The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-09-09

"a little icon0clasm BY all means let
is now in order in promotion depend up
South Carolina. 1t on qualification and
is time to select for. fitness, irrespective
public Offices the mcn of race or name.
who are absolutely fit But by no means let
for those places, and promotion be denied,
TO disregard abso- because he who seeks
lutcly The notion that il had Il father.
rank in the Confedcr-
ate army, or emil
hence at the Bar, ora
long pedigree (of n
hundred years or
whereabouts is an
all-suficient qualiii-
cati"n for any post of
honor or trust. Whn
are the best men
the places to be fin
ed -? That is the only
question:"
1t is evident to any one who can clearly see
that the position of the EssENGER is idcnti-
cal with that of the NeHS and CUurior. We
have not pretended to say that :, man should
be excluded from II public Office because he
has n long line of ancestors or, for the mat
ter OF that, because he has no ancestors.
Our platform is this: "Who are the best
"mcn for the places to be filed That is
"the only question:" The Abbcvillc MIS-
%"sENaER says: "By all means let promotion
"dcpcnd upon qualification or fitness ire
"spectlye of race or name" Where is the
difference between the two declarations?
Fhysiologically speaking, it is necessary
that every man shall have II father and like
wise Il mother, and, physiologically consider
atoms apart, both father and mother are adj
vantagens at different periods If ones cx-
istencc, the fnther being desirable as the
chancellor Of the family cxchccquer, if for no
higher reason. The MESSENGER must not &C
cuse us of sneering ut the Fourth Command
ment but we are taking n practical view of
a very important question, and ought not to
be suspected of Directing to n candidate be-
cause he had Il father, or Il grandfather, as it
is an evident fact that every human being
who has been born for thous inds of ycurs has
been endowed with both the family ornu-
ments.
Far be it from us to undervaluc the i..flu-
ence which n gccd fathor and a good mother
can exercise upon their children. AssuredIv,
we would not dcpreciate the influence which
Is exertcd upon the man or the child of to-
day by the knowledge that he comes from n
long ling Of men who were brave, and of wo-
hing. Even what is called "good blood'
thins out, and appears to became dead, at
times. Lo,k at the long line of European
NOBILITY. How many of the lot nre noble by
cident Of birth? MOL! Our purpose is not to
undervalue any good or useful thing that one
can gain from tho example of parcnts-by
ltcreol'y, by association-for, ether things
being equal, it is more likely Tint the child
self be honorable. that that the child of a
swindler and the grandchild of u thief will be
upright and true. But this is not the point.
1t ought not to be necessary to run through
this alphabet of taste and morals with so
accomplished Il newspaper as the Abbeville
MESSENGER.
In South Carolina there is, we believe, too
much regard for name and birth. 1t is nm
old joke that when Mr.. Calhoun opened his
snsh-b"x the whole State succeed. There is
no one man in South Carolina who can pro-
duce this effect ON The olflctory nerves of the
people to-day. But there are II greut many
persons who expect the people to sneeze
whenever they open their s~nn-fboxes. Espt-
cially is the snccZc looked for, as a matter of
right, when n snuf:box is raped upnn and
opened WEIGH belonged to a grandfather or a
great-Grandfnthcr. Then again, thore is a
silly notion thar because a man was a brave
soldier ne Will necessarily excel in civil life.
individuals should be n charge upon the
State, and that places should be made for
them at the expense of the people. These
are the grievances that w would strike ut.
We would not, for n moment, as we have
said before, reject q candidate for nm office
because he bears an hOnored. On the con-
trary we would like him the better for il.
But the habit is to fancy that public Office
should 6e given because the applicant bears n
particular pame, and not because he has
proved himself to be capable and worthy.
The rule that we desire to see applied in
South Carolina is that personal worth, per
sonai service. personal fitness, shall consti-
tute the claim to public confidence and pub
lie office, and that Offices shall not be given to
any one VIII" is not proved to be fit, whether
he have or have not a grandfather and a
grandmother, and some family pictures and
q shelf full :.of cracked china.
We arc content to Oct promotion depend,"
as tho the ABBEvIELE MESSENGER has II, on
fitness, irrespective of race or ''nam -" but
We are not thinking simply of those who are
in public office already. The test applies to
the privatcs, so to speak, who are now for the
first time entering service, as it applies to
those who have been showed mp by the casu-,
alties Of political battles. Asthe M~EssENGER
says, "merit alone should be the criterion of
"ftncss for public office" We have no fear
that the MESSENGER and ourselves will be far
apart but the "imagc.breaking" is necessa-
ry, and the inage-breaking is about To- come.
And when the work begins, the saline ~statua-
ry of the State will stand a poor chance
| Neags and Courier.