The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-04-16
The Farmers Will Get There.

| Editor Manning Tfmes:--I have been look
| ing on. Ever since the March Convention
I've been thinking. When that CONVEX tioI
was held I wondered if anybody in the
State would have the courage to vote for &
platform, and especially for nominations
The Ne,rs and Courier was against it; the Co
lumbia Register and all the newspapers saia
You mustn't nominate, no how" All the
organs of public opinion, all the city poll.
ticians and town politicians and those farm
er politicians who run a store and didn't
belong to the alliance. and lots Of alliance
and farmers movement men who were
clouded by the newspapers,-all cried out
against that convention. All the ugly words
Of the language were hunted out of Web.
ster's unabridged and hurled at it. They
oulldozed, abused, tried to scare md befool
it. Enemies were slipped into it; politi-
clans went to Columbia and buttonholed
against it.; University students went there
to hurrah against it and to hiss and to mock
it. It's chances looked gloomy, and when
after it met and actually took in its enemies
and the whole lot Of people who opposed
nominations. even the Sumter delegation,
how could it in the face of all that get any
votes for nominations at all. But 1T got 'em.
1t settled On platform, and started out men
for governor and lieutenant governor It's
amazing! There has never been anything
like it
Those newspapers which always made
people do as they said, were amazed too.
And they got mad; awful mad The Neus
and Courier and Columbia Register just never
were SO mad They can't even see straight,
they are so mad! After all that power and
energy and abuse and ridicule and scorn to
beat that convention, and not to do it! They
can't understand it, and SO they are Just as
cross as they can be. In fact they are
'6ghtin' mad"
was standing by at hotel and heard
two men talk. One said, 'These are clever.
good looking fellows, but the hardest-headed
fellows ever struck. Dinged if you can
do anything with em. We even tried to
scare EN-, told 'em the Democratic party
would be all gone if they nominated, but
one Of EN- said to me: Some few Of you
rs bankers after the Ring mought be all
gone, but not the Democratic party. That's
solid"
After the convention was over it was still
funnier to look on. One very excited man,
with white lips and mad eyes, said: I'm
not frettin', not bit" but looked very much
like he was "frettin'"
But what ails the people anyhow That's
the puzzle. They used to do Just as they
were told to do; now they do especially what
the Charleston Ne,cS and Columbia REGISTER
don't want 'em to do! It Was just SO four
years ago when the first farmers conven-
ton was called. Nothing could turn em.
They said, "Something's wrong that we
don't get on better; and if we don't look
after it nobody else will" So they got hard
headed and rushed into the Farmers Asso-
ciation Then the Alliance came along and
they went pell nell into that, and got
harder-headed than ever, and talked call
sorts offoolishness, as Columbia man said,
about people being the best conserrators
Of their own rights etc.
Then most Of those fellows VINO voted
against nominations turned over and said
they were going with the other fellows and
talked worse 'foolishness" than ever. All
sorts of things, about 1t won't do to divide
The few" will get control, and it will be
here like at the n orth AIillionaires will
increase, while tramps will multiply, and
paUpers fill the poor houses, and times will
get bad again, and then worse, etc. "Such
fooishness" makes the big papers madder
than ever, and 80 they have declared war;
and are going to show these hard-headed
fellows who their bosses are! They have
gat ont their artillery and are blazing away
with 20-pounders at Edgefeld and Laurens,
and am still looking on.
If I see anything worth relating III send
you the news. Mr.. Editor, if you think it's
worth publishing. LooKEg-oN.