The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1896-02-18
.SaIRps POpG'S Manifesto

OuliiPu ] UPU MuilHUUtl
ADDRESS TO REPUBLICANS AND OTHERS
General Convention, Of the Republoa
Factions is Asked to Heal the Breach
. This Is the Accepted Time for Victory.
The following address has been is
sued to the Republicans and their sym
pathizers In this State:
Fellow Republicans of South Carolina
There is condition of affairs in the
Republican party. in this State which
must be met and met quickly or defea
VIII be the result. 1t is the factiona
disvisions in the party how they orig
mated, or who is to blame for theii
existence, is not the question; to hea
them and unity the party is the grea
question. The leaders OF neither fac
tion can or will move the matter
Then 1t lis left for some one other thar
them to do SO. In the interest o
peace, harmony and unity | shall do Sc
In my humble way, trusting that my
Efforts in this direction win meet witt
the approval of all concerned. There
has never been prospect of acccssions
from the white men of the State to the
Republican party until now. Misgov-
ernment and broken pledges on the
| part Of the leaders OF the dominant
faction of the white people, coupled
with fraud at the last election in this
State, has done the work and done 1t
effectually. | have recently had men
of the Reform faction, who, in the last
election were bitterly opposed to me,
to come to me and say, You were
Republican party" / am in position
to know what is going on all over the
State and my word for it, 1.-The harvest
is ripe" from the mountains to the
seaboard. Will you throw this golden
opportunity for success away by quar-
reling among yourselves and thus turn
this lido away from us, or will you
meet together and settle your differ
ences amicably for the good of the
party and it's triumphant SUCCESS In
this State in November next?
If the latter, accept my proposition.
Then looking to this end l call d con.
vention OF the party to meet at the
State House at Columbia, S. c., on
Tuesday, the l4th day OF April next,
at O'Clock p. In. Each county to
senC double the number of delegates
of its Representatives in the General
Assembly Of the State, and that these
delegates may be elected at o mass
meeting Tor convention) be held in the
respective counties on Saturday, the
l1th day of April, 1896, the meeting to
take place at the respective county
seats. Let the State convention 50
called be peace and harmony conven-
tion to settle all differences and elect
State chairman; vice chairman and
State executive committee with power
to transact such other business as may
be necessary in the premises.
Let the platform be "honest elcc-
tons and protection to American in
dustries and labor and protection to all
the rights of the citizen guaranteed by
the constitution of the United States"
This is broad enough for all to stand
upon. If adopted by the general gov
ernment, financial relief to the coun-
try will follow. Mr.. Lincoln was once
asked abouI protection. He remarked
that he did not understand the uues-
,ion very we'll, but he knew enough
about it to know that if ton of rail
road iron was purchased in England
that England had the money paid for
1t and we had the iron, but if a ton W as
purchased here by one of our citizens
that we had both the money and the
iron. So it is, we have purcased more
abroad than we have sold abroad,
hence the balance of trade is against
us and we have been drained of our
gold and to get it back the govern
ment has in the last twelve months
sold an enormous amount of bonds.
The only way to keep our industries
moving and to enable them to pay
M unrl/ fai, j.
put a high tariff on everything in COM
petition to us. The tatitf Is not high
enough to do this as an evidence of it
the balance of trade Is against US.
Upon this platform all can stand.
We invite the Conservatives who have
been defrauded of every right to come
with us. We invite the honest Re-
former, who has seen every pledge
made by his leaders broken, moro Of
fees created, higher taxes, places at
Clemson and Rock Hill which prop
erly belonged to the poor taken by tho
children OF leaders who have fat Offices,
thereby diminishing the chances of
the poor to enter these institutions :;
the offices given to IL few families, so
much so that the Legislature now in
session has passed bill to- put stop
to it; the pledge that members Of the
ldJ6 SOCdllcu convention SDOulu only
receive two dollars per day broken by
the members voting themselves four
dollars per day; local self-government,
80 much prated about when suits we're
pending ia the United States courts
against the State, has by the praters
themselves been destroyed in Charles
tor, because forsooth the pet of the
Governor could not be chosen chief Of
police of that city; spies, some of
whom pull of their shoes and creep
upon your housetOps to spy into your
rooms, have been appointed others
have opened ladies' trunks and others
have searched dwelling houses at the
dead hour of night when only females
and children were occupants ; men,
young fellow citizens, have been in
carcerated In tho State penitcntiary
by some of the judges In contempt
proceedings. Yet what q howlwent
up from these parties in power when
Judge Goff fined the sherilfs for con
tempt. The decision In the Dcbs case
In the United States court was criti
cised most harshly by these leaders
yet in the, next breath they went even
further themselves. But the day OF
reckoning Is near at hand, the people
will pass upon all of these things ir
their own good time. They are the
masters of these men In high places
who are now assuming that the office,
belong to them and to their kith ant
. | III q ,,,;l L.,