The Batesburg advocate. [volume] (Batesburg, S.C.) 1901-1911, 1901-06-12
A WORD IN REPLY
To Ssna' 'or McL aurin's Letter to
M. CLAYTON.
EVAoED oUEsTioNs ASKED.
Ooss Not Attempt tc
Deny that He Supports Re-
publ can Policies and
Thus Evadcs.


Senator McLsurin was the lesding edi.
torial in The State of last Thursday
1t presents the other side of the ques
tion and will repay perusal. The State
says:
Senator McLaurin's reply to Mr..
ClaytoD's letter is very clear evasion
He Pretends to show that the Republi
can policies of today, wich McLaurin
supports, are in accord with the fluda.
mental principles of Democracy, but in
stead of proving that proposition
which would be impossible-the senator
reviews none too accurately the history
OF the parties up to the time of the
Civil War, and from that point jumps
to the declaration that the south Is in-
tolerant and should bee ,me liberal by
which he may mean that the south is
Democratic and should become Repub.
licnu.
The contest between HamiltoniIn aud
Jeffersonisn ideas is an historical fact
for the discovery of which Mr.. McL,u-
rim can claim no credit. He can, how
ever, receive the greatest measure Of
praise if he will prove that the Repub-
licauism of today is In accord with the
Jetfersoniauism of century ago aud
that the Democracy of 1901 is in line
with the Federalist doctrines advanced
by Hamilton. This he csnpot do. Mr..
McLsurin knows well enough that the
Rt publican party nov stands for a
strong national government, oentraliza-
tion of power, large standing army
and special favors to classes through
tariff protection and subsidies to cor
porations. The Democracy of Bryan
opposes all these, Just as the Dam 90
racy of Jefferson opposed them.
1t would be foolish to assert tha. tn,
Democratic party has bsen right al all
times and in every position it has
taken, but ii is true and cannot be con-
trsdicted that the Dem ocratic party has
always stood for the rights of the peo-
pie as against class privileges. And
today the only hope for the preservs-
tion of true repubiicanism is offered by
and through the Democratic party.
colonialism and fsvoritism sre few Of
the 'isms" not monopolized by the
Democrats which threaten to obliterste
the ideas of Jefferson and to set up in
their stead the theories of Alexander
Hamilton. Against these the Demo-
Gratis are Errayed. He WHO is not for
us IS against US, and though every
Americrn citizen has the right to take
pu5iiosnisn Sie 1ai IN int III .maers.s o. he
is esteemed despicabIe aa. dishoE est
treachery. And, sad to say, that is the
change brought against John L)wndes
McL.urin, senator from the s ate of
South Csrolinsl
Mr.. McL,urin does not attempt to
deny that he supports Republican pol
ices. That is where he evaded Mr..
Clayton's pointed question. Instead of
answering, he di.cants, as we have
said, upon the differences which have
SO long distinguished the two great
parties and then proceeds to assail the
wisdom of the Democratic alliance with
the Populists of the west. The force
of Mr.. McLIurin's attack at this point
- nullifed by the recollection that at
the time when the southern Demo
Gratis were smarting under the leader
ship of Grover Cleveland, then sus
pectcd and afterwards proved guilty of
party treschery, Mr.. McLsurin was
most eager for that same western alii-
ance. He even went so far as to swal
low the Ocala platform without any
sugar coating an5 was almost IS yigi.
Iant as Brave Ben" himself in seeking
that elusive light out of the west" Ii
the OcAla demands were not Populism
what were they? Ii Bryan wss not 6
Democrat in 1892, what was Mo
Laurin? Did not the Ocala demand.
| pledge their sdherents not to recogn;z.
the authority of the party caucus?
The statement that "the only Office
which William j. Bryan ever held he
was elected to by the Populists" is &
perveTsion of facts unworthy love,
of the truth 1t is we'll known that
Mr. Bryan was cleo ed to congress a:
the Democratic candidate in a strone
Republican district by the combined
support of DJmocaats and Populists
| The fusion" between Democrats anC
| Popuilsts 10 certain western States oI
which Nebraska is one is necessary tC
keep the Republicans from control and
as policy of the party it has been ap
| proved by Democrats of every variety
from Grover Cleveland to Ben Tillman
| But these false assertions and intima
tons regarding the man who has tWic,
been nominated as the Democrat,
presidential candidate and who as sucl
last time received the largest popula
vote ever givon Democratic candidate
show just what kind of Democrat Johl
l. McLsurin has become. As late q
1897, when he was candidate for th
senate, he professed allegiance not onl,
to the Chicago platform of 1896 in ful
but to the leadership of Bryan as we'll
Now he sets himself up as q critic o
Bryan and the whole Democratic part,
as at present constituted, but we DO NO
think the Democrats Of South Carolin
will take political lessons from ono wh
in turn has been anti Tillmsnite, Till
mantle, Ocalsite, Bryanito and Forty it
ard is uow a McKinleyite and Hanna
ite.
Mr.. McLlurin says good deal Abou
free silver and some of it is true. Iti
true; for instance, that up to the las
campaign both parties had always pre-
fessCd to support the principle Q
bimetallism. 1t is only recently ths
the Republicans have come out tquare
| ly for the single gold standard. Unit
this submission to the demands of tn
money.interests, the Republicans hs
avowed themselves bimetallists. Th
sincerity of their profession bein
doubted by tho real friends Of ths
economic principle the Democrat
party came to be looked upon as tn
real defender of the true faith. Hone
when the Democratic party now d.
clSres itself favorable to the prinoIpl