The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-12-14
The Palm csso ssase--Cradle ofthe Late
C0nfcderacy.
THE PALMETTO CAPirof--THE BITTER LESSON
OF RgCoNsTRUCTIoN-- GR0wTH OF EDucA-
rioN AND wRAL1B-THE QUESTION OF RACE.


Editorial Correspondence Of Philsdeipn'a Tmes.l
COLOMBIA. :. c., Dec. o. There
Is no State In the South that has more thor.
oughly learned the true lesson OF The war
than South Carolina. II has all Of southern
pride surviving Its sorrow and desolation
the traditions OF its people are as sacred as
ever, as they must be with men who are
worth national fellowship; il Is not con-
vert TO The wisdom OF free labor or the en-
reimbursement Of freedmen; but II does
thoroughly understand that the traditions
and customs OF the past belong 10 the
past, aud that civil rights are as So
cred for the lowly as for the mightiest
i'm the land. The two races are more
nearly in harmony In South Carolina
than in any Of the other slave states,
and believe that there is more kind feel
ing for the colored man as fellow-c,,iZeD
In TINS State than in any OF the border
States. Wade Hampton made the first sue
cesSful experiment in dividing the colored
vote in 1876. and that ended the rigid color
line in South Carolina. The colored leaders
and their felow-carpet- baggers had plum.
dered the Commonwealth, impoverished
both whites and blacks, and the helpless
| freedman turned 10 the plantation and to
! his old master for corn and bacon as de-
liberate and wise choice OF evils. Since
| then, with The exception OF the coast region,
there has been as cordial harmony and
mutually Of interest in both politics
and business between the whites and blacks
as Is common in communities OF one race,
and the men who are ruling the State to- day
are as jealous OF the rights Of the colored
people as they are Of their own. Schools
have been multiplied in every county with
al
advantages between the races, and over
eleven hundred colored teachers are now
teaching in the coiored schools in the pay OF
the Stale. OF the nine colored members OF
the House OF Representatives five are Demo-
Gratis, and Governor Hagood Justly voiced
the sentiment OF the State and OF its govern
ment when he declared in his recent inau-
gural address that the facilities for the free
aud equal education Of both races must be
enlarged, rs Intelligence is the safety OF free
| government.
| While the general barmony OF the two
races is assured in South Carolina, there is
| one black cancer on the sea coast that Is a
fearful hndrance to the Advancement Of the
coiored race, and fearful temptation 10 in
tlmidatOn and fraud on the part Of the
whites. Beaufort has some 600 white voters
and more than as many thousand colored
voters. Ii the colOred population Of that
section was as intelligent as even the pro-
| verbally ignorant fed-hands OF the interior
and upland sections, there would be some
reasonable solution OF the veXatiops
problem. Ii the rice and sea-isldnd plan
tation negroes were the equal OF their
colored brethren in other portions OF the
State, they could assert their own rights
with some degree OF intelligence; but they
are the most hopelessly ignorant and de-
incapable OF improvement. They live in the
maSmas OF the rice and island cotton plan
tations, where 10 tarry night is often
death 10 the white man, and generation
after generation have grown up without in
tercOuIse with the whites, entirely without
facilities for culture, and they are ignorant
10 a degree that makes them incapable
even OF speaking an ineligible Ian
guage. They have the natural do
city of The negro, and they are like
so many sheep in the shambes for polili-
clans Oh both sides. Sometimes they are
lralled and voted indefinitely By unscrupu-
lous leaders, as they defy individual recOg-
milton, and again they are terrorized by
cunning Democrats who well understand
that a whisper 10 the fears OF these poor
creatures makes them dream OF unspeaka-
bic horrors. This element is the only one
South Carolina, and | have heard OF no
promising method for correcting it. Gov
ernor Hagood, in discussing the subject
this morning, declared himself entirely
hopeful that universal suffrage can be
maintained in the State with absolute
profit TO both races, and be relies upon the
literally Just mingling Of the races in edu-
cation, politics, and trade to solve the pro-
, blem in time. He is certainly greatly in
advance OF the southern sentiment OF few
, wears ago in harmonizing the old and the
, new citizenship, and he proves it not by
, professions but by his consistent record as
a prominent State officer. He believes that
, South Carolina is about to open on a
, long career Of peaceful progress, in
which the whites and the blacks VIII
, advance together; and he points to the
Observation-Disclosures credit of the State /;
10 the premium commanded for her securi-
I ties in the northern market; TO the Demo-
, cratic constitutional provision fixing free
. and equal education beyond the caprice OF
legislatures; TO the diffusion OF industry
! by small tenantries 10 the rapid increase CT
2 industrial products, and 10 the general tran
. quillity Of all races and conditions OF people
as conclusive evidence that there is new
South Carolina, with new duties honestly
accepted, and with new destiny, OF which
r the nation will soon be justly proud.