The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-01-11
A BRIGHTER DAY OR A DARKER
NIGHT.


. NIGHT.
Ever on was the shibboleth
of Calhoun. He would usher in either
q brighter day or darker night. In
stead of light he brought chaos. For
this Calhoun Is repudiated. His own
partisans, both North and South, to
whom he was the greatest Of school
masters. know him no more. Mon
ticello and the Hermitage are familiar
nam es, but Abbeville has long since
passed out of mind. This is owing
not to the political opponents of Cal
houn or Jefferson or Jackson but to
their friends and followers. By magni-
flying the Virginian and Tennesseean
the Carolinian is thrown into obscurity.
The historian no doubt does his plain
duty, so far as he is capable, and from
him we learn the relative merits of
these foremost Democratic champions.
NO. EFFORT CAN REVIVE CALHOUN
JEFFERSON AND JACKSON
t. WILL LIVE FOREVER.
It is not likely that the American
people will ever be permitted to rele-
gate Jefferson and Jackson, but it is
quite certain that no effort will ever
be made to revive Calhoun. Let him
alone. That is the verdict. Some are
Indifferent and some are fearful. The
silence of the tomb is his.
The weight of opinion of the mental
analysts who have passed judgment
on the Carolina politician, or states
man. Ia that he was narrOW.minded.
CONFINED HIMSELF TO LEADING
QUESTIONS. >
This is inferred from the fact that he
confiped himself to leading questions,
which were few. He had no taste,
and thosght his talent too great, for
dealing minutely with the detail OF
side issues. If Calhoun made himself
a specialist in politics he did 80 because
it brought him in continual contact
with the best minds of the opposition.
His ambition was inordinate. To that
from his youth up he made absolute
sacrifice. That his own resources
were sufficient to sustain him in the
conflicts ne engendered is. good evi-
dence of his strenth. Calhoun is
generally underrated because ne is
misunderstood. His conception in
politics was precisely that ola master
in any department of fart. He grasped
the leading features. aud on them ex-
hausted himself-the little things were
left to take care of themselves. He
struck out his course early. His first
election to Congress fired him with
the ambition to become the controll-
ing spirit in national affairs. TO be
sure, he was sectional, and q man ol
his State, but 1t was by the leverage
thus obtained that he hoped for -su-
premacy in the councils at Washing
ton.
CALHOUN CARED NOTHING FOR
WEALTH, BUT he THIRsTED
FOR POWER.
And this he would reach by
concentrating his energies on two
questions tariff and slavery.
After the war Of 1872 he advocated
protection at the behest Of Southern
planters. Here was the secret Of Cal
houn's efforts. A plebeian of the up
per country, which had no wealth and
where people were classed by degrees
of poverty, he strove to strengthen
and perpetuate the aristocracy and
draw hard the line between the rich
and the poor. The measure of his sue
cess was his control of the Democratic
party, called up to Jackson's cam.
paign Republican. In this Is seen the
working out of the ambition of Cal
houn. He was neither rich nor poor,
and, standing thus midway between
the democracy Of the South and that
of the North, he held them together
to the advantage of himself and his
section. He himself cared nothing
for wealth, but thirsted Of power. In
this way he, obtained and held It.
The Northern Democracy he wrought
| into his edifice as a builder doe.
material. He incorporated it in his
design for utility. -~ j.
NORTHERN DEMOCRATS AND SOUTH.
Ell ARIsToCRATs.
In this rare political combination
we have the Northern Democrats, Cal
houn and the. Southern aristocrats
with all power lodged in the latter
Calhoun was their agent, and welded
lit in their behalf. The fear of thu
! lJeffersonians that the President nigh
assume the function of a. King wa
hushed by the usurpstion of the mer
of money and lands. It was reigr
of wealth. A poor man was worth
his vote, and no more. Democratic
management had marked him for al
underlipg, and he would likely hav,
remained so had not another hani
been extended him, Calhoun, cease
lessly working out his own destin,
throught the favor and help Of tn
rich, was necessarily in influence an,
practice the enemy of the poor. h
ioosed no bonds and lifted no burdens
/. The logical conclusion of his theorie
was to give to those who had still
more abundantly; and to this end b
employed the strength of his party
THE POOR WHITE TRASH WERE NO
The white laborer at the South had q
part in the benefits of the doctrine {
Calhoun, and when protective tari1
was levied to equalize in a measur
the whole population, the Governor c
South Carolina informed the jackson
administration that no collection
would be made in that state in answe
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