The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-10-31

| him q serf TO his more fortunate neigh
bor. It would be like depriying a
soldier of his gun upon the field Of
battle, and requiring him to face steel
and bullets armed only with the wca-
pons that nature gave him, Drawn and
blood. And just here let us say that
when an attempt is made to take from
the poor white men Of South Carolina
their ballot you by that act fan into a
blaze the fame of anarchy.
But even admitting that the party
now in power will so distort the law as
to disfranchise the negro and let the
white man vote, when both are labor
ing under the same political disabili-
ties But what guarantee has the poor
and the uneducated white man that
this Kindness will continue Sup
pose that party gets into power
whose interest tits to disfranchise the
Door man so as to increase the politi-
cal strength of the educated Or rich
man l.? Under the proposed change in
our Constitution this can be done, and
that voter can t help himself. Who
knows when some political revolutions
may take place in South Carolina by
which the wealthy class may regain
power and the Reform party be over
thrown ? When this is done you will
quickly see the lines drawn upon the
ignorant and poor white as we'll as
black man. and he will be made a
political serf. But so long as that
voter is armed with the ballot he has
weapon with which to fight his bat
ties, and he won have to depend on
the carprice or manipulations of any
faction that he may vote.
Our advice to the poor and inlet
tered voters of South Carolina is to
hold on to your ballot like grim death
to dead negro, and don't let any
body of men take this right from you.
With free and untrammelled ballot
you can fight your own battles; but
draw the suffrage line against the poor
or uneducated classes, and you are no
better than a slave. 1t matters not
what our Reform leaders may advise,
the Headlight intends to stand by the
poor white voters Of South Carolina
in this fight, if it ruins our business /;
and we do not believe that any true
friends 70 the common people will ad-
vocate a Constitutional Convention,
and that certainly imperils the suffrage
of the poor white man, and without
giving him an opportunity to vote in
the matter.
But the advocates Of the Constitu-
tional Convention say that his sacri-
fee of few must be made for "the
good of our movement" It was the
votes Of these same poor and unedu-
Gated white men that gave birth and
success to our Reform party, and they
are as true to it's principles as the
needle to the pole. If it be necessary
for the success for this great move
ment to strip the coat from the back
of that poor voter and make him face
the cold of winter in his shirt sleeves,
why take off that coat and he will not
complain. If you must tear his shoes
off, do so, and he will uncomplainingly
follow the plough with his bare feet.
But for God sake, leave him his bal
lot When you take this from him
you take his all and place honest and
true white men in the same boat with
the sea island negro, and thus degrade
and humiliate him. Any change in
our Constitution that must deprive
the poor white man of his vote should
be entitled Gan Act to make political
serfs of poor white folks and niggers. .
We have been threatened with the
loss of $500 subscribers if the Head
ziqht did not support Constitutional
Convention, as our 'leaders favored
it," We do not know how our "lead-
ers'' stand on this issue, but no man
is our keeper, for we act on our own
honest convictions. If it costs us the
last patron on our books, we shall tell
the people the truth, and advise them
conscientiously. We went into the
Reform Movement not to further the
political ambition of leaders, but to
promote the happiness and the
welfare of the whole people and
also to preserve unto the majority the
right to rule their State. It is the
poor and the humble that need friends
and advisers, and we shall stand by
them if it ruins us. The poor people
of Spartanburg County have kept the
Headlight alive with their quarters,
and we would be recreant indeed did
we give our aid and countenance to
any scheme that will deprive them Of
their right to vote.
It is an insult to the Anglo-Saxon
race to assert that South Carolina will
ever again submit to the rule of the
African. We wrested our Govern
ment from the hands of the negro
when he was backed by Federal bayo-
nets; and now that we have the bal
lot-boxes in hand, and all the power
of Government at our back, it is the
height of folly to argue that unless we
take the vote from the poor ignorant
white man the negro will knock us
down and capture the Government:
The negro race is out Of politics, and
since the adoption of our direct pri-
mary no faction will dare appeal to
him.
We are told by those Convention
advocates that they will arrange to
protect the vote of the uncducated OF
poor white man, in the event that he
is disfranchised by the new Constitu-
tion. We are unwilling that free-born
white American citizens shall become
dependent upon any man or political
faction of men to be allowed to vote.
The Constitution of the United States
gives him the ballot. and he should be
permitted to exercise this rig hit and
power without bein" beholden to any
man, or the violator of law. 1t is an
honor and proud privilege to cast
| your ballot as the law directs ; but it
| is degradation to an honest man to
have to evade the laws of his State, or
secure the connivance of some one
else, before he can vote And it is
argued that only few white men will
be deprived of their suffrage under an
educational qualification. While this
| j