Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1901-08-07

The Democrats of South Carolina

The Democrats of South Carolina
are now told that unless they swear
allegiance to the late repudiated and
defeated Kansas City platform--a
platform dictated and forced upon
our party by Populists, Anarchists
old Greenbaokers, renegade Repub-
licans and the rakings and scrapings
of every political movement started
in this country.
Mr.. William J. Bryan has been
twice nominated on that same plat
form, and at the second contest he
not only met crushing and wither-
ing defeat, bat he lost to our party
control of both Houses of Congress
and every intelligent Democrat must
see that, in the changed conditions
of affairs, it would be political suicide
for the Democrats to again enter the
campaign on such dead and repudi-
atcd issues.
Here is a fair illustration of any
such ruling: Suppose some land
owner rented tenant field and
had itplanted in cotton. There came
a long summers drought, and there
fore his crop did not pay for the fer
tilizer used. The following winter
was mild one, and a few of the
cotton stalks budded out again in the
spring. Thus encouraged, instead of
planting fresh seed, he insisted on
his tenant cultivating those same old
weeds and, as natural result, he
lost his time and labor, and the fail
ure was even more disastrous than
the first year. But with his mule
headed stubbornness, that foolish
land owner insisted again, for third
time, on his tenant working and try
ing to resurrect those old cotton
stalks, instead of acknowledging that
the case was hopeless and planting
an entirely new and fresh crop.
Now, do you believe that there is
farmer in the South who would
consent to waste third years labor
on those old cotton stalks? And yet
this is just what some of our Demo
cratic leaders in South Carolina in
sist on their party doing. They
demand that the Democrats in our
State continue to work around those
old dead political stalks that the
country has vice repudiatcd, and
who, if they ,-..n succeed in domi-
mating our party and next national
convention, and in debating plat
form, means not only another crush
ing defeat, but perpetuation Of
Republican rule and the utter destruc-
tion of Democracy.
Our party, both in South Carolina
and other States, az l have shown
above, has been very liberal in the
latitude given the opinion Of indi-
vidual members. In fact, | think
we have been too generous in this
respect. But if ever it was necessary
to loosen the lines and draw again
together our divided membership, it
is now. The Democrats are already
in minority and by adopting such
cont, acted ideas we will reduce that
minority to minimum. We must
adopt broad and liberal platform
which will command the respect and
confidence of the voters of our great
country-rccognizing the rights and
interests of every class-and accept
the changed condition Of affairs.
We must pull our party out of those
old beaten ruts in which it has been
travelling ever since the war, and
quit carrying rock in one end OF
our political meal sack and Populist
husk and renegade Republican chaff
in the other, but fill both ends OF
that sack with the winnowed grain
of Progressive Democracy.
In my next article will endcavoi
to show where such leaders as Bryan
Teller and Altgeld have carried tho
Democl ntic party, and as an indivi
dual Democrat, who is a practica
farmer and neither an oflicc-holdel
nor Office e-seeker, demand the fullest
and freest expression of opinion as t.
what is the best policy for our part,
to persue, in order to save it from &
crushing defeat, wreck and ruin.
~. H. Can't.
1nman, South Carolina, July 2G.
Mrs, S. III, Allport JonnstOwn. Pa.