Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1892-07-28
Gen. Hampton's S Letter.

!. p
Gen. Hampton's Letter.
We publish in this issue another
letter from Gen, Hampton. The
General, as a rnle, has been un-
fortunate in his utterances through
the public press, and his last letter
is no exception. 1t has been truly
said that asilence, at the proper
time, is golden" Whether by
accident or Otherwise, the Genera!
usually selects the most critical
time in political affairs in the
State to come to the front with
public expressio. In one single
instance did he speak at the right
time. In June, 1882, Gen Ham
ton said:
I'm the present condition o.
parties in this State, an Independ-
.ent is, if possible, worse theu 9
Radical, for he steals the livery Of
Heaven to serve the devil in"
This was timely and well said
But iu 1890, when A. G. Haskell
deserted the Democratic party
and appealed to negro vote, Gen
Hampton firmly refused to- lend
his great Influence to the Demo.
cracy, and thus, in a letter to
Chairman Irby, endorsed Haskell't
loyalty:
can doubt, his sincerity, hif
conscientiousness >or his Demo,
cracy, I certainly do not"
at the general election in No
vember Haskell proved his loyalty
or rather his dlsloyalty, to the
Democracy by voting for Ensor
the Radical candidate for Congress
againat regular Democratic
When The State, as the re-
preventative of the old Haskellite
and so-called Conservative
elements, was clamoringA for 9
,ia,.ssan,laa,,r:x.s i,ssa q lHhich they. really DIG
letter to The state, ms favofrr
exponent, in which he said:
fsIf the dominant party, al
those members of the Ring like te
call themselves, refuse that dem
and of those opposed to them, my
opinion is that the convention
which is to meet this month have
a primary, and if the result shows
as have no doubt it will, that the
opponents of the present Admin.
istration are in majority, they
as the true Democretie party
should assume control, not only Of
the policy to be pursued in the
approaching canvass, but of the
State itself.'
Italics in the above are ours
Just what Gen. Hampton meant
when he said that "they," (mean.
ing the original Haskellites and
the Haskellite sympathizers, now
calling themselves "Conserva-
tives" "should assume control,
"not only of the policy to be
pursued in "the approaching can
vass but of the estate itself" NO
one has yet been able to explain
satisfactorily, not even the most
astute philosopher among the
"peace and unity" scribes, though
some have assayed the task.
But now comes his last tell-tale
lettcr under consideration. Speak
ing of Tillman and his followers, y
Gen. Hamptnn says:
81 stand by and reiterate what I
said about Independents in our
State, and he must pardon me
when 1 say in perfect frankness
that I regarded him as,an Inpend-
ent when he Suggested himself
as a gubernatorial candidate in
the famous March Convention, and
I held then, as I do now, that he
and his followers there should
have been ruled at once out of the
Democratic party. This however,
was not done, and as the Demo-
cratic Executive Committee unfor-
tuuately recognized him subse-
/ stated that I should
vote for him. This I should have
done, but fora fortunate accident
which saved me from what I
should always have regarded as an
but unmitigated
calamity"
So Gen. Hampton thought in
1890 as he thinks now-that Till
man "and his followers should
nave been ruled out of the Domo-
cratic party" that Haskell was
md is a goad Democrat, and Till
nan is an independents and the
rillmanitee are "roughs." "-Ex.
Than on5 Now