The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-06-20

order Of things, aDd there are now lev
who do not look forward, more or les
vaguely, to a new birth that will be
blessing. We would not wholly change
doctors and risk miscarriage. What
ever personal repugnance we may
still have for such doctors, (a0t Of on,
choosin2) we feel a certain unacknoW
LEGGED, but self-asserting faith that il
the divine Providence they are the
men for the time until better mer
have caught the proper Inspiration. l
is foolish, stiff -necked pride to refuse
to recognize that great popular move
ment5 are due to the blind, but divine
" guided instinct, of the masses, which
in obedience TO the law CT evolution
direc>s them on truer lines than ths
reason of the Wisest statesman coulc
have mapped out IN advance. "lhf
people as a mass, have DO understand
ing, but al uDfailing instinct" Yet
especially after the darkly groplng
stage has been passed, there is need o.
the light of all the Intelligence tha
can be brought to bear. 80 recog gDlz
try and guide this ins s;inctis the func
ton of a statesman" The "brain anC
leadership of the minority" in oul
State are like Achilles sulkiDg in hi:
camp, if in this great crisis they fail tt
put themselves in touch with the peo
pie and to put forth their powers for
victory that shall bring honor to the
whole State.
If the fore going find response in the
inner consciousness Of once ardent
Cleveland Democrats, once violent de-
nouncers Of the Alliance, once bitter
haters of Tillman and Tillmanlsm
then it is the part of honesty and cour
age. of patriotism and self-interest
alike to speak out and work for the
success of these ideas. If the
national administration should
yet give ground for endorse
ment We can rally to 1t, but the best
hops of such action by it depends on
widespread and out spoken detection
from it. At present, however, l firmly
believe that a great movement for
new party is surely coming, that our
Conservatives fnd it now hard to re-
sist sympathy with 1t and cannot
much longer, and that it is now thelI
duty to examine themselves, to refuse
to be content with half-hearted with
.sme too's," to clarity their thoughts
and speedily and vigorously assume
positive attitude. We are slaves tc
Tillman if his attitude must determine
ours, if his choice precludes our max
ing the same choice.
Another thought carries force anC
qualification. A semi-superstitious be-
| lief often decides conviction, as does a
favorite prejudice. Of late we have
been ashamed of South Carolina-a
most unWonted and painful emotion
for South Carolinian. Meantime, in
jest, strange analogy was pointed out
as apparent law of her history: "South
Carolina goes mad every thirty years
After the laugh there has lurked a
thought that brought twinge
Inextricable from our minds
Is the association of 1880 and 1860 with
the glorious assertion OF great princl'
pies. Could there be, hidden from oul
view, a principle in the third mad
movement? Iu the midst of so much
that we abbor, can it be that our little
State is taking her stand (n obedience
to fate, which has always assigned hel
the van) as the leader in a great strug'
gle that shall become famed in history
and extolIed by men? Could it be:
Should we ave retarded it, have we nc
share in winning for her her deserved
place Of honor? How was it in 1880;
As bitter differences of opinion prevail
ed then as now, but what the majority
did was the act of the State
and, as her collective decis-
ion, it has been eulogIzed by Us
from State pride, if not from Intelligent
thought-1S60 was the elimination oi
much the same fight, and in thirty
years the people had come to be nearly
unanimous. Yet there was still ear
nest Individual disapproval of the act
of the majority, though private opinion
Welded to the public purpose. Peace
has it's duties as well as war, and tbit
may be time that demands Of loya
citizens concurrence in the genera
purpose of the State. | admit thai
these answers and this suggested
ground for concurrence are hardly to be
accepted by the mind until individual
opinion has come to degree or approx
al Of general purpose.
Let us shake ourselves together and
try to contribute to the correct solution
of the problem that is before the
country-for we no longer doubt that
there is a problem pressing for immedi.
ate solution. Let US join the great
South Carolina Movement to reform
the United States government and
usher in the era OF the Twentieth
Century. y