The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-10-27
SECTIONAL LINES. "
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR EXIST
ENCE,

should the Blame Rest Upon Char
lesion or Upon the Up-Coantry
Should the Up.Country be CharS-
ed with Fostering Sectional y
Feeling Because the Mountains
nre Not willing to Yield Every
thing to the Demand of the City
by the Sea?
II any man Is living under the hsrpy delnsion thnt
the earthquake broke up all sectional! lines IN Soath
Carolina thut idea will be disecd II he Will read
few of the editorials and communications In some OF
the State paprs regarding the proposed state ala 10
Charlestpn- CoLam6tG Correspondence AuO@'s"
Tae assertion is too sweeping. The correspondent
surely does not attribute simple opposition I" Ss.e
mid as sectionalsm: lie should not say some oi the
State pap.rs"; he might say one of them, for there
is only one that has. far have seen eNhhitca
any sectional feeling in this connection lhat one II
th,, dbberiLke I,yeSs and Banner Gan the cor
raspomI.nt uame another? Ii so, let him do so; 9th
crwi.e he sAnuld qualify his ststcmen'.-NeroeTTy
Observer.
We had intended to say nothing more OF
This for the reasons: first, that we believe
that Charleston has abandoned the luea; anu
second we bcaicve the people of the country
would vote 1t down, II the qaestioh snou'o oe
submitted 10 them.
But rs the Observer has chosen To reter TO MS
specifically, and as n number OF oiher news,
papers seem to have assumed lor themselves
d much larger share of the milk OF human
Kindness than they accord 10 other news,
papers In the up-country," we presume
ihat We should refer to the matter
araia. However much our words may nave
been susceptible to the Implication, wehave
meant no unkindnesS to Charleston. %hen
she acts in the right. Charleston has no better
friend than the Iess ana 6Tmmer' e Se' ntend Tee
to protest. II IL was an improper time 10 90.
ject to Char!eston's improper proposition. IL
was pre- eminsny INV wrU9g %sn IN WE aer must 10 eiter
accede to a wrong or subject ourselves TO the
charge Of unkiRdneSS.
Was 1t not at the instance OF Charleston
that the rate OF interest was raised from seven
10 ten per cent. Did not the raising OF the
rate Of interest depreciate the price OF our
Grmse Has not the high rate OF interest," op-
II It was not for Charlestons influence. does
anybody doubt that there would I've law on
our statute books which would prevent tne
for the use Of his money, and at tue same
time binding the country merchant 10 con-
tract whereby he would pay twenty or thirty
pcr cent. additional?
cha i ,ston has not broken every merchant
who has gone Into Il foolish contract 10 snip
cotton but IL the wrecks which she mas
already ma le mean anything, IT. VIII require
orIy q short time to complete the job. When
Oh irleston cln bind country mcrchanC 10
ship We hundred b lies for tne use OF i'VOJ ior
six months or else forfeit so' h 9esHfs ,het ,e
~, -
Gc.or will soon wind up the busiue IS, anu
take the merchants mortg.ged farm?
We believe sixteen tracts OF land are 70 oe
sold on next sale Day at Abbevine Court
House by the Master, and. IL we err nor, elev.
en- of those tracts Rre TO be sold to comply
with contracts t. ship cotton, or for deots IN
Cured under the WORKINGS OF such contrncts'
Ali the Masters sales on last Sale Day were
for t! e be nefit OF Charleston:
systematic plan OF running our people
is enough to alarm us, and enough to cause us
to cey out for ,e,verance from system which.
is SO destructive Of our best in terests, e'cn
when developed and operated by our 'N,i own
beloved and earthquake-strtckc Charleston.
Capt. B. r. TIlInlnn has said many things
about the triflng abuses to which our people
are subjected but he has never once turned
his attention to the wholesale system oI
hankruptins our people that is daily pursued
In Charleston. We have more TO rear from
the Charleston factor than from the STATE
goyernment, with all of It's eNtravagance ~
Was not Charleston excessively anxious 10
have a railroad commission WHOSE chiei du-
tyiS sh 3uld be to see that the railroads In Tue
np.country did not make excessive prohts?
