New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-10-03
BoUPBoN CRIME IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

another effort to steal control OF the State
from the Republican majority. The majority
refuses to consent to this without struggle,
| and in order to make them more submissive
the Bourbons have begun to shoot negroes
Every campaign in the State has opened In
this way for the past five or six years. This
wear the preliminary hloodshed occurred at
Lancaster last Wednesday. The accounts of
IT, which came through Bourbon sources,
placed all the blame upon the negroes. This
was also in accordance with established custom.
II was announced also that four negroes were
kille,', and that no white man was injured.
South Carolina political quarrels always end in
that way No white man is ever killed in them
unless he is q Republican. We are always
asked to believe that the negroes arm them
selves and provoke a quarrel, but that they
are never able to shoot anybody. This the
reader is left to infer, is due to the superior
| craftsmanship of the whites, who have the adj
vantage of almost constant practice i'll "nlgger
| shooting.
The preliminary skirmish this year was man
| aged i'm the usual way. An anti Bourbon meet
ing is selected as the place, and squad OF
the old red -shrted- fle-club-Ku-KluX chiyalry
attend for the purpose of STARTING quarrel.
! They insult the speakers, make offensive COM
ments, and conduct themselves so indecently
| that they succeed in prOvolSine n remonstrance
! from somebody in sympathy with the meeting.
| If the demonstrating person is negro, as he is
very likely to be, then everything is prOpitlous.
| He is accused of insulting noble white
man, and the fight is on at once. 1t was some
! what in this way that the Lancaster quarrel
was inst gated. The object is always the same
| to kill few negroes and brighten the cOlored
race generally from taking any further part in
the campaign. 1t is thus that the white race
asserts its superiority over the black and
demonstrates its divine right to govern the
State. We were told that this year there would
| be nothing of the kind attempted, that the new
registration law made all such campaign
methods unnecessary, and that the Bourbons
would be able to carry the State in an out
wardly civilized manner 1t is evident that too
| many of the negroes were successful IN getting
| their names on the registration list.
That what we have said is neither partisan
nor unjust will be easily made apparent by
quoting from an article on the Lancaster
quarrel which was published in the editorial
| columns of The Charleston AerS and Courier
on Saturday last. The Editor admits in the
|
cipitated the quarrel He says the ant-Bour-
bons are disturbing and dangerous element
| because they misrepresent the acts and lnten-
tons of respectable white people" How
| they do this he explains by quoting from the
anti Bourbon platform declarations that the
| BourbOns stuff ballot-boxes allow murderers
to 90 free. protect frauds on the suffrage, and
meet political opposition with social prescrip-
ton and the starying-out process. These
charges are reiterated by the anti-BOurbOn
speakers, and the result is thus frankly de-
scribed by the Editor, who confesses the guilt
of his party while trying to defend it: "lhe
Democracy, the white people OF the State, are
"embittered by these cruel and unjust accu-
stations, and feel bound to expose the falsity
| and malignty of such charges rs are uttered
and dilated upon in their hearing. The coored
| people, dismayed 10y the wOiul picture, and
"confding in the promises of help and prOtec-
! ton given by the opponents OF the Democracy,
! are in the temper to invite an attack. and to
"provoke it. The white people know that they
"are slandered and reviled 10 the fPe OF the
@whole country. With the two races III this
"position, it needs but blow or an oath to pre-
acipitate bloody collision White men ,riH not
nor should they for any reason or under any
circumstances The influence of comment
like that can be readily estimated. Its object
is to encourage Bourbons to go to anti Bour-
bon meetings and provoke quarrels which Will
| end in blood. The antBOurbons "are re-
@sponsible for any riotine and bloodshed that
" may unhappily occur" exclaims the Editor.
Immunity is promised in advance for all crimes
committed in this way.
Taking the Bourbon statement of the charges
made by the anti BourbOns, it is easy to show
| that they are all true The main charge that
| of ballot-box stuIing, is admitted by the Bour-
| bons themselves This same newspaper from
| which we have quoted above said only few
| DAYS ago, in speaking of the prospects OF the
! present campaign: "With persistent and
systematic canvassing the Democracy can win
"a victory as signal as was won two years ago,
{. and can Win II iCithOut STOPPING to conquer, and
slrifhout loss of seifrsSpect. Ballot boz sta6ing
@and repeating are things Of the past in South
Carolina" That is free and ample confession
|. that the Bourbons have stuffed ballot-boxes,
have repeated and have committed other
crimes on the suffrage which have cost them
their self-respect. Surely they have no right
| to quarrel with an anti Bourbon who merely
charges what they confess The truth of the
! other charges is notorious. Murderers do go
free in the State suffrage frauds are protected,
for no jury dares bring IN verdict of convic-
ton. and political opposition is met with
social prescription and the starvation process.
Every human being in South Carolina knows
this to be the case, and it is the height of i'm
pudence for the Bourbon organ to pretend
that these entirely mild assertions of notorious
facts are Hcruel and unjust accusations which
| justify murder. BY making such excuses for
| the u,urdereka IL becones itself the chief