The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-04-09

It's candidates. We hold that in
common decency he should not
seek to do any Of these things:
we do not understand how he
could wish to do them" This
quotation, simply means that
those who have reached the con-
clusion that Organism will not
do, must stay out of our Demo
cratic party: it means that those
who have had the nerve TO differ
with a majority Of the Demo
cratic members Of the United
States Senate should oe driven
out of our primaries: it means
that those who refused to sneeze
whenever j. K. Jones of Arkan-
sas who will soon have the
prefix "Ex" to his title as
Senator, pulled out his snuff
should be disqualified from par
ticipating in our primaries. The
State is to be admired for its
boldness if not for its inconsist-
ency. 1t is bold enough to come
out and say what others are try
ing to sneak through, but when
it talks about utdisqualifying white
voters in a primary who vote
against the party nominees, it
puts itself in a very awkward
position. Everybody knows that
the Democratic party nominated
B. r. Tillman in 1890, and that
the editor of The State refused
to support him and openly sup
ported an Independent candi-
date. It is also known that the
Democratic party nominated
John Gary Evans for Governor
in 1894. and The State supported
Samps Pope an Independent
candidate. 1t is also known thai
The State has opposed the reg
ularly nominated candidates of
the Democratic party and sup
ported Republican candidates
for Congress, therefore we say
that reading a lecture to Demo
Gratis who have always support
ed the nominees Of the party
comes in queer taste from The
State.
These extremists are never
safe leaders, and always unwise
counselors; the white people of
South Carolina have the intel
ligence, loyalty and indepen-
dence to vote for men and meas
ures which meet with their ap-
proval, and they can be trusted
to keep the party in tact without
enslaving themselves to profes-
sional politicians. The white
men Of South Carolina are Dem
ocrats and no earthly power can
make them anything else; hence
it is an insult to their intelli-
gence to want to force them into
being ruled by dictation.
If the State convention adopts
a rule that none can participate
in a Democratic primary unless
they swear they endorse this or
that platform, then we are surely
under the rule of the iron-handed
dictator who will never be olsen
throned short of a revolution.
Why? If a few leaders are au-
thorized to say what constitutes
a Democrat don't everybody with
a thimble full of sense know that
these leaders will always fix it
so that they can remain in power:
In this State there is a respecta-
BILE element who are very much
to the sale of liquor.
Suppose at the coming conven-
ton prohibition plank was in
serted in the platform, and be-
fore a man could become a candi-
date before the people he was
to swear that he en-
dorsed that platform. would
that not deprive the advocates of
the dispensary system from 60
ing before the people? If a man
advocating the dispensary sys-
tenn were to enter the primary
for any Office and subscribe to
such an oath would he not stul-
tify himself Then take the
other side, if the majority in the
convention wanted to put a dis
pensary plank in the platform
and require an oath Of candidates
that they endorse the platform,
it would prevent the people from
voting for a county treasurer or
auditor if he happened to believe
IN pronloltlOn. NO, thlS IS a Tree
country and we advocate the
keeping open and free our pri-
maries to all white men. Let a
man advocate what he pleases
before the people and let them
judge of his democracy. We are
unalterably opposed to entrust
our constitutional and God-given
rights to any man or set of men;
when the time comes to vote we
want the privilege of voting for
our choice in the primary and for
the Democratic party's choice in
the general election. The only
pledge necessary is the one we
have always had-TO ABIDE THE
RESULT AND SUPPORT THE NOM
INEES OF THE PRIMARY. If the
politicians fix up any other it
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