Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1902-04-30

tion of genuine Democrat as against
some mugwump or traitor. 1 do not
think, however, that there are enough
ayowed Republicans who will take the
cath to make it necessary, TO trace their
election and see whether they voted rs
they pledged themselves or not.
1t may In time become necessary to
use the registration lists at the legal
elections to purify the club lists, bat we
cannot well make the rules 80 exacting
that we will bar out men who want to
act independently in merely local mat
ters. The fact that our fight is ia the
primary and not In the legal election and
therefore hardly half of the Democratic
voters are ever polied at the legal elec-
tion, would make it difficult to devise
| scheme to prove who had or who had not
supported the nominees of the party"
1 will not therefore discuss that phase of
the subject, but it is % matter of vital
necessity that we should make candi-
dates define their attitude and give ex-
plicit pledges as to their actions while in
office. Senator McLaurin was charged
with Republicanism in his race In the
primary Of '97, but he denied it bitterly
and thought he was honest. He denies
it still, but his utterances now are all
endorsements of the Republican policy,
and his votes tally With his speeches.
We must have revisit of the pledge
given by the candidatr .hioh will make
it impossible for an uunorable man not
q Democrat to secul. tho nomination If
we are to keep the party from being
stabbed in the back and not have rope
tition of the present disgraceful state of
affairs. AT this time South Carolina
really has no voice in shaping public mat.
ters in the Senate, or if she has voice
the votes of the two Senators are nearly
always on opposite sides of any given
proposition. This is something that
does not obtain in any other Democratic
State and know of no other way by which
we can guard against a recurrence of
didates for tho Senate, State offices,
Congressman and other positions of
honor and trust to pledge faith and 10y
atty to the doctrines and principles Of
the party as announced in State and
National conventions. This will leave
their status as far as it can be devised in
words absolutely known. Senator Nc
with this question. He is simply an
illustration of what might happen again
under the present loose regulations.
While his actions have shown the neces-
sity for revision of the pledge to be
given by candidates, the party can act
without consideration at all. 1t is oven
desirable that he be given an opportunity
W RO UGlOIo UllS p0Opl0 duu Uucul
show him how they feel about his treach-
cry. The revised pledge can be required
of all other Democrats without any
charge of persecution, This is import
ant for the future welfare of the party.
Let him run if he desires to face the
people and be elected If he can get the
votes. If he can win in the primary
after his record is set before the people
he can win much easier as an indepen-
dent if he is denied admission. We do
not want to be unjust to him or to his
followers.
If the Democracy of South Carolina
wants to put none but Democrats on
guard it must decide the Democracy Of
each candidate by requiring pledge in
writing that will define clearly what the
candidates opinions are and a solemn
pledge to stand by those opinions. OF
course men may sign pledge and then
deceive the people afterwards, but we
owe it to our fellow. Democrats of the
country to at least safeguard our Demo-
cratic primaries as far as possible.
There is another subject connected
consideration. The large number of
candidates who seek the various State
offices and Congressional and Senatorial
houors render it impossible in ono day
for those candidates to have even a
respectful, decent hearing. ANY man
who is fit to be Governor or Senator can
noS discuss public questions in any in
telligent way if his time is limited
Some plan must be devised by which
these candidates, who fill the really i'm
portant offices and who will shape and
control affairs, must be given sufficient
opportunity to make the people un-
derstand whether or not they are COM
petent. Many of the positions which
arc sought are largely ministerial
Nl,n l,,ft 6nf and
these officers cannot change or shape
public policy in any material degree.
There is no good excuse or reason why
seven or eight candidates for railroad
commissioner and 10 or 20 for the other
State offices shall be given time at a
State campaign meeting on so little timo
as to merely get up and make their bow.
In the last State canvass 1t required about
five hours for the respective candidates
to speak, allowing only 30 minutes for
the candidates. for Governor and ten
minutes for the others, not counting
the candidates for United States SEN
ate, who usually come last. The limjta-
ton on the time of the candidates for
the important offices if it be continued
will absolutely destroy all interest in
the State campaign meetings and finally
destroy the primary system itself; and l
am strongly of the opinion that it would
be well, indeed necessary, to have two
campaign days in each county, say six
weeks or two months apart at which
certain specified candidates shall address
the people. The suggestion has been
made that there ought to be Limitation
on the number of meetings to one in
each Congressional district. This will
never do, because the people are entitled
to see and hear the men who seek their
votes and if such system were adopted
there would be few, if any, citizens at
such meetings other than those who live
in tho county where the meeting is held.
The newspaper reports would have to be
depended on entirely in order to get any
of information as to what the can
didates were saying and what impression
they made, and this would mean the use
obtain support to control elections,
and this does not imply that the press is
venal. But few people take daily papers
and nearly all the weekles have patent
outsides. Somehow all of Senator Nc
Laurin's speeches were published in
these outsides and sent as supplements.
1t was legitimate advertising, but we do
not want rich men who are able to pay
for such advertising to have advantage
of poor men who cannot. The only safe
way is to have the candidates face the
voters and let each man decide for him
self / warn tho people against surren-
dering the right to judge for themselves.
Government by newspapers may be very
good thing, but the people of South
Carolina repudiated it in 1890 and have
no idea they are going to return it, and
| am therefore prepared to urge the
scheme / have outlined as the best which
suggests itself to us. The two sets of