The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1894-01-31
DEMOCRATIC UNION ONLY.
Msj. j. F. j. Caldwell Suggests Plan OF
Aetion-The Conservatives Should Unite
with the "Reformers" Upon the
Basis OF Democratic Principles
and No CsucuSes.
1.-THE State. ]

Democrats of South Carolina 10 ar
range IN detail a course of action to be
pursued by them in this years cam
paign; but it is not too early for them
to discuss the general policy which
they ought to adopt. Our trouble IN
1892 was that there was next to no IN
terchange of opinion among US prior
to the call for the March convention,
and that that call forced US to choose
between the alternatives Of going into
a convention and being bound by its
action, or else standing aloof from a
movement intended 10 rescue the State
from what we considered dangerous
misru,e. There was only about
month given US for the expression oil
opinions and the formation Of plans.
Some delegates went to the convention
with instructions to nominate State
ticket: some went with instructions to
oppose nominations; some went With
ont instructions. The result was what
many of Us apprehended. The distln-
guished gentlemen who called the con-
yentiop, with the cooperation OF dele
gates instructed to that effect, rushed
nominations on the convention, and
by that act solidified the Reform"
element and settled our fate. Ihere
seems to have been no material error
+, in the conduct of the campaign. 1t
was made with intelligence, with en-
erry. with fairness. The insurmount-
able obstacle to its success was created
at its inception and its very concep-
ton. Perhaps we would have acteo
as we did if we had had six months to
consider and debate; but two things
are certain-we did not take time 1or
counsel. and the course we adopted
never had anything like the unanl-
nous approval o; the conservatives OF
thesSta,e. It is safe to predict, that II
such q campaign as that of 1892 is at
tempted this year it will share the fate
of it's predecessor.
Being, then, under the necessity OF
devising some arrangement different
from anything we have tried, it Is hlgn
time that we set about it, at least to
the extent of proposing, for the con-
siderstion of the people, plans for the
accomplishment of that Improvement
in State government and in Congress
sional representation which all conser-
vatives have at heart. My views are,
perhaps, not as practicable as they
seem to me to be, and they have not
been carried out in my own nina ln
sill the details; but such as they are,
submit them in outline to your read
ers, in the hope Of suggesting to some'
principles and general rules of action
which may be found serviceaole IN "p-
Grafton.
This must be Democratic cam
uaier, campaign by Democrats, for
Democratic principles, under Demo
cratic organization. The fact that any
combination of men call themselves
Democrats amounts to nothing. Ihe
principles under which any collection
of persons determine to operate oecioe
whether the organization ls Democratic
or not. The fundamental prime pies OF
-<aemocrscy, which differentiatesi it from
ober ereeds and parties, is State
>>and the confinement OF
Sernment within the
her expressly or by
ion conferred by the
d United States. No,
sA ,emocratic organiza-
s .es for the lending of
federal government to
She Union, as the SUD-
- ieme intends, or which
s ~nership or control Of rail-
roads and telegraph lines by the Gen
eral government. The persons who
compose such an organization may be
very good Democrats in other respects;
but that organization is not Democrat
ic, and it has DO right to demand the
support of Democrats. Yet these two
schemes were adopted in the State
convention in May, 1892, as articles ~
the creed of the so-called Democratic
party of this State in that years CAM
paign.
With this experience before US, we
not only have the right, but we ought
to. feel itaour duty to ourselves and to
the cause of Democracy. to demand
assurances agaiOst such heresies b fore
we commit ourselves to complete COM
bination with the faction who have
heretofore declared for them.
So much for general principles,
which, after The States articles on
those points, we need not pause to dis
cuss. When we consider the methods
hitherto pursued by the 'Refor'n" fac
ton, We find another trouble to guard
against, to-wit, the caucusing by the
members of that faction, not only IN
the campaign but in the Legislature
also, against the conservative element.
I dare say that such caucus has
"cut and dried" the programme OF
every county convention in the State
in which the "Reformersn have had a
majority. I dare say that in every
county similar caucus has selected
the list of candidates to be votsd for by
the .'Reformers" at every primary cleo
ton, the utmost liberty allowed the
voters being that Of choosing among
the several candidates named by such
caucus. The caucuses of the "Reform"
members of the Legislature are too
well known TO require enumeration or