The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1886-11-25
a Sable

AS = sample of the manner in which the
democracy Of the south handle politics,
the following from the New York Tribune
of Wednesday may be OF interest to our
democratic reAders.s
There are only four counties in South
Carolina that were permitted to give mr..
Blame majority. In those counties, the
republican preponderance was 30 great
that democrats shrank from the crime
and shame which an attempt to
carry them would have involved. One of
them was created since 1880; the other
three had then 10 1877 white and 20 936
colored inhabitants. These four counties
were all put into one congressional dis
trIcts by democrats, in order to leave as
few republican votes as possible in other
districts. AS they do not adioin each
other-Sumter is ct the nearest point
about thirty miles from any part Of
Georgetown, and both more than seventy
miles from any part of Beaufort-And con-
nsction had somehow to be made In order
to comply with the requirement that q
district shall be composed of contiguous
territory, strips were picked out of six
other counties, with care 10 put into the
district as many colored votes as possible.
and even then the connection is not made
and the district is not a constitutional one
exceI when the tide Is out. The Official
description of this most remarkable dem
ocrAtic continuance, as IL appears in the
congressional directory, reads thus:
Counties Beaufort, Georgetown, Sumter
and Berkeley excepting the towns of
Mount Pleasant and Summerville. and
so much of the parish of st. James, Goose
Creek, as lies between the western track
OF the South Carolina railway and the
Ashley river below the county of Col
leton0 the lower township of Richland
county; the townships of Collins, Adams
Run, Glover, Fraser, Lowndes and Blake
IN The county of Colleton; the townships
| of Amelia, GOODBYE, Lyons, Pine Grove,
Poplar, Providence ana VAnce's in the
county OF Orangeburg; the townships of
Anderson, Hope, Indian, Kings excepting
the town of Kingston), Laws, MIDgo,
| Penn, Ridge, SuttOn's and Turkey, in the
county of Williamsburg, and that p rtlOn
OF Charleston county composed of James
Island, Folly Island, Morris Island. and
the island lying between them, the lower
coast line from and below high-waIeT
mark.
How any decent person ever brought
himself TO adjudge this q compliance with
the law governing the formation of dis.
tricts, It is hard 70 understand. but such
was the district contrived by South Caro-
lima democrats to gather in 25, 900 repub
l1C0n majority anu Inus 10 1eoSe Sn0 Otnei
districts of the state such that they nigh
by especial effort be carried for democratic
congressman. Robert Smalls, the slGvI
who delivered transport steamer to thu
Unlon blockading squadron in 1861, WHIT
served as pilot on Union monitors, ant
} was promoted to. be captain for gallan
} conduct in 1868, has been the one republi
can member from South Carolina. anC
this extraordinary With district fount
aaf,sfarfion In haino ranrpeanted bV A mai
. 30 worthy aud capable.
, This year, however, the democrats need
: ed every seat they could steal from th
south, and they proceeded to steal eve
!, the Seventh South Carolina. the very dis
!. trict which had been devised to swSlloV