The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-11-05

freedom transmitted to us by our fore
fathers have we got TO the point
where we can not unite as brothers, 1
throwing out Of sight the petty bicker-
ings and animasittes that we have
been brought TO In the past five years,
and without regard to personal ambl-
tiOn or partisan advantage OF anybody
take It for granted as white NE we
can provide TO that extent that we will
not have to appeal to these people
again In sufficient numbers to bring
them forward as arbiters OF our late =
Can we not rise up TO the necessities
Of the occasion and put into this con-
~stitution such q clause In reference TO
the suffrage as will guarantee, as far
the law can guarantee to future gen
erations, that they shall have the
blessing of Anglo-Saxon civilization
and liberty in this State? How 2itia-
BILE, puerile, how ineffab]y, ~unuttera-
bly, contemplate appear the personal
ambitious and petty spites OF men who
obstruct this grand n glorious pur-
pose! am sorry that / feel constrain.
ed briefly to touch upon this matter
now, and L shall be as brief as possible,
and / feel almost willing to stop now
and leave unuttered any word in an
swer to what was said this morning,
and leave it co the patriotism anu No
dom of this body to move forward anC
not hesitate. We were told something
about perfect equality OF the white
men, that the poor tenant, who has
nothing but his wife and children,
who labors for his daily bread from
years end, gathering no property, is
equal to the highest man in the State.
! grant it.
1t has been M cardinal doctrine as
q public man that all white men, as far
as the enjoyment of the privileges Of
government and the ~emoluments of
Office is ned, should be equal in
this State aud that q majority alone
should govern. but that doctrine can
not be brought in here IS the reason
why we must stop, pause and falter in
our purpose to secure to our pOsterity
good government, unless you carry 1T
further and II you are going to bring
in universal brotherhood as an argu-
ment here, then are not the blacks as
much entitled to that consideration as
any body? On this question of suf-
frage 1t Is said that some men will be
jeopardized in their votes. II there
we're any way under high heaven by
which we could do more than we have
done, in Gods name L would glory in
the man, DOW down and worship him If
he would show us. What do they offer
us? A continuation of the existing
conditions and preparation Of fraud,
or fraudulent methods and the sword
Of Damocles suspends over our heads
by a single hair, and swings and
swings and swings, and all that is ne
cessary to bring about chaos is for a
sufficient number of white men ac-
: tuated by hate and ambition and from
: unpatriotic motives to climb up and
: cut loose, mobilize and register them,
give them u vote and a fair un-
der. the manhood suffrage. He went
on to say, after celebrating this point
AllusiOn has been made to the fact
that severalsgentlemen met in this city
to see If there could be any terms OF
amity, any treaty-of peace between
the word migrate and traitor have
1 been banded in connection with my
o name as q participant. What was the
condition? The minority faction had
opposed almost to a man the calling Of
this convention, demagogues of u Ger.
a tain stripe had used the O
the State, threatening to terrify the
$ poor whites with the possible and pro
bable loss Of their ballot if the conven
d ton was called. S%partanburg which
n had never suffered from negro domino
n ton, and which can never suffer in il.
local affairs from negro domination
n voted overwhelming against the con
a vention
When the fight seemed almost los
y and those of us who had struggled fol
h ten years or more, in season and GU
OF season, whenever an opportunity
offered to urge on the people the wis
o dom and necessity for calling a con
h v%ention and taking care of our pos.
terity by limiting the suffrage, wher
we felt that the fight was desperate,
d In October a meeting was called a
Q Ridgeway. The Governor and myself
G and the Chairman of the Democratic
executive committee, who has let hi.
h tongue run so loosely, were invited anC
promised to go there to discuss it
@ When the day came the Governor was
@ there and spoke true as steel. | wa:
there and talked from the s%houlder>as
l always talk. Where was the chair.
man of the Democratic party?
Mr.. Irby: Will the gentleman allow
9 me? l do not remember. 1t has beer
so long ago, but | did expect to speak
o there. accepted the invitation OF MIR
y johnson. 1t was my intention to GO,
. but something occurred at home, either
sickness or something like that kept
me from going. [ would like to ask
him one question. Didn't | CONE here,
r stay and fight as hard as any man
. possibly could to carry this conven-
l tion.
Mr.. Tillman: You did, but you after
wards charged That when the battle
, was on Evans ran out of the State,
whereas Evans was at his post and
you at home sick, SO you say.
T; MIR. lroy: did hot say ] was sick.
1t comes with i'll grace from him after
) all that has happened in the past that
!, he should charge MT for one moment
1 with Sinking any responsibility or
running from anything. Ibid say that
when the fight was fiercest, that Gov
ernor Evans fled the State and could
not be found by telegram or letter, and
l assert 1T for the reason that | asked
by telegram, or probably in person, of
the brother OF the Governor, WIN 1t
was that he did not come and help me
} In his own election and in this des-
perate struggle in calling the conven-
t1on. HecOuld not tell me where the
intended Governor was and on the
night of the election at 2 o'clock, after
the fight had been won, before the
the smoke OF the battle had cleared
away, our young Governor came into
my room and | ~reprOached him and
asked him why 1t was that he had left
me In such an extremity and had not
come to my assistance, he said: "Well
1 nave been Off to see my girl" Laugh
teri And [ was afraid that YOU
would commit me to some pledge that
| could not carry out"
NOW, sir, ] say that when | was here
facing all the dangers of defeat and the
odium of defeat that he had little IN