The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-08-07

delegate, elected Colonel Wylie Jones
of Columbia by decided majority.
When Colonel Jones' name was read
out among the list OF delegates to
Chicago, Senator Tillman arose in the
convention and entered protest
against his election, expressing in his
argument, a doubt of Colonel Jones
l-wiithdrawing from the Democratic
convention if that body refused to en-
dorse the ''l6 to /" proposition. The
friends of Colonel Jones, in defense,
Explained that he was citizen OF
Columbia and had always been a
staunch reformer and friend OF Till
man: that he was national banker.
and yet and avowed and outspoken free
silver man. But that Colonel Jones
was above all things a Democrat and
would bow to any decree made by his
party in convention assembled. By a
small majority the convention defeated
Colonel Jones, and thus denied the
Representatives of the Fourth district
the long recognized right of naming
their own delegate to a Democratic
convention, a privilege at that same
time accorded every other district in
our State.
simply refer to the above instance
to show the great latitude that South
Carolina has for the past eight or ten
years extended to Democrats, and how
new issues are constantly springing up,
furnishing a slogan for politicians, and
then permitted to lapse into state OF
inocuous desuetude, to give place to
some other rallying cry for politicians.
And it was not only in South Caro-
lima that the Democratic party per-
mitte6 its members and leaders the
exercise OF very elastic political con-
science, and regularly every few years
some new and untried issue has been
brought forward to rack the minds OF
voters, and I believe that such vascil-
lations and constant shifting of positions
responsible for the repeated defeat OF
our party. To attain political success
and secure the confidence of the intelli-
gent voters OF this great country the
platform of any party must embrace
broad, liberal and progressive ideas
that will appeal to the justice and rea-
son of the voters and to be eternally
trimming its sails to catch every pass
| ing breeze, but a part must fix its
compass so as to keep straight and
consistent course and not be tacking
| from side to side.
The policy so long pursued by our
party has been taken advantage Of by
men of brain and influence to warp and
! twist its platform to suit their own ends
and the Interests OF their constituents.
Congressman Randall of Pennsyl-
vania was democratic leader in the
house and his honesty was never ques-
toned. And yet Mr.. Randall was an
avowed and outspoken protectionist,
always voting with the Republicans
on that question, and at a time, too,
when opposition to protection was the
leading is ne with the democracy.
In our siste" State OF Georgia the
opponents of Alexander H. Stephens
met in convention at Thomson and
nominated DR.. Casey for congress.
The news was Instantly wired to Mr..
Stephens at Washington, when he tele-
graphed back the FIVE significant
words: II will stand for congress. ="
The Democrats OF that district knew
Mr.. Stephens was stronger than his
party, and the result was that they
took down the name of DR., Casey and
substituted that of a. H. Stephens,
thus making a great political organi-
zation bend like reed before the elo-
quent blast of an individual Democrat.
Thomas Jefferson is recognized a
the founder OF Democratic principles,
and the father OF our party. The
Democrats brought on the late war be-
tween the States to maintain slavery;
and yet, what is Mr.. Jetferson's record
op the slavery question? In 1907 JEFF
ferson recommended to prohibit a
traffic of which the morality, honor
and dearest interest of the country had
long required the disappearance"
The Democrats of South Carolina are
now told that unless they swear alliance
to the late repudiated and defeated
Kansas City platform-a platform die
tated and forced upon our party by
populists, anarchists, old green-backerS,
renegade Republicans and the rakings
and scrapings OF every political move
ment started in This country.
Mr.. William J. Bryan has been twice
nominated on that same platform, and
at the second contest he not only met
crushing and whitening cefeat, but he
lost to our party control Of both houses
of Congress and every intelligent Dem
ocrat must see that. in the changed
conditions OF affairs, it would be politi-
cal suicide for the Democrats to again
enter the campaign on such dead and
repudiated issues.
Here is a fair illustration of any such
ruling: Suppose some land owner
rented tenant field ard had it plan
ted in cotton. There came long
summers drought, and therefore his
crop did not pay for the fertilizer used.
The following winter was a mild one,
and few of the cotton stalks budded
out again in the spring. Thus encour-
aged, 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 failure was even more disasterous
than the first year. But with his mule
headed Stubborness, that foolish land
owner insisted again, for third time,
on his tenant working and trying to
resurrect those old cotton stalks, in
stead of acknowledging that the case
was hopeless and planting an entirely
new and fresh crop.
Now, do you believe that there is a
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 Democratic leaders in
South Carolina insist on their party
doing. They demand that the Demo
Gratis in our State continue to work
around these old dead political stalks,
that the country has twice repudiated,
and, who if they again succeed in do
minating our party and next national
convention, and in debating the plat
form, means not only another crushing
defeat, buta perpetuation of Republican
rule ard the utter destruction of Demo-
cracy.
Our party, both in South Carolina
and in other States, as I have shown
above, has been very liberal in the
latitude given the opinion of individual
members. In fact, I think we have
been too generous in this respect. But
when it was necessary to loosen the