The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1882-08-29

TUscAwILLA, LEON Co, FLA.l
August 81. 100Q

other counties in the FIRST Congressional District.
ID. L. McKinnon, Esq is = badly disorganzed
Democrat and his policy 10 10 disovganize the
Democratic party. He has been triiing with and
travelling with the Democrats sometime. l
think he is stopping for The present, however, at
the halfway station for the purpose of consider
ing what the Republican Congressional Commits
tee at Washington has required him to do in or
der to secure the nomination OF the Republican
Congressional Convention to be held al Quincy
September 5th. Il seems as II the cOOred Re.
publicans Of the First Congressional District
have given their bosses at Washington power
"f attorney To instruct them how To- vote in the
Congressional election, and if they should be in
>trucied TO nominate Mack for Congress, (and
they will be,) he will check for the next Rrpuh-
licnn depot His policy is to make haste slowly;
To take through ticket II, however, The
Quincy convention should ignore the inslruc-
tiOns from Washington and nominate George
w. WitherspOon or some other pronounced Re-
publican. Macks Independence would all ooze
out, and he, like the prodigal son, would return
to his fathers house.
Mack's platform of two planks is an abstrac
y
free ballot and fair count That's what the
Democrats teach and practice. But would it
not make unconvered Republicans blush to
stand on his platform? Did they not squeeze
1000 ballots in II 500 balOt-bOx in 1858? Did
they moi carry every State election from 1853
down to 1876 by unexAmpIed frauds? Dill not
their teachers and preachers teach and encnur
age and urge the masses to vote early aud often :?
And by thus teaching aud preaching dill they
not induce all The men, The most OF the boys
from sixteen up and some of the women TO
vote
What an aspect of independence Mack dis
pl 'ys in his retreat from the Dcmncralic party,
bowing, bidding and begging Republican rec"g-
nilion. Will the Republicans recognize him
Anyhow This is his first and will be his last inde-
pendent campaign. Nominating mass meetings
and conventions ale necessary 10 preserve PARTY
organization, but they do occasionally breed In
dependent candidates. The verdict of the pe,,-
pie in mass meeting or convention assembled is
certain tn disappoint somebody. Dsapp0ini-
meut and defeat aggravated by inf itcd self
Importance are certain To ,isOrganize and de-
moralize somebody Disorganz ,,ion and de-
mnralizaliOn, intensified 10y undue desire for
office, are certain To develop Independeniism,
and Independentism, peled by Republicans and
criticised and censured by Democrats, is Ger
tain 10 retrograde into SslwarI Republicansm.
Such is history
The Democrats of Walton elected Mack to the
Legislature in 1868 and it Is bruted abont that he
was disloyal TO the Government of The United
States, and thai be voted against The Fifteenth
Amendment In 1880 he was Democratic; I've
was an accredited delegate in the Democratic
State and Congressional Conventions In 1882
he is All Independent Candidate for Congress,
looking hopefully 10 Quincy. In 1884, Col will
ing and the Republicans helping, what will he
be! | wonder if The Democrats who are re-
ported in sympathy with him now will sympa-
thize with him when he is nominated or recnm-
mendcd for Congress by the Republican Cnnven-
ton? II Governor BlOxham and his Cabinet,
The Circuit Judges. State Attorneys and other
high officials with big salaries, were TO quit the
Democratic party by reason Of its mistakes, aud
organize new party for The purpose Of correct
ing them, would give them credit for honesty
and patriotism; but Mack quit the Democratic
party because it woulI not give him what he
waned, and hope The Republicans will help to
give him what he don't want-defeat. II was
my luck to be citizen of Florida under Repub.
lican rule and ruin, and God forbid that shall
forget the official insnence, insubOrdinaii0n,
fraud aud oppression inflicted on the unoffend-
ing people of The county of which was then a
citizen. The county officials (Rcpublicans) were
an organized company Of rowdies and robbers.
When the law required The officers 10 draw the
juries, they would empty the jury-box on the
table in the Clerks Office and select them from
their cnnfederaIes in sin and infamy. which ena-
bled them TO irample upon and triumph over The
dearest rights of the peOple-tO defraud and rob
them with impuniIy and without the fear of pun
ishment The Assessor of Taxes made his
sessmcnis, (heap higher IhAn u0w) the Collector
Of Revenue multiplied them by two Collected
the money. paid one into The State Treasury
and divided The other half equally among them
selves They defrauded and robbed the people un
der the Great Seal ofihe State swearing that thef
is galvanized thrift, and to cover big steal they
would raise a row, become boisirrus and bellig-
erent, and having stacked their d0ube-barrelled
shot guns in the Clerks Office in the courthouse
they would shoot their pistols in the streets and
shout like fallen angels. They threatened the
best citizens Of the county with hot lead. cold
steel and the torch prnclaming alOud that they
were backed up by the Governments al TRlahas-
see and Washington. Notwithstanding their
reported backings they seemed to know there
was limit 10 human fOrhearance, and fearing
that they had Overstepped IT, they posted
courier 10 the Governor with a pathetic petition
for troops to intimdale the aggressive rebels who
were seeking a pretexi TO massacre his very
humble, homes, law abiding. peace loving, pa
tient, frrbearing officers. The Governor sent the
Adiutant-General to rrcOnnoiter, and he report
ed the aggressive rebels in a state sf commend
able subOrdinatiOn-that everybody was quiet
and cool except the officers. aud their excite
menl was imaginary. Such was Rrpublicansm.
Independentism is a most hngrant counterfeit.
II Is Repuhlicanism stripped naked. The way
farer, though a fool, knows what Independent
ism means.
Is Il pOssible that sensible Democrats have
50 sOon fMgOtien the monsirous wrongs and
frauds inflicted ON them under Republican rule
and ruini There are bat two political parties
in Florida, and the Republicans being In hope
less minority, particularly In the first Congress
sonal District. they are backing up Mack, the
Democratic d,sorganizer in 1882. trusting hope
fully that he and his disnrganized friepds will
back them np in 1884. Butt do not believe