The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1902-05-01

toS eho uCG.Ol Ol III
l1askcllites came the rebellion of thos
who voted against Cleveland for Wea
yer in '92 amounting to some twt
. thousand or more white votes, mani,
IN Pickens and Oconce counties. T'heI
in '0l there was another rebellion or
1 account of the adoption of the" Col
, Teton plan" DIR. Pope ran as an in
, dependent candidate for Governor
and received several thousand white
votes.
SO there have been three attempts
to resist the will of the organized De.
mocracy speaking through regular
channels. In each Of these instances
those who had broken fcalty with their
fellows, and who failed to support the
nominee OF the party as thoy had
pledged, at the primaries to do, were
forgiven and admitted back IT, fellow.
ship without any question. In each
case those who resisted the will of the
party of course felt justified in acting
independently, but they were private
soldiers, 80 to speak, and the desire of
our people for continued fellowship
and good will among the whites has
prevented their expulsion from the
party.
| Now we are confronted with differ
ont condition Of affairs. The new con.
stitution adopted in 1895 has eliminated
tor the present tho negro majority.
The number Of negroes eligible TO vote
| does not exceed 5000, but 1t is con-
stantly increasing and there may be a
good many thousand who are not reg
istercd who would be eligible to regis
tratlon. There have been in the recent
past evidences Of Rcpublicanism crop
ping out in South Carolina in various
directions. There is no doubt VIC shall
soon have white Republican party
appealing to these negro voters.
The action of one OF our United
States Senators IN advocating Republic
can doctrines and voting with that
party on all essential measures