The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-03-23
THEIR ONLY CHANCE.
The Proh;bitiOnists Must Combine With
The Local Option Men.

Columbia, S. c., March 19.-The
interest in politics seems to be cen
tered in the prohibition movement
and few if any developments are eA-
pected until after the convention
meets on April II. The proposal oi
combine between the prohibition
lists and the local option men is still
being discussed on every side, but
many of the old-time prohibitionists
are holding out for straight fight on
old lines and do not take kindly to
anything that bears the semblance OF
concession. They maintain that their
position is strong one and that il
the local option men care to support
their principle they are at liberty tc
do so.
On the other hand, those men
versed in practical politics declare
that without some concessions to the
local option men there is no use going
into the campaign. The strength Of
the old prohibition party has been
weakened by the dispensary and
without some new platform on which
local optionists as we'll as prohibition
lists can stand there is no hope o.
success. With this combination there
would be only two tickets il the
field, and the man that did not like
the one could take the other. With.
out it there may be half dozen tick.
cts and the result would be that
things in South Carolina will remain
as they are.
In some counties conventions Of
prohibitionists have already been
held and the work of organizing the
forces has been begun. Reports come
that in most cases the county conven-
ton are leaving the matter Of a COM
bination with the local option men to
settlement at some subsequent
meeting to be held before the time
of the general convention in Colum-
bia. Others are of the opinion that
this convention had best direct the
affairs of the party in the coming
campaign.
The whole State has been interest
ed in the appointment of Lawson D.
Melton as United States Marshal.
Mr.. Melton is representative of the
faction that has tried so long to make
Republicanism less of an ofense to
the white men of the State, and which
has been termed the oily white" fac
ton as opposed to the "black and
tan," or the old-timers-the relics Of
1876. Heretofore the President has
ignored the silly whites" in his dis
tribution of patronage and that fac
ton was likely to starve to death.
The faithful were just about to stam-
pede back to the Democratic party,
which with all it's strictness is so big
as to be good natured and disposed
to forgive and forget. So these err
ing sons of Carolina were about to
put on sackcloth and ashes and sit,
some of them have actually sat, before
the doors Of the house upon which
they had turned their back. Had
they been re-admitted there is no
doubt but that the sackcloth and
ashes would have soon been discard
ed and they would have been asking
for the purple robes of Office and de-
manding that ;Ae fatted calf be killed
for their return.
This appointment made and
presto change-stock in the Oily
white" faction is beginning to mount
up and the faint-hearted are taking
strength and scattering back to their
tents beyond the outer wall. How
much the Lake City affair has had to
do with this appointment no one can
positively say, but it is thought that
the administration is beginning to
realize that the South is a white
mans country as well as the North,
and that politics is unwholesome for
negroes in this section. At all events
we may expect to see the ally white"
ranks filling up with some OF the dis
satisfied politicians from the Demo-
cratic ranks, which are really 80 large
that every man can't be colonel or
a major, and some have to carry the
guns and knapsacks of the high pri-
Yates. The Republicans promise to
make it lively for US in the next cleo
ton. There really is no telling what
fun there isahead, but there certainly
will be a large and varied assortment
of sports in the political arena in the
coming summer.
The war talk continues to be of an
exciting nature, but so far it has not
visibly affected business and the ex-
tension of Improvements and enter
prises along the coast. 1t looks like
everybody is ready to fight, and
everybody is fully confident of the
and ability OF the Federal
government to amply protect its coast
line. There is, however, little ploba-
bility of q war.
The wer spirit in Spain is not sur
prising, for the people of the old
world cannot realize the immensely
of the United States or its power.
The people of Spain especially are
ignorant and have an idea that they
are the greatest people on the earth.
They know nothing except what the
permits them to learn,
but later indications seem to be to
the effect that slight glimmer of the
truth is dawning upon the govern
ment OF Spain and there is great
5oo1 loco of blun1er than formerly.