown that the
education of tho poor of tho State before tho
war was especially provided for and The money
vas not stolen or squandcrcd, but honestly
| applied TO The purpose for which it was levied.
Before tho war the Legislature annually appro-
| printcd round sum for tho education of moor
children, and the sum thus appropriated, though
less i'll amount than The present levy for public
schools, was larger in proportion to the number
it was intended to benefit. Besides this tax for
poor children every man, who was able, paid
tuition for his own children, and though educat-
| ifov il,nr
thus paid. Was this Expressing The poor? Pr-
yatc capital kept good schools in overy neigh
borhood and tho public purse opened these first
class schools to all unable to pay. The truth
| IS, tho government Of South Carolina before tho
war, instead Of being oppressive 10 tho poor,
was Tho best poor mans government in tho
United States. Horses, cattle, hogs and stock
of oil kinds, wagons and farm implements, corn
and other products, household furniture and
| even money wero not taxed. Tho tax on land
was so light as to be hardly worthy Of being
| called q lax, so that man might own q small
farm, with plenty of everything around him,
and pay twenty-five 10 fifty cents Ink, whilc now
the same amount of property would subject him
to a tax Of Ten to twenty-five dollars. Vas this
oppression to the poor? Under Radical rule
everything from an iron spoon TO gold dollar
is taxed, and from a dog 10 horse, from baby
wagon to coach and six. We admit tho pre-
sent alvalorem system is the laircst, but it was
put in operation before reconstruction. We
alludc to this merely to show how little the
speaker knew or how handsomely he could lie
before intelligent men.
At the close Of the mccting good number
joined q Garfield and Arthur club. The Andcr-,
son negro band blowcd music.