The Batesburg advocate. [volume] (Batesburg, S.C.) 1901-1911, 1901-08-14
Paris Mountain, S, c.,


To the Democratic Executive Commit
tee, State of South Carolina.
Gentlemen: The official notice of
mittee of July 25th was received by me
on August LIST, five days after it had
been announced In tho newspapers.
This pu blish announcement was the first
notice L had that any action affecting
me was to be taken by your committee.
L am now officially informed that the
majority of your committee condemns
my course In the senate, demands my
resignation and undertakes to expel me
from the Democratic party. Twenty
one men have attempted to usurb the
powers of the 80, 600 Demo cratic voters
OF South Carolina and, as an incident,
In meeting called for another purpose,
have hastily endesvored to do Whist can
be done only by solemn proceeding of
impeachment, expressly'provided d for in
the constitution of the Uoitcd States,
hold my commission from the D.mo
cratic voters Of South Carolina ]
recognize no authority but theirs, take
no orders from aay sourc, but them,
and shall In due 'se appeal to them
for judgment on my cou- IS senst VI,
and my character as man aud ID lmo
crat.
Personally | am indifferent to your
action because nobody has made you
my master or censor, aud | regard what
you have done as merely EXPIRE ssing the
malice and the fears Of one individual,
Senator b. II. Tillman. But for this
always evil and indecent influence,
ordinary respect for the proprieties,
would probably have prevented the four
OF you who sre my declared competi-
tors for the seat l now have the honor
to occupy, from attempting to use the
power entrusted to you by your party
to remove rival from your path.
AS Citizen and Democrat Of South
Carolina, l am mortified by your action,
because it has brought upon the State
the condemnation and the ridicule of
the press and public throughout the
country. Unhappily, those who are
not intimately acquainted with our oon-
ditIons sccept tho setion Of your ma
Jo1ty as representing the intelligence
T I'D Democracy of our Sine And both
are made obj acts of derision. Against
this L wish TO enter my solemn protest.
l shall demonstrate how unfair, absurd
undemocratic your sctionis; and shall
trust to the Democrats of South Caro-
lima to repudiste it when the oppor
tunlty is given them. Your purpose is
to deny that opportunity.
1t is in strong contrast with the
blatant boast of Senator Tillman at
Gatfney to put me on trial before the
party on the hustings with himself as
prosecutor. AS you know, / sought
that test by accepting proposal of ap.
peal to the people, but the governor saw
fit to forbid it. Now Senator TilIman
appears as pros 3cutor against me in my
absence and by proceedings like those
of the star chamber, which was the
most Infamous tribunal of Eugljsh his.
tory, and the most sbhorrent TO Aug o.
Saxon instincts, seeks to exclude me
from.party and its debates and public
assemblages. 1t is your duty, as Gus
todians OF the party interests, to seek
recruits and to strengthen the party.
To save Senator Tillman from stalking
his recol d, strength and fortunes against
mine, you undertake to exclude me
and my friends from the party. What
ever your individusl 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 conduct.
1t seems to me the Democratic masses Of
South Carolina are competent TO say at
the polls whether or not have been a
faithful senator snd a consistent
Democrat. Why should you attempt
10 prevent them2
IL is no cause for wonder th.t Sena
tor Tlllmsn should geek to make po.iti-
cal assassins Of you to avoid open aad
fair hght. be has c.imo bed to power by
venomous abuse of many of the purest
men In the state who opposed him, tor
which he has always carefully shiTkcd
prsonal responsibility, and on the 20
htlcal lives and fortunes OF those who
befriended him while he needed lrierds.
Norris, Tindal aud Donaldson, men
representing earnest purpose and the
interests of the farmers of the state,
and, therefore, strong, were used
by him to promote his own interests
and then thrust ssids. Irby, Shell
and Farley died despisIng MIN because
pie. l am nOW in his way, and bccaus c
he has failed to strike me down, he in
cites you to atten pl to stFsngle me,
and at the same time.to destroy a white
primary, to his advocacy Of which he
owed much of the best of his early fol-
lowing. Party Principles sre 6zod,
and TO the principles of the Democratic
party | have been uniformly faithful.
Party policies are determined from time
TO time by party elections and oonveu-
tlons and no man, nor body Of mon,
has the power to say between the1e cleo
tions what policies shall be the tests of
party loyalty, Senator Tillmau is as
suming the prerogativo of supreme BOSS
and dictator to say who shall or shall
not no DC regarded as Dem )crlt next
year A-JI'dO not oOacede any such pow
er to him nor to you. He, or all OF
your committee together, has not the
power to exclude from candidacy nor
the polls at the Democratic primary the
humblest citizen of South Carolina VINO
declares himself to be Democrat AID
pledges himself to support the noni-
nees. Suppose in 1890 the executive
committee of tho state had ruled cut of
the party ali who engaged In the Ear
mers' movemeDt2' Suppose two years
later it had excluded ail who favored
the sub-treasury idea2 Such action
would have been unjust, tyranical and
insulting to thousands of good citizens