Has Charleston ever said one word about
phosphate commission whose duty 1t shoulu
be tosc that the phosphate digger dlu not
charge 81 per ton for rock which did not Gust
Did the Radical government ever pass
more iniquitous net than that which gave te
u favored company exclusive rights % ule
phGsDha,e rocks from our streams why
die our Democratic Legislature ratity that
act, II it was not to give Charleston the ad-
vantage Of the up-country? -, Wy.
Call this "seciionaliSm," il you Will. we
make no prctrnsc to that humiliatine grace
which wuuld enable us 70 filwn and n'ttter an
oppresSor while running us and cur nclghoors
even though that oppreSsor should oe our
own chg.
Charge the Press and Banner with being the
only newspaper that Is not subserVient 10
Charleston. 1t will not be SO always. nhere
is sense of right and justice which VIII as
sert itself sooner or later, even a:aiEst the en-
croachmcnts Of our own beloved Charleston.
Tie habit 1t seems To us, Is common among
some or the newspapers or newspaper writer's
10 dcprecate "sectionalism" whenever Cnar-
lrstons encroachmcnts are resisted by the
up-couutry. For our own part that meaning
less cry has ceased TO have any effect upon
us. Nor do we believe that sectional feeling
has ever been foStered In the up-couniry, ex-
cept ny the urging OF measures which hld 1or
thar object the repression OF the advance
Hent of the interests of the up-c"untry, or
the advocacy OF some proposition wnlch
claimed some special favor for CharieSton
AS H,e do not recoilect to have heard or seen
one word of "sectiona!isin" in any newspaper
in any pirt OF the State of south Carollhl'
which was not provoked by Charlestons op.
position to the up-cOuntry or by Charleston S
i:s object the ad vancelnent Of it's own inter-
@Sts, whether detrimental 10 the up'cnun-
try or not, VIC will be obliged to our friend of
the Ne,u6e,7y Obserrcr To point out at least
If the Prcss uad Banner is laborlrs under q
mistake, and Is the only newspaper In the
trust that we may be shown wherein we have
erred, aad we trust that we may be directed
how TO do the right. Naturally, the people
Of the up. country, and especially of Abbe'
viIe county, feel extremely friendly to Char
lesion. These sections are bound together by
many ties, which are strong, anu whlcli
should not be broken /? Then Is 1t not
Churleston's disposition to take advantage OF
those friendly relations. that occasions thiS
TAX OF scctienalism? We do not believe any
man has said Il word against Charleston, so
long as she did not assume 10 be the State,
or claim something because OF fer wealth. or
because OF some UtRcr reason Wnicu was spe-
ci,l to her.
II Charleston will treat the country peopleas
though they were part OF the State. possessing
eauM rights with herself, we venture 10 Sug.
grst there will be no opposition 10 her from
the up.country, and she will never have oc-
casion to remind us of our poverty-neithcr
will she have need TO remind US OF her great
wealth. But living in peace with her breth:
on every foot Of soil III all this Piedmont
country. The people of the entire State
from the mountains to the sen, naturally
look to Charleston, their chief city. viii!
In her cl,izrns some evidence of friendship
end fair dealing, they will bind US to her us
SlJh hooks OF Steel
If there Is not some reason, why should the
people of the entire Stale not be as onei
There must be an actual or imaginary cause
for sectional" feeling. No mar would viii
fully seek 10 array one part OIL the country
against another, and we thin 1t would be ~
airs In deprac;:tIng "sectionalism' to show
wherein those u us are wrong who oppose
Charlestnn's encroachnents: III Is oui
convictions of wrongs inflicted, or proposed
that call for the assertion of our rights, ra!l-
er than compromise OF our principles. TO 9
people who have thearrogance to claim some
thing because they pay more taxes than We
do-bec tuse they are richer than we arc. L