Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1898-11-24
Why Y0tes We're Rejeote6.

South Carolina, and who maintains
his allegiance to his native State,
speaking with Post reporter about
the race troubles in South Carolina,
said:
I was at Due West, Abbevillc
county, on election day, tho same
county in which Phoenix was, until
the recent formation of Greenwood
county, and at 1 o'clock in the after
noon, in precinct that has nearly
200 qualified voters, only thirty nine
persons had voted, seven of whom
were negroes. One of the managers
at tho Congressional box tcld me he
supposed there had been over 100
negroes who had offered to vote, but
had been refused because they did
not have registration certificates and
poll tax receipts.
At 2.30 o'clock in the afternoon l
was at Donnald's, little town on
the Southern Railway, where l
boarded the train for Washington,
and at Donnald's the same peace and
quiet prevailed as at Due West and
the same Indifference about voting.
/ was told that not fifty votes had
been cast up to that time, and that
only two negroes had voted, though
rs or 100 had presented themselves
at the polls. These two places are
fairly representative of the situation,
as it existed throughout tho State.
1t was giving nobody any concern
that the colored men had been in
structed by their leaders to go to
tho polls and offer to vote. 1t was
known that such an idle and harm
less ceremony could do no damage,
either there or here in Washington,
and it was well understood that the
purpose in thus having incompetent
voters 60 to the polls was merely to
afford basis for conjuring up some
sort of an election contest here in
the House of Representatives. And,
as matter of fact, the negroes only
offered to vote at the Congressional
boxes, paying no attention whatever
to the State boxes, which, under the
law in South Carolina, are kopt by a
different set of managers.
The primary elections are the ones
that provoke most interest among
the whites in South Carolina. 1t is
With reference to the primaries that
ca .didatcs and issues are discussed,
and time spent in clectioneering.
With the white people the Demo
cratic primary settles everything,
and but little interest is manifested
by them at the final election, as it is
known that the whites will not op-
pose the result reached in the pri-
mary, and that the blacks, with the
suffrage qualified as at present, can
not successfully do 80.
There must have been something
peculiarly irritating about the cir
cumstances under which a private
box was kept by an individual on his
own account at Phoenix for tho re-
ccption of incompetent votes, and
some of the incompetent voters may
possibly have assn ned a manner
that was unnecessarily exaspcrating.
No male person over twcaty-on
years of age, citizen of the United
States, a resident of South Carolina
for two years, and not convicted OF
any crime, is refused registration as
a voter if he can read and write, or
if he pays taxes on property Of the
assessed valuation Of $500. A reg
istration certificate and a poll-tax
receipt, both to be presented to the
managers of election at the time the
nhrty offers to vote, are prerequisites
to voting. No person who complies
with these prerequisites is chal-
lcnged or denied a vote, and no per-
son failing in these prerequisites is
permitted to vote. - Washington
Post.
Georgia il agitatcd over the adop-
tion of the Australian ballot system.
and the papers of that State are of
the opinion that the law viii !" en-
acted during the present term of the
legislature. We hope South Caro-
lima vii eventually realize that the
Australian system is the best gr aran-
tee Of honest and fair elections and
that Legislature will be elected
pledged to enact new election law
based on Che Australian system. Soma
tor Manning, when member of the
House, introduced an excellent bill
along this line, but it met with little
favor. We entertain the hope
that he will, as Senator, renew his
efforts in behalf of the Australian
system and honest elections in South
Carolina.