The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1889-10-17
WHY Not ?

Why should we not put our Oh"
comm. .nwealth hack in her old place
at the head Of the list of her South
ern sisters in her wealth.produclng
capacities? Many outsiders are ex-
pressing surprise at the recuperative
energy that the. people o. this State
have exnihitrd since they drove 'he
robber Cover ment from power and
restored order under IN honest and
civilized rule.
The government under which we
have lived since 1876 has not exhlh-
lied INV marked craftsmanship
but it has been thoroughly honest
and given the people fair chance
to restore order in their affairs and
to fight ont OF the slough Of despond
as hest they could Embarrassed
pecuniarily, down hearted and driven
to the wall as our people were when
they once more to X possession Of
their own affairs and looked around
them in dead earnest, we can we'll
imagine feeling akin to that Of dis
NAV which inangurated the true pc
riod of reconstruction when the
white people Of the State undertook
to rebuild 'th- ::r"*srate State into
something liz" ! rr2u ar aud we'll
appointed commonwealth. Esery.
thing WIS at SKIES and scvens, every
institution in the State was hamper
ell almost to bankruptcy. ii not quite
in that condition. With one whole
years taxes sto en- out the Treasury.
with no credit in the money markets,
with the labor class OF the i'tate fear
fully disorganized by the bitterness
of tie race issue. and with the heart.
.ickening dependency prevailing in
all directions among some OF the
best. and in popular belief the most
long headed men in the State, the
outlook vas gloomy enough it must be
confessed. And it is not at all snr'
prising that our legislature turned
to a hand.tn.mouth policy and a some
what cr;ppling parsimony as all tha
was left to 'hen;.
It was not so mu"h the amount
which the rspscions Legislative
thieves Glched from Us as the utter
decentralization which it visited on
society and all its business AFFAIRS
that made good men hopeless OF any
substantial recovery for generations
from the plunds and prohigacJ
which seemed to have come to stay
until there was no more TO steal.
The result was that il was six
yea,s before thn people hcgaii |" T1el
their way out CT the Aoi CESS coniu.
sion into whic4 all our affairs had
beer thrown. The crop of 1882 came
as God-send and the people began
to pluck up new courage and to tn.
terrain some hope for the day of
better things in their own times.
And so it is that, under many dis
couraging reverses of food and
dr nights, with the first city of the
commonwealth swept 10y a fearful
e clone, and again wrecked by m
awful visitation wlrch startled the
civi izeh wnrIt, We lave not lost
heart, but pushed On through good
and through evil rep IT. to al indus
trial Development which tirgins to
cha lenge tn" attention and excite
the wonder, not only of those beyond
our borders, but of many Of our own
people.
We are now nearly out uI the
woods. and with no set Lack in the
next five years we ven n:e the asaer.
tion that South Carolina will discover
recupelntivo energy which vii
astornd the doubling Thnmases
themselves.
The Register has never de pA'red
Il day Ui an hour nnder All i;e t.
verses that have hera!lc' our people
1t has never lost heart. it kuew
the natural resources of tte-Sto.te
and the t'mper cf Der people.
It had not forgotten thr Gnanr:a!
aud executive ahil,ty' for which the
people of this Stasc had been 50
long conspicuous. it knew Tic non.
est methods with Which business
was conducted here frr GENERATIONS.
IL knew tie marked sa'ccss VIII cl,
lad attended tins aGgrn4ati2n "i
men and resources. ana II AS con.
yinced that what had been done hcre
under one industrial snd s"cial coE-
dition would repeat Itself u"icr ano-
ther rs soon as order Was restored
and society in MY proper sense once
more renewed its unvrSles. 1t cord
not helievo that al tho GO ii nien
ami strong men, anh true men were
dead aud gone and gone Iorever.-
Aud hence it never faltered in lis
unreienea belief in the day Of better
things for Carolina. 1t wrote on its
rutcr banner nil 9esperandum an,l
luokea for the morning in the ni.' {
til. o; our affair. just as confident
ly IS al mer look for the day dawn
in the Arrest hours Of midnight.