The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-09-26
( GOOD SPEECH.
JOHN GARY EVANS DEFENDS THE
OCALA PLATFORM.

COLUMBIA, S. c., Sept. 21.--The fol
lowing is the speech of the Hon. } OH
Gary Evans before the State Demo
cratic Convention after the nomina
tion for Governor:
Gentlemen of the Convention an:
Fellow Democrats: Few men, gentle
men, In the history Of our State haV
been honored as have been tonight By
you. Recognizing the fact of my out
I have felt that can indeed thank yor
from the bottom of my heart for thi
honor. I would be false to myself if
told you I thought this is the hap pies
hour of my life. l feel that the re
sponsibili4y resting upon my shoulde r
is indeed great. But l feel that with
the united democracy and with the peo
pie of South Carolina, whom you repre-
sent, supporting me in my effort fo
honestgovernment, that my efforts vii
not prove futile and that the will Of
the majority of the people of South
Carolina will be carried out at all event
Applause.
Our government is a government o1
the majority, and should l be elected tt
the position of chief executive of YOU
State, feel that would be false to yor
should not carry out the will Of th'
majority, when It is fairly expressed
at all hazards. (Applause.)
We are, gentlemen, Democrats. Ws
are here men who fought for the prin
ciples of Democracy; We see here meI
who sat upon the laps Of their mothers
and heard of the brave deeds Of theil
fathers who fought for States rights
men who sat there, children then, mer
now, Democrats noW-men who i'm
bibed Democracy with their mothers
milk. Tell me that those men, tell me-
that those gray haired slres, could be
false to South Carolina.
It comes with bad grace, from any
South Carolinian, seeing your complex
ion, seeing and hearing your principles
and hearing the voice of South Carolina
expressed at the ballot box, to say that
this grand old State Is not safe in your
hands. (Applause.) There are some
citizens in South Carolina who are fond
of attaching tail to their Democracy
We are Democrats. We are not
Cleveland Democrats. We are not any
other kind of qualified Democrats. We
owe allegiance to no man. We owe
allegiance to tie principles which were
fought for by you and your fathers and
my father, and those principles must be
maintained at all hazards. (Applause.,
We have reached state In the history
of our country which was prophesled
by your own statesman, Calhoun. We
have reached a state now where parties
ara not defined by principles, but are
drawn by geographical lines. We find
true Democracy in the South and in
the West, the home of principle, whose
men fought for States rights, and who
are against centralized government.
We find on the contrary the opponents
of Jeffersonian Democracy, which
means equal rights to all and special
privileges to none-We find those men
living in the North and the East. We
find an effort to centralize the govern
ment confined to a section which has
grown rich upon the success OF pr1ncl-
Piles which have robbed the farmers OF
the South and the West.
What is our Democracy? In 1896, l
make the prophesy here that the South
and the West will be called upon to re-
deem the Democratic party from the
plunderer and the nlonopolist and the
millionaire, who are growing fearful, If
they do not have Capitalization OF the
government that those will become the
halter that will surround their necks.
a great deal has been esaid in your
convention about Democracy. A great
deal has been said by people outside
who attach tails to their Democracy
against YOU. In natural history we
read that the ape as he grows old be-
comes suspicious of his tail. It wor.
ries him mentally and physically until
he dies, believing that that appendage
is the CAUSE of his death. such will be
the fate of such Democrats in South
Carolina. (Applause)
There assembled in Ocala under the
Southern sun, under the shades OF the
palmetto, and almost down on the
aSWanee Ribber," a body Of the honest
yeomanry of the country. Those men
did not 20 there as politicians, not as
representing party, but they were there
representing the agricultural interests
of this nation. They set forth there
certain principles which are commonly
known as the Ocala platform. Those
principles were set forth as principles
that were necessary to rescue their gov
ernment and to save your interests
which is the basis of all wealth, agrl-
cuIturalists, from the clutches OF the
Northern Shyl0ck.
We who are dependent on agriculture
for our existence sympathized with.
them. We said in our convention, 'Tnls
is true Democracy, and we endorse IL
here and endorse it now. (Applause.) }
But they say 1t is not Democracy.
Bear with me minute, and let me
show the ignorance OF people who crit
icise and condemn you. Let me snow
you that those people cannot recognize
Democracy when they see 1t IN print
er's ink. Let me refer to this platform.
The Democratic party in convention
assembled at Chicago endorsed a plat
form of principles. They are true and
represent honest government and are
dear TO the hearts of every one of you.
They have been endorsed by your con-
yention properly as true Democracy,
and these principles connected with
them have been endorsed, and l will
show you that the National Democrat
ic party in convention assembled IN
Chicago has incorporated majority OF
those principles, and that the Demo
cratic majority in Congress have en-
acted into law every principle OF that
platform adopted save one.
Is not that the highest evidence of its
Democracy?
1t reads as follows: "We demand the
abolition Of national banks" That IS
Democracy as formulated in Sec. 8 of
the Chicago platform. When they
asked for the abolition of the tax on
State banks what did that mean? 1t
meant death to national banks because
they cannot compete with State banks
whose issue is untaXed.
1--WE demand that the amount of the
circulation medium be speedily in
creased to not less than $50 per capita" /"
The National Democratic platform de-
plored the state Of affairs Of the farm
ers of the country, calling attention to