The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-07-27
McLAURIN's RESIGNATION CALLED
FOR


FOR.
The state Executive Committee of
the Democratic party of South Carolina
doesn't think Senator McLaurin is a
good enough Democrat to represent
that state in the United States Senate.
and has called on him to resign. 1t
seems that Senator Tillman was largely
instrumental in influencing the COM
mittee to take this course.
Will McLaurin crafty the committee
and Senator Tillman by forwarding his
resignation to the Governor? 1t is
! pretty safe to assume that he will not
Not long ago Mr.. Tflman undertook
/ to get rid of McLaurin by agreeing to
resign If the latter would. Their res
ignations were forwarded to the Cow
ernor who declined to accept them un-
less they were stripped of the condi-
ton attached to them. It seemed that
neither Tillman nor McLaurin was so
anxious to leave the Senate as to send
the Governor an unconditional resig-
nation. That was thought to have
practically ended the resignation bust
iNo0s buA ~ ScGIllS lildl Human now
proposes to get rid of McLaurin with
out resigning himself. Doubtless this
attitude of the senior senator will
strike McLaurin and his friends as
very interesting, if not amusing.
1t seems that when the committee
was called together it was not the pur-
pose to ask McLaurin to resign. The
purpose was to make such conditions
for the senatorial primary next sum
mer that McLaurin could not be a can
didate, but the committee would not
make the Endorsement of the Demo-
cratic National Platform a condition of
being a candidate before the primary,
because the platform contains a dec
laration in favor of the free coinage
of silver. In other words, the COM
mittee refused to indorse the Demo-
cratic National Platform. And yet it
is because McLaurin refuses to stand
by that platform that he is asked to
resign
1t is true that McLaurin objects to
more things in the Democratic Nation
al Platform than the committee does,
but if the committee has a right to
reject one plank of the platform has
not McLaurin a right to reject two
planks? That is a question which
many South Carolina Democrats are
likely to ask.
AS far as we are able to see at pres
ent McLaurin is not obliged to com
ply with the committees request for
his resignation. And no action that
the committee has taken bars him out
of the primary. The committee may
prevent him from being a candidate
in the senatorial primary. but the
chances are that ii will not.
1t begins to look as If Tillman were
afraid of McLaurin's popularity. If
he thought it would be an easy mat
ter to defeat him in the primary he
would not take the trouble to get rid
of him in a way likely to be criticised.
If McLaurin is not p Democrat it
would be better to let the Democrats
of the state say so than for the State
Executive Committee to pass judgment
upon him.
1t is doubtful if Tillman has
strengthened himself with the people
by this action of the State Executive
Committee-it being assumed of course
that the committee would not have
taken such action If it had not been
urged to do so by him. 1t will be ar
gued that Tillman would not have
taken the course he has to get rid of
McLaurin if he felt that he could east
ly defeat him in a primary. And the
refusal Of the committee to indorse the
Democratic National Platform in its
entirety will not be without its weight.
1t looks, therefore, as if the political
situation in South Carolina were be-
coming somewhat complicated. and the
complications are not of a kind cal
culated to strengthen Tillman's hold
on his party.