Daily Republican., 1880-02-18
They Know Not " hat 10 De.

The Democrats OF South Carolina ar
in a quandary to know what to d.
that they may carry the State for tht
Democracy without a resort to the
shameless frauds and violence practiced
four years ago to make Hampton Gov
srnor of the State and Tilden Presi,
dent. Count tho vote as they will
there is a Republican majority OF
twenty thousand in the State and this
has to b. overcome either by fair
means or foul to keep the South solid
for the Democracy. Every effort has
been made to catch the votes of the
freedmen, but this is not easily done,
for though they may be ignorant Of
msny things, to one thing they are
constant, and that is their true devotion
to the Republican party.
We continually hear much Of colored
men going up to the polls in large
numbers and roting the Democratic
ticket, but when such strange thing
as this is submitted to truthful ilVesti-
cation, it will be found that the num-
Der of freedmen who vote the Demo
cratic ticket voluntarily is so small
that it cannot be seriously regarded as
q factor in Southern politics at all.
The freedmen when left to themselves
will vote almost unanimously the Re.
publican ticket. A small number may
be Influenced by mercenary motives,
bat larger class can be successfully
bulldozed and made to keep away from
the polls, or, if they go to the polls
they can bs made to vote the ticket
forced within their hands by those ap. |
pointed to do that work. The larger
class Of them, however, cannot bs made
under any circumstances to swell the
Democratic vote. The violence of the
last Presidential election is not yet for.
gotten. Its recollections rise up in
characters of blood and continually re
mind US Of Hamburg and Ellenton.
Butcher Butler in the Senate and
Hampton, first Governor and from that
to the Senate remind us of the hun
dreds of innocent lives that had to be |
taken by their myrimdons to accom-
plish their unholy purpose. The South
Carolina leaders do not want to wade
through another bloody campaign if
they can help it. The most of them
would prefer not imbruing their hands
in blood if the State can possibly he
carried for the Democracy without it,
but of course if it is absolutely Beces-
sary that the campaign shall be bloody
and sanguinary in order to save the
State to the Democracy, it will be made
so with all the horrors of fiend, faeot
and fire. The Charleston "News," the
leading Democratic organ of South Car
Olina, is emphatic in its assertions that
the State shall not be allowed to 20 Re.
publican and is frantic in its appeal, ito
the white element to prevent it from
doing 40 no matter what means are
used to prevent it. Flying from one
position to another in search of some
loophole of escape from the impending
avalanche Of black votes that hangs
over the DeLAocratic party it now says
that the intelligent and responsible citi-
Zens sh Ill rule whether in a majority
or not. Of course We all know that
means the exclusion Of the freedmen
from the polls, that none but the real
blue blood cavalier shall hold Office. If
this is good Democratic doctrine down
South it she uld be equally as good in the
North. Were this principle made efIec-
tive the Republicans would rule no. only
this Tut NV York City 10 the latter of
which the D ,m1C"ats have a majority
of some 5,C0J votes. Nobody pretends
that New York is Republican city. 1t
is Democratic in the extreme ard is
made 80 ty her ignorant voters. If the
Charleston "News' plan was applied
to New York i! woull disfranchise tie
Democ:atia majority and make that
city Republican in its politics. We are
of the opinion that if the intelligent
Republicans of New York were to an
nounce that hsresf er the Intelligence
Of the city should rule, the "News"
would be anon st the first to deuoutce
1t as destructive of majority rule, ard .
the whole Demo jratic press would de-
nounce it as ligh-hand d outrage,
Nobody will pretend that tie density
O. ignoraIc, in New Yo'k is less than
it is in South Carolina, and the same
rule if applied to the latter, can with ,
the same propriety be applied to New
York. I: is not probable that the
Charlest' n paper will have its d5sir
grattfied, for the ignorance in its own
party will be an effectual bar to tn,
adopt N of tn, pan it proposes, and
anyhow it was bit an evanescant
thought at best, in its anxiety to lead
its party to victory by some ether road !
than one strewn with life 'ess corpses 1
l., -. I