Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1890-07-31
.yoLUnIE XII. ~. NO so.
The Danger In South Carolina.

| The Charleston Vescs ttttd sCo,Aier
probably knows more about the situ-
alton in South Carolina than we do,
having moro intimate relations with
what might be termed the truo in
wardncss Of the campaign. 1t may
be, however, that these seintinnatto rois,-
tions tend to give our contemporary
prejudices that are not entertained
by those who Wow the field from q
distance.
From our standpoint, which leads
us to take an impartial view of the
contest between the Democratic fac
tions in Carolina, there is nothing
mysterious ormystifying in the situa-
tion, and nothing threatening to the
Democratic party so long as the con-
test is confined to party lines. We
are of the opinion, however, that
the Ne,cs and Coanier is giving
advice to the factions with which it
sympathiacs chat is calculated to de-
stroy tho party itself and turn the
State over to Republican rule. We
arc of the opinion and this opinion
is shared i'll by great many Demo-
Gratis who take an impartial view of
the Carolina contest--that if the
Democrats who oppose Mr.. Tillman
follow the advice of oar Charleston
contemporary a split in the party is
inevitable. What such split means,
the Democrats of South Carolina
need not be told. There is no cx-
pertinent about it, 1t means negro
domination, q very large dose of
which South Carolina has already
taken
1t usually happens that partisan
ship is blind, but it seems to us that
even parts ensbip in South Carolina
ought to pause and seriously consider
the inevitable result Of split in the
Democratic party. The fact that
Tillman and his methods of cam
paign are obnoxious to certain Demo-
Gratis in South Carolina is no reason
why the party organization should
be sacrificed. Prejudice and parti-
sanship should hide their heads
when Democratic harmony is threat
cncd. Tillman has made and is ma
king a very vigorous campaign, and
if his methods are unusual, it should
be borne in mind that he is making
his contest within the party lines.
TO this extent it is a perfectly lc-
gitimate contest. He may be q
! dnmagoguc of tho most thorough.
going kind, yet no y Perlcc'
right to be a candidate for the Dolfnt :;
cratic nomination., and his Demo
cratic followers have perfect right
to support him for that nomination.
All this being true, We are of the
opinion that the course the Charles
ton Ne,os and Courier is pursuing
is dangerous to the party. 1t is ad-
vocating what the New Orleans
Times Democrat fifty terms "rulc
or ruin" policy, and if this policy is
carried out, the Ne,os and Comie,
and the so-callcd "straightouts" de-
serve to be charged with breaking up
Democratic party in the State.
The policy that is certain to break
up the Democratic partyin Carolina,
if is carried ont, is embodied in a
| proposition made in a doublc-lcaded
editorial recently printed in that pa
per. The proposition is to the cf-
feet that the delegates to the nomi-
mating convention must be elected
by primaries; that the convention to
meet in August should submit the
whole question to the primaries and
refuse to do anything else. The
meaning of this is that the faction
which comes out of this campaign
with a majority of the people in its
favor should make no use of its VIC
tory, but rc-submit its claims to tho
primaries.
a more prcpostcrous proposition
could hardly be conceived. The
faction that secures control of tho
August Convention is to reap none
of the advantages of its hard won
victory, but it is to re-submit the
whole matter to the people and go
through tho fatiguing buster Of an
other campaign. We may be very
sure that If the straightouts, as they
are called, secure control Of the con-
vention they will use their victory
for allit is worth, as they are onti-
tied to do; and there is no doubt
that the 'rillman Democrats will do
the same. 1t may be said, there
fore, that the proposition of the
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