The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-11-21
BILL ARp's LETTER..
Bill Grows Philosophic Over the Political
Situation.
Atlanta Constitution.

Don fret. Ihls thing has nap
pened before and we survived it. If
the United States of North America
can stand it, so can l and so can you.
It is not as bad as war or pestilence
or famine not so bad as a cyclone or
fire or sickness or death or taxes.
And yet we are liable to all these.
If we have health and strength and
food and raiment we ought to be
thankful and happy. The truth is,
our people care less about this Repub-
lican victory than they have about
any since the war. 1 heard an old
time Democrat say to-day: ''I don't
care darn. Our party is not fit to
run the govern lent nohow- Now let
the yanks take it and run it till king
dom come Another one said :
'IVe swept our State in the face of
5-cent cotton, but up North, where
they have no cotton, they cleaned us
up like an avalanche. How's that p
And now the quarrel still goes on
in the Democratic press. Who did it!
Who is to be held responsible for the
inglorious defeat ? Both factions are
crying: II told you so, and the pee
pie are tired. What is the use Of try.
ing to find out how the wagon came tc
turn over while dad is under the hay.
Let's get him out and drive on. L
romiinds me Ct Judge Underwood's old
darky, who walked up and found him
self in the calaboose. He sent fol
"Mars John" and declared he haden1
"dun nufn-nu6n at all. "Well
Jack, they can't put you in here fol
that. There is no law to punish c
man for doing nothing" Jack bright.
ened up for a moment: "You say dey
can't Mars john "No, sir" saio
the Judge, mo, sir, they can't do it. .
"But, Mars John, dey has done done
it, and I is here right now-'fore Goo
1 is"
Well we Democrats are all in for il
now, and I'm not going to bed about
it. There is not much difference be-
tween the two parties nohow. There
is no dividing line on principle.
There are thousands Of protection
Democrats down South, especially in
Alabama and Tennessee. They say
protection has enriched the north, and
now let the South 60 to manufacturing
and get rich too. On the silver ques.
t;on orr roon]e are as much divided
as the Republicans. Some want. to
take silver straight, and some to dash
it with gold, and nobody but the fools
know which is right. So, after all
there is but one settled, well-deined,
line and that is Office, spoils, patron
age. But few Of us have any interest
in that, so let the Office holders and
offlce-seekers howl and weep. I'm not
going to shed many tears. There are
five Republicans in this town who are
right now ruminating about our little
postofice for two years hence, and
they are all clever men and good citi-
zens, but only one can get it. Then,
there are two or three revenue officers
and three or four clerkships at Wash.
ington, and that is all that our whole
county of three thousand voters gets
out of national politics, so let the pro.
cession proceed. AS Coke says, ''it's
all optionary with me.
Federal politics is not of so much
consequence to us as our State poll
tics. AS long as the negro is here we
want a solid South, united people.
The Populist party has done more te
disturb harmony and engender discord
at the South than all other causes.
If it had been conceived on good prin
ciples and with good intent to reform
corrupt methods thousands Of good
men would have joined it, but it has
pandered to the prejudices OF the
iaboring classes and arraigned them
against their more fortunate nabors
It has fostered and encouraged a desire
for paternalism and made promises tt
the negro that it never intended te
perform. It is astonishing that men
who pass as gentlemen at home should
so far degrade their instincts, their
consciences as to carry the banner OF
such a party. I would rather be
Republican ten times over than .
Populist, and yet I know some gooc
men who have joined that party ano
profess to believe in it's absurd and
ridiculous platform. There is but one
explanation of this strange anomaly
and that is just what clever Popu
list said when I asked him it he really
believed in their platform. "Plat
FORMS" said he, "amount to nothing
1t is what a man does that we Judge
him by-not what he says he will do
We propose to reform and economic
and put down monopolies. The old
parties are utterly corrupt, as you will
admit, and it is time to have new
DEAL" That is sensible, and if they
had that for platform and had left
out all their foolishness and had put
forward men who were not tricksters
and demagogues there was great op
portunity to build up a Third party
that would have held the balance Of
power in national politics and have
checked the corrupt methods of tho
State Democracy. Even as tits, they
have been terror to machine politics
in Georgia and thereby have done
some good, but with their profcssed
principles of patcrnalism and the
moral obliquity of their leaders, woe
be unto Georgia if they ever get into
power. The people admire the bold
ness of an independent, but lament
the foolishness of a Populist. DR.
FELTON, diden5 mean to be one and he
is not one now. 1t is very hard for ar
old line Whig like him to be Demo
crat and we sympathizc with him IL
the strain. that has been upon him fol
forty years. Ben Hill was another
and said with modification, II dident
90 to be a Democrat. +" Toombs wa:
another and Alex Stephens, and they
gave DR.. FELTON, aid and comfort W her
he ran as as an independent agains
Dabney and Lester. Mr.. Stephen:
never was Democrat at heart ano
would have run as an Independent, i!
the Democrats had dared to nominate
another man. DIR. FELTON, has not ye
become reconciled to Democracy. Ht
cannot belle his raising and some Of
his friends predict that ne will ye