The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-10-30
BILL ARP ON OLD HISTORY.
He Goes Back to Julius Caesar
and Then Touches Andrew
Jackson.

ana Then Tonches Andrew
Jackson.
Atlanta Constitution.
" To the victors belong the sloils.'
This WAS all old war maxim of tn,
Romans in Julius Caesars day-ant
was akin to that other one, ''vae vic,is,
woe unto the conquered. In 1881
when General Jackson was sweeping
the field and removing from Fedora
office every Wing who had been ap.
pointed, William j.. Marcy, whn was
in the United States Senate, defended
him in great speech and promulgated d
that maxim, 60 70 the victors b.long
the spoils." Marcy was very bril-.
liant statesman, but very bitter par
tlsan. He was, Governor of New York
three terms, Judge of the supreme
court, secretary of war under Polk,
secretary of State under Pierce, and
he used this maxim just as far as he
was allowed to. He detested the Wing
patty and defined an old line Whig 10
be IS conceited gentleman who took
a drink when he pleased and never
voted the Democratic ticket" This
reminds mo of an old man I met in
Arkansas, who said to me, Z" Mr.. Arp,
Pm gwine onto 80 years old-me and
my old 'oman have lived together fifty
nine years and jined the same Baptist
church the year we was married and
every year since then have voted the
Democratic ticket" His politics was
good part of his religion.
/ remember when the alienation be-
tween Wings aud Democrats was quite
as bitter for many years as it has been
between Republicans and Democrats
at the South-social equality even in
small towns was strained by politics.
This alienation got into the churches
and colleges. There was no outward
breach of good manners, but it was
Wings felt they were better than the
Democrats, for they were generally
wealthy and educated and owned
slaves. Out of 1855 students in our
State Univeroity in 1845, 13O of them
were sons of Wings. 1 am still De-
mocrat, and my father was before me,
but have always respected tho grand
old Wing party Of the South, and
lamented its disruption. still re-
member with pride and admiration the
names of Toombs, Stephens, Ben Hill,
Jenkins, DIR. Miller, Crawford, Ber
rien, the Hulls and Holts and Under.
woods and Doughterys, for | knew
them all personally and heard them on
the stump and in the forum.
But the disruption had to come both
in church and State. The Wings could
not any longer stand the company they
were in-Eorthern Wings became Re-
publicans and affiliated with abolition
lists in their political platforms. They
precipitated The civil war, and from that
was boln plunder and corruption.
do'not mean to say that all Democrats
ale patriotic and honest--nor that ali
Republicans are unprincipled and dis
honest. When our unsophisticated
preacher, Ed. Axson, said TO Judge
Underwood that he could not believe
Tweed was guilty of stealing all that
money in New York city, for Tweed
was Democrat, the judge smiled and
said: my dear BIZ, you ale too inno-
cent and unsuspecting to live IN this
wicked world. L am twice as old as
you are and my observation has been
that {! is within the range of possibility
for Democrat to steal" But what [
do say is that the Democratic party
has more conscience and is less greedy
than the Republican. Shortly after
the war Dutchtnan in Chattanooga
killed his fat shote and hung it up in
the back yard to cool during the night
next morning he was Mortified to
find that one half of the hog was gone.
He ran around wild and was very much
excited and declared that some mean
old stinkin' Democrat had carried off
one-half of his beautiful shote. "What
makes you think he was Democrat?"
a neighbor asked. Wy, of course he
vas a Dimocrat-of course he vas-for
Republican would hav stole de whole
hog"
That's 1t exactly. They want it all.
But now is the time for great re-
formation. Martin Luther brought
one in the church and believe that
Roosevelt will bring one to the man.
agement of our national affairs. He
knows of the corruption and has de-
termined to purge IL. III will appoint
good men to office regardless of their
political principles. He will not be
governed by that maxim of Marcy's.
u6 lS III aru6uL DelleVeT Ill CIVIL berVlCe
reform. General Grant had the law
passed in 1872 to stop public plunder,
but he couldn't enforce 1t and it be-
came dead letter. In 1876 and 1880
both parties pretended to favor it's re-
vival and they put 1T as plank IN their
platforms. In 1883 Congress passed
the present vigorous law on the SUBJ
ject, hut party pressure evades it as
much as possible and that unchrlstian,
uncivilized maxim of {" to the victors
belong the spoils" still prevails. The
civil service reform does not apply to
all the little offices, but is pretended to
be enforced in the important ones.
Thirty thousand railway postal clerks
are subject to it and the law Is more
rigidly enforced in the postal depart
nlent than any other.
Now we hope and have right to
expect that Mr. Roosevelt will see to it
that no Objectionable postmaster shall
be appointed in any town North or
South. The postoffice is emphatically
the peoples office. 1t ought really to
be an elective office in every town and
village, It is close akin to home and