The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-08-14
M'LAURIN'S REPLY
PARIS MOUNTAIN, S. c.,
August 5th, 1901.

tee, State of South Carolina.
Gentlemen: The official notice Of
the action of majority of your com
mittee of July 25th was received by
me On August lst five days after it
had been announccd in the ncwspa
pcrs. This published announcement
was the first notice had that any
any action affecting me was 10 be
taken by your committee am now
officially Informed that the majority
Of your committee condemns my
course in the Senate, demands my
resignation and undertakes to cYnnl
me from the Democratic party. r ven
ty.one men have attempted to usurp
the powers Of the 10000 Democratic
voters Of South Carolina and as an
incident, in a meeting called for an
other purpose have hastily cndcavorcd
70 DO what can be done only BY solemn
proceedings Of impeachment, express
ly provided for in the Constitution Of
the United States
hold my commission from the
Democratic voters Of South Carolina,
| recognize no authority but theirs,
take no orders from any source but
them, and shall in due course appeal
to them for judgment on my course as
Senator and my character as a man
and Democrat.
Personally | am Indifferent to your
action because nobody has made you
my master or censor, and | regard
what you have done as merely express
ing the malice and the fears Of one
individual, Senator 3. Il. Tillman.
But for this always evil and indecent
influence ordinary respect for the
proprieties, would probably have pre-
vented the four Of you who arc my
declared competitors for the seat l
now have the honor to occupy, from
attempting to use the power entrusted
to you by your party to remove a rival
from your path.
AS q citizen and Democrat of South
Carolina | am mortified by your ac-
tion, because it has brought upon the
State the condemnation and the ridi-
culc of The press and the public
throughout the country. Unhappily,
those who are not intimately acquaint-
ed with our conditions accept the ac-
tion of your majority as representing
the intelligence and Democracy of our
State and both arc made objects of
derision. Against this l wish to en-
ter my solemn protest. l shall dem
onstrate how unfair, absurd and un-
democratic your action is; and I shall
trust to the Democrats of South Caro-
lima to repudiate it when the oppor-
tunity is given them. Your purpose
is to deny that opportunity.
It is in strong contrast with the
blatant boast Of Senator Tillman at
Gaffney to put me on trial before the
party on the hustings with himself as
prosecutor. AS you know, I sought
that test BY accepting 2 proposal of
appeal to the people, but the governor
saw fit to forbid it. Now Senator
Tillnan appears as prosecutor against
me in my absence and by proceedings
like those Of the star chamber, which
was the most Infamous tribunal of
English history, and the most abhor-
rent to Anglo-Saxon instincts, seeks
TO exclude me from the party and its
debates and public assemblagcs. 1t is
your duty, as custodians of the party
interests, to seek recruits and to
strengthen the party. To save Sena-
tor Tillman from stalking his record,
strength and fortunes against mine,
you undertake to exclude me and my
friends from the party. Whatever
your individual motives may have
been, the purport of your action is to
facilitate the Senator in lodging me
and to deny the people the opportunity
OF passing on my positions and con-
duct. It seems to me the Democratic
masses Of South Carolina are compe-
tent to say at the polls whether or not
| have been faithful Senator and q
consistent Democrat. Why should
you attempt to prevent them?
It is no cause for wonder that Sena.
tor Tillman should seek to make politi-
cal assassins Of you to avoid open and
fair fight. He has climbed to power
by venomous abuse of many of the
purest men in the State who opposed
him, for which he has always care
fully shirked personal responsibility,
and on the political lives and fortunes
OF those who befriended him while he
needed friends. Norris, Tindal and
Donaldson, men representing earnest