The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-08-20
ONE DOLLAR A YEAR.


since | cast my first vote and 1t was
| for " Democrat. But there were no
such issues then. The great question
was whether the Federal government
should make appropriations for inter
nal improvements or not. Up to that
time no rivers had boon cleaned out
and no postotlice or public buildings
built in the interior cities. But now
every muddy creek and every two
| horse town must have an appropria-
| tiOn. Free trade was once an issue
| but it Is not now.
Tariff reform and protection have
been occasional issues for fifty years
and more, but sometimes the parties
compromise on incidental or accidental
protection. The Republicans claim to
be for protection, and Mr.. Mckinley
championcd bill through that did
protect his party friends and loft out
those who were not. He took or the
| iniy on manganese and ruined tho
! best industry we had in this region.
4 company had invested $500, 600 in
This county in that business and was
| paying ont ~. 900 u week for labor.
l*Ncry thing in Cartcrsvillo prospered
and We could pay our little debts with
hiacrlty, and even pay our doctors
! hlils and our preachers their salary.
! i'"V Iarh"E'c wasn't happy and got
| lnc Iar'ti taken OH and then got all
his ma"ancasr from South America
anu the West India islands rhe
collapse came here, Of course and the
! business was abandoned. That's tho
kind OF protection we got
but what Is Democrat now? Some
tllncS consequential gentleman who
hankcrs. after an oilico will swell up
and cNcla'm: ~ am Il .jcilcrsonian
Dcmocrat,' and the editors have u
nest egg in .lcifcrsonian Democracy
and hatch ttfrcqucntly. it What is that?
His biographcr says the most material
article in his political creed was that
thc VIII OF tho ma jority must govern.
This may sometimes err, but its errors
are honest, solitary and short-livcd."
There IS no special Democracy in that
All parties ind0rse it. Jefferson said
| That Il difference in politics was not IL
| reason for the removal OF competent
and faithful officers and he did not
remove but very few while he WAS
President, and those were for mis-
conduct.
But now the Democratic doctrine is
to t,irn tho raScals out and every Office
| h"ldcr Is presumed to be Il rascal. |
tried in vain to make thcso modern
political garments fit Thomas Jctfcr~
son, but they won't do it.. In his day
tncrc WAS no quarrel over gold and
silver, nor Statcr banks, nor income
, tax. He went into Office in good cir
cumstnnccs and came out insolvcnt.
Even his home ut Monticello was levied
ON and would have been sold but for
the generosity Of II few wealthy friends.
After his second term was out he was
not sure OF being allowed to go homo
without arrest and giving bond. On
becoming public man he resolved
nrvcr to engage in any kind of enter
prise to improve his fortune. He kept
this resolve faithfully for fifty years,
which was rs long as he held Office
lie married young and beautiful
widow and could play tho violin cx-
Qulsii"ly, both OF which wero Demo
cratic usages, and still arc, though
neither playing the fiddle nor shooting
ducks are put in any modern plat
form.
But the issue now Is concerning the
currency. an abtrusc speculative ques-
tion about which the average man
knows SO little that he ought to be
ASHAMED To talk ana thereby show his
ignorance. And yet there are here and
there good citizens who profess to
know all about it and will talk about
sound money and Jctrcrsonian De-
, mocracy rs gushingly as u professor
, OF political economy in u Northern
. college.
wish we could put the X rays upon
t this question and explore it, but as We
J.. cannot and AS the great mon OF the ma
= tion conscicntiously differ on it l am
j. going to pin my faith to the purcst and
= best man | know OF in public life. He
:. is as pure in private life and as poor rs
n Jefferson, and could have written the
O declaration Of independence if he had
II lived in that day, for Jefferson was
d then only thirty-three ycurs old. My
q 'admiratiOn for William j. Bryan is
@ very great and | shall bank on him
n with more reliance than on the plat
@ form. ~ Republican Congress can
n knock Democratic platform into fits,
, but they can't move Mr.. Bryan from
= his convictionsinorihis integrity. When
!, these gold standard papers assail him
and make sport OF him he can say to
them as job did to his three friends :
No doubt ye arc the people and wis
dom will die with YOU"
BILL ARP.