Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-06
M'LAURIN RELATES HIS CASE
Issues Letter to Constituents Defending
His Policy and Scoring Tillmsn.
BRANDS LATTER DICTATOR OF MACHINE
Forsees object of His Enemies 70
Overthrow Him and Appeals for
Suppression Of Vicious
Politics.

WASHINGTON. May 5,-Under date of
May 3 Senator McLaurin of South Carolina
has issued the following address to the peo-
pie of South Carolina:
My Fellow Citizens: The great doctrine
Of representative responsibility is the foun-
and no one more keenly than recognizes
his accountability to the people OF south
time no people who insist that their repre-
eentatives adhere to political policies and
traditions long since dead and declare them
vital issues can ever become truly great.
Every advancement IN the history of our
race has been the direct result Of indie
pendence of thought and action. 49,,
In most of he states of the United
States this is secured by the presence of
e sns RTae of eve eaft pubi acu question ies before The
people, who thus are enabled to form an
Intelligent opinion and give a verdict at
T~nfortunateiy in South Carolina for
nearly forty years we have been unable to
ton and Tor ten years after the Hampton
revolution our. people took no interest In
public affairs beyond maintaining a white
About the year 1890. however, began what
wss known az the darm iear M moyy enffIn,
tive effort on the part OF the people to pre-
serve the principle OF self-government.
Agitation Better Than StagnRtion.
With Kerby. Norris. Tnlman. Donaldson
ward its success, because l felt that agt-
tation was better than stagnation, and II Is
passing strange In that connection that the
leader OF that movement, b. r. Tllllnan,
was then denounced, as l am now de-
nounced. for attempting to Mahoneize the
The freedom of thought and action. how
ever, which followed the farmers move
ment opened the doors for every white
man and every negro who voted for Hamp-
ton In 1876, and they could advocate what;
ever views they cared to express, provided
only that they took an oath to support the
nominees Of the primary election. Men
were allowed to vote In the primary for
state and county officers. and / have heard
be aemocrsts sdvocatInE Cleveland and the
gold standards, and others Weaver and
free silver. And since then no attempt
with the Independent Haskell the Bowden
movement or the republican populists'
movement.
Elected PrOcIaiming Independence.
I was elected to congress in 1892 after a
heated canvass against able opponents. and
yet on every stump in the district / pro-
claimed my Independence and announced
that upon all national questions | would
follow my own judgment and not be bound
by the caucus of any party. Although my
democracy was assailed at that time was
elected four times upon the same declara-
ton OF principles. Carrying out my pledges
TO the people l began a Systematic study of
the questions OF the day, with the result
that l changed my Views upon many Of
The nrst marked difference with my party
assistants arose over the tariff question
while ! was In the house and a member Of
it's ways and means committee. Again, In
S97. when / was a candidate for the senate,
was charged with being a republican, out
digregarded the characterization and reso-
lutely commended that the policies which /
advocated were for the material advance
msnt OF the people, regardless OF how they
My attitude was Endorsed by so per cent