Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1896-09-02
CONGRATULATIONS.

the election or Jonn Oary Evans
to the United States Senate our.
mcst hearty congratulations. They
have shown that TO them at least
the name "Reformer" signifies
something higher than training
with the majority and securing
offices.
A local organ affects TO fear thai
conservatives" will claim the de-
feat of Evans as their victory and
as a presage of power two years
hence. We shall venture to say
that any man who may make such
a claim is q fool. The former fac
tional lines have been broken and
cannot he reostablished. The is
suo in this CAM aign was not be-
tween "Reformers" and "Conser-
vatives" but between HONESTY and
dishonesty. Without beavy
vote by the "Reformers;' for Earle
and duncan, the opposition TO
Evans would have been utterly
terly resultless. Indeed. the "Re-
formers" did better than the for
mer conservatives" in rebuking
Evans, for those who were against
him voted against him, while thou
sands of CONSERVATIVES sat IN
cloth and hopelessness and gave
up the fight.
No, it is not a Conservative"
victory, and it means no resump-
ton Of old Arguments. The'cities
and towns cast as a rule hardly
two-thirds of their normal vote;
some of tbem-like Columbia and
Charleston-hardly half Of It..
While the returns from al...I. the sst3es.
came Ia it-Iooked as it the vote OF
the State would not exceed $4,000,
but when the back districts were
heard from they increased the es-
innate By over 10000 votes. And
of those votes, cast mainly by "Re-
formers" Evans hardly received
half. The "Reformers" did it,
and we freely accord them the
credit,
1t is no secret why they did it.
They doubted the honesty of this
slated candidate. Thay recogniz-
ed his lack of ability. They re-
allied that he could not be a cred
liable representative of this State
in the United States Senate. They
did not propose to support q faint
ed candidate because he had got a
clutch on the coat-talls of bigger
man and expected to be hauled in
to a position many sizes too large
for him and ten times too high for
him.
They didn't vote for Evans be-
cause they couldn't trust him; be-
cause by his course he hal for
feited all confidence in his person
al integrity. Take an incident in
Evans's own county to illustrate
this feeling:
A high officer of the dispensary
constabulary had spent two weeks
in Aiken county before the cleo
ton, working for his chief while
drawing the States money for SER
vices not rendered. He had spent
election day at a factory precinct
and came into Aiken that night
worn out and disheartened. He
told how the factory operatives
had strcamed to the polls with
their ballots in their pockets, al
ready prepared, and how he had
labored with them to vote for
Evans, even if only from county
pride" He told of his non-success.
They had said to him that. while
they were "Reformers," they had
come to distrust Evans's honesty.
He had failed to meet the charges
against him. lie had lodged and
been dumb. They believed there
was something rascally that be
was hiding and they didn't pro-
pose to send a man like that to the
United States Senate.
We have similar stories from
various counties, away off in the
backwoods. The paople are do
ing their own thinking this year,
and they are thinking to good ef-
feet. In the second primary The
aReformers' cannot be rallied to
the support of this candidate.
whose brazeness III presenting HIM
self for Caihoun's great chair with
dirty hands and suspicious pock-
ats is an insult TO the peop.e oil
South Carolina. They will take
care that an honest man shall rep
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