The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-06-05
TO THE PEOPLE.
An ADDRESS Explaining g Why He
Resigned His Seat
ISSUED BY BEN. TlllM&N.
Says McLsurin Was Virtually
OFganzng q Republican
Party in Ghis Sta'e Tn
der Another Name.
der Another Name.

~-~S AS-4S"4ES GSN4SSo OSSNSy S-SS4
neon:
To the Demo, ratio Vo:ers Of tie S:stc.
Fellow Cit;z,ps: An extraordinary
and unparalleled situation has unex
pecte6ly arisen in the State, aud IS |
am manly responsible Tor this, I feel
that proper respt ct fer you, requiles
an explanation Of my actions and mo-
tives.
Eleven years ago BY 8 very large
vote yeu elected me govern OF Of the
State, and Two years afterwards INas
reelected II an overwhelming majGr
ity. In 81 vas sent SIS your repre-
sentative IL the gre Of the Uri.ed
Ssstes one Of ,he senstors from
South Cs,clina. After six year scr
vice in that bo0y l 6as last yesr cho
ser without OPP ositicn TO BE- nv own
successor, I vas sworn in on March
4,h, lsss for the six =, srs' term end
ing in 1907. The ink hss hardly be-
come dry upon ny oath Of cHce and
yet hsve rendered my resigI ion to
take effect September Is b n.xs. Ny
colleague has also rendered his resig
nation 10 take eject the same date,
and thus there will be two vacancies
to be flied by appointment of the gov
ernor until the legislature can elect cur
successors in January next. | dei.1e to
announce my candidacy TO succeed my
self and shall ask you 70 vin6icate my
acticn by ycuc votes in the primary,
which will he ordered By the State
DemocIat:c committee. This is sn f
year in politics ard but for the condl-
tions which Lad come about my action
in precipitatiDg political campaign,
and primary election would be mex
causable. A hrief review cf recent po,
ltical events will be necessary to give
that explanation My colleague, Jro
L. MoLanrin, was elected to the sen
ate st = prims-y held in 81 10 succeed
the lsnented Earle. &c was elected
as Democrat star ding upon the Chi
csgo platform Of 1895. Early in '99
SENATOR McLau,in lsrte6 company
With his Democratic colleagues in the
senate, and has since voted fer and
advocated everything that the Repub-
lican party now stands for, and has
pecsistently antagonized his OWL larty
in all Of MS pubic utterances aud acts.
Notwithstanding that a new State con-
vention last Msy laid down the prin-
ciples and policies Of the party, and
new national convention st Kansas
City in July announced the principles
of Democracy IS now understood
throughout the uuion, your junior SEN
ator has acted though he were entirely
Independent Of the people who elected
him and has ielt under 10 obligations
to obey their wishes or do their will
as their representative. When con-
gress adjourned last March he and MS
sympthzers in the S ate began at
once an active p,opsgands Of his new
doctrines, which he claimed were
Democratic, but which all true DINO
Gratis must know are only Republican
ism in disguise and very tbInly dis
guise6 at that. He maae speech at
Charlotte. April Is h, in which the
Democratic party is sneered st aad
asss,leo. He made another speech at
Greenv,lle last week filing out snd
de7eic Ping lis new theories, and took
pains to indicate his perfect scoor6
With Mr, Mckinley in all his policies.
He Lad appointments already ar
ranged to make speeches at aleast
three other llscss-GaGney, Yorkvills
and Spar,anburg-and had begun an
active canvass for reelection, fifteen
months before the regular campaign,
which would choose his successor, in
the Democratic priu sry Of 1902 would
open. 1t vas natural that these gen
tlenen WHO proposed to contest for his
seat should be unwilling to premature
~ announce their candidacy and take
the field sgaints him. He had the dis
pensing OF federal patronage placed at
his disposal By the Republican presi-
dent, and he had unlimited q money fur
nished by his Republican allies, Or Nc
Kinley Democratic followers in South
Carolina and his purpose was to 80
up and down the State unopl osed and
unanswered to organize his new po-
litical mschine. This was the situa
tion up to the Gafney meeting and l
#as confronted With the question of
what was ny duty under the ciEcum-
stances. Recollect that | an member
Of the national Democratic committee,
as your representative; l was en- the
committee on platform in both Of the
last national conventions and helped
frame the declarations Of principle and
policy upon which ne went to battle,
and was chairman Of the committee
on platform in your last State conVen-
tion.
Remember too that beth st Charlotte
snd at GreenYille, directly andindlrect-
", l had been sssailed By Mr.. MeLau-
rln and you will understand why | was
anxious to meet my colleague at Gaf
ney, and when invited by large NUN
eercf clt;ssrs Of Cherokee county l will
insly accepted. The result o. that
meeting is now well known. Mr. Nc
Laurin was unezpe ctedly brought face
to face with the question Of resignation
and appeal to the people whose conf
dence he had abused az whose trust he
had betrsyed. He tried to dodge the
thrust, By charging thst was attempt,
ing to dictate and loss the people and
interfere in the race with which | had
no concern snd vas safely esccnced in
nv seat for six yesrs and had nothing
to lose, but well afford to lsy down q .
code Of moral ethics, for another which
was unwillipgt to follow myself sa"
the opportunity 10 prec!pitaso battle
at once rather than wait fifteen months
aEd l offered to resign If he Wculo, ana
the result you know. | acted from
impulse it is true, but l have always
acted upon impulse and as a puohe
man / can affirm with the sacredDess