The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1884-05-07

best clements" dissent from the views
which he expresses. If he means to say
that the "best elements" Of Abbevillo
County. defined as above, endorse the
action OF Colonel Coward before the Ed.
ucational Committee, then VI contend
that he Is again mistaken.
We give our reasons: Many property
owners of Abbcville County have spoken
to us In reference to our editorials urging
the repcal of the constitutional provision
~levving a two-mill tax, and, with
one single exception, every one who
has srokcn to us on tho subject has
endorsed our views, and only n has ex-
pressed tho opinion that 1t would be I'M
! fortunate to spring tho question now. OF
all tho nutnberin Abhoviilc County whom
we have heard speak Of the Blair Bill,
two endorsed it u~ncquivocally, and ono
thought we ought to take all That We
could get from tho United States.'
Colonel Coward's action before the Ed
ucational Committee has met favorable
comment from no single individual citi-
zen Of Ahheyi,ls County whom wo re-
! collect to have heard speak on the subject.
! He hurt himself in the estimation of u
people. In the FIRST place very few OF "
citizens had any sympathy with tho OBJ
ject of his pilgrimage, while his almost
total lack of any information rs to the
schools Of South Carolina. with which no
was supposed to be familiar, wasanything
else than gratifying.
While tho above Is true, we do not Claim
70 have heard n majority Of the people of
Abbeville County speak on the subject.
But we will say this. that if the Honora'
able Senator would exclude from the
:. best elements" the non in this County
who once agreed with him, but who, after
50 many years of experience have changed
their minds, then we believe Ahbevilie
county will contain very few citizens OF
the chest clements OF the State. Why a
GREAT man like Hampton, even 10y inucn-
do or insinuation, ahoulh give out the
ides that those who differed from him
were not Of the "best elements" we ran
not see. Who are the "dcSt elemcntH?'
Who shall sit in judgment? Who shall say
tho men who are Of n way Of thinking
arc the "bcst, elements" and pronounce
others not of the chest elements" merely
because they happen to think differently
on q great question about which tho
wiscst men that ever lived have differed7
The Honorable Senator. in his official ca
parity, represents all "elemcnts' OF our
State, ever those whom he may deem not
Of the chest elements"
The Honorable Senator has kindly and
Justly exonorated ia from any intention
to do him a wrong. and we will do him
the Justice to say that we do not believe
that he meant to say, what his words
would imply. that those who differ ed from
him were not of the "best elements of our
State"
The minority of the citizens of this
State have contributed every year since
| Democratic reconstruction, a quarter OF a
million Of dollars for tho "dilusion of ed
ucation" among the great mass Of colored
people. What has been the result?
Haven't We had to enlarge the walls of
the penitcntiary? Have we made one
colored man a better citizen7 TX there a
colored man in the State to-day who is at
all e~eateful for our effort to educate his
race? Has not the public schools demon
allied our own race? We think a care
full observer will not deny that Abbeviue
County to-day has fewer and poorer
schools than shc ever had Mt any time
when every man paid for his education
bv honest toll. The public school system
encourages pauperism and communism,
all hifalutin. spread-eagle English to
the contrary Notwithstanding.
Nobody wants Senator Hampton to give
his place to an other. We love him moro
than any other man. Notwithstanding
his single fault, and we make this
prediction: That he will live to see the
two-mill tax for educational purposes re-
pealed?