Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1890-11-13
Two GOOD Articles.

II EhH~etNrfsfeAstA
The Charleston Neses and Ooaafe,
has the following strong article or
the political situation as determined
ny che recent election:
TIL sPEAKERsHIP OF THE FIFTY
sEcoND CONGRESS-.
The Washington correspondent oI
I the New York. .HerdsR, in his letter
which was published the morning
after tho election, says that "the
Democrats having undoubtedly oar
red the next House, there will be
the same scramble forthe high offices
that took place at the beginning OF
the 48th Congress-" and names the
probable candidates for several OF
the more important Offices, especially
that of Speaker. The death of MI.
Randall and MI. Cox, and tho with
drawal of Mr.. Carlisle to another
field Of activity, we arc told, leave
the practical choice for tho Speaker
chip limited to parliamentarians like
Mr.. Crisp, of Georgia; Mr.. Mills, of
Texas; Mr.. McMillin, Of Tennessee;
Mr.. breckenridge, of Kentucky; Mr..
Hatch, of Missouri, and Mr.. Eynum,
OF Neutrality-suspicious. who hereto
fore have had an experience rs party
leaders," and all of whom have made
good records in the fight for tariff
reform, and against tho tyranny of
the majority in the present House.
The contest for the other Offices
mentioned by the correspondent,
namely, those of clerk, postmaster,
doorkeeper and sergeant-at-arms, is
of comparatively little consequence;
the scramble" will concern only the
candidates and their personal friends
in the House, and it will matter but
little to the Democratic patty what
candidates are elected or what part
of the country they hail from.
The case is very different with
regard to the Speakership. 1t may
matter very much to tho Democratic
party who is chosen to fill that posi-
ton and what part Of the country he
halls from. We need not 90 into
this question Mt any length, as it is
very well understood already by
every intelligent and dis~interested
Democrat in the country. Messrs.
Mills, McMillin, Breckenridge, Crisp
and Hatch arg Southern men, and
while any IL of them would fill the
Speakers chair with honor and
credit to himself, and doubtless as
a~cceptably to his political opponents
in the House as any Northern Demo
crat in tho same position, the cleo
ton OF any n of them would be
an experiment which the Democratic
majority in the SD Congress canno,
afford to make.
That majority will owe its exist.
cnce and it's overwhelming strength
to the fact that the recent campaign
was not conducted on sectional lines
or decided by sectional issues. Nearly
half Of it's members will represent
Northern States. 1t would be tc
the best interests of the South and
of tho Democratic party that this
element should practically control
the organization Of tho House and
take the lead in all its legislation
We think that it would be a mistake
to place any II of the Southern
members who have been named ever
at the head of the Committee on
Ways and Means. The faah 'ila2Llyl
Southerner held that position Two
years ago, and that so many Southern
men were on the committee with
him, gave the Re blican orators
and organs the opportunity they
wanted to denouncc the Democratic
tariff reform bill as a distinctively
"Southcrn" measure, and by their
appeals to sectional feeling and the
fears and pockets of the representa-
tivcs of Northern industrial interests
they defeated Mr.. Clcvcland's r~e-clcc-
ton, secured the present Republican
majority in the House and postponed
the triumph of tariff reform princi-
pies for four years, if not longer.
Whether the postponemcnt shall
be longer than four years depends
now in part upon the conduct OF
legislation in the next House, and IN
a larger part upon who shall be held
Responsible by the country for tho
character of hat legislation. If q
poupiiCih iill SllOUlU DC ClCSLCC
Speaker, his election would be re,
gardcd by the independent voters in
the Northern States, and by the
Republican voters who have voted
with them for Democratic Congress,
men this week, as evidence that the
influence of tho South is to predomi,
nate in the SD Congress. The
Republican newspapers and Con,
gressmcn and stump speakers viii
take care to foster this impression by
every possible means during the next
two years, and especially during the
next Presidential campaign. What
the result would probably be every
intelligent Democrat can answer fol
himself.
There is no to doubt that il
would be to drive off q large numbe,
Of the voters in the Northern States
who voted for the Democratic ticket
this wcek-many of them probabl,
for the first time in their l~ives--and
so to endangcr the success of the
party in tho decisive contest two
years hence.
Whether we can afford to take
this risk is a question which tho
Southern Democrats in the SD Con.