The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-08-19
Vote for Righteous Men.

F'elloD Citizens of anderson, County,:
There is an untold amount OF honest
conviction asleep down in the dormito-
ries of your hearts unutilized-dead cap
ital which ought to be invested in speech
and action for the public welfare in the
present political campaign. 1t is moral
Responsibility to be citizen Of great
State. We ought now, courageously, TO
assert our convictions in behalf of truth
and righteousness against dishonesty, in-
trigue and scurrility in high places. We
have beguiled ourselves in the past by
voting partizan tickets, without thinking
of the moral element involved in it. We
have satisfied ourselves with the tact and
managing skill of the nominee for public
Office without demanding the higher
qualification Of moral character.
Gentlemen, can we possibly run safe
government without political righteous-
ness in those whom we put at the wheels?
Can we wisely lay our morality and re.
ligion on the shelf at home when we 60
to campaign platform or a voting pre-
cinct? AS much as TO say, this business
is ours, that Is Gods. We must accept
the sovereignty of God over States as
well as over individuals. We must ac
cept divine sovereignty here, or get out
of the way and out of the world. God
reigns here by original, unchallenged
and eternal right, and We forfeit our right
to honorable citizenship and safe govern
ment when we leave out OF our voting
and our personal influence the indispen
sable element OF moral weight and pure
character. I don't mean to say that you
ought to carry your theological views
into your politics, or even to say that a
candidate should De professor OF reli-
gion; but I mean to say that all morality
runs up for its highest sanction to AL
mighty God, and that there is no other
morality on the earth than that which
God planted originally in the human
constitution.
Gentlemen, ought we to be willing to
subject our sons and daughters to the
corrupting influence Of immoral charac-
ters in high places? Does not the honor
of the position varnish over the scanda
lous that is in it, and seemingly diminish
the ugllness Of iniquity? Will 1t not
sophisticate and corrupt young people to
entice them TO excuse respectable ias-
cality?
Not only for the good Of the State, but
for the safety and purity of our children,
we are bound to cast an honest and cOur-
ageous vote, the highest franchise of free
men. 1t is critical time with us at pres
ent. a careless regard to the moral and
decent qualities OF government runs at
once into clustering socialism, which is
nothing but semi~an archism. And an
archism is catching disease. Shamed
virtue retires, and bowling confusion
carries the day. The tendencies of tho
time were exhibited recently at the Coop
er Institute, New York, when woman (2)
harangued vast crowd applauding with
anarchistic outcries. Order is natures
first law, and it must be mans if he
would stay here. Let the man, the citi-
zen and the Christian, the "highest type
of man." carry his manhood with him
into the political campaign and to the
polls, and refuse 70 be dictated to by par
tizan nominations. If the election fails,
let it fail. Well try again.
1t would seem to be almost useless to
lift up weak appeal in the midst of q
thousand strong voices on the intermina
BILE questions OF bi-metallism and mono
metalism; but, gentlemen, we are trying
TO legislate what the natural laws of trade,
of good sense and mutual interest will
regulate. We have got into mess by In
Producing into trade legi.imated right
eousness to supplement Gods righteous
ness, and we are confused. Let us get
out OF this mess-not mesh-tbrown over
US by some other, but our own neg
lect, and forsskirg the grand, eternal
laws of purity, honesty and good faith.
Let us as individual men hold our self
respect, and behave under the dictates of
pure conscience. Let the sound sense
of the country assert itself, aud insert it
into the government, and God will bring
order out of confusion. D. Z. +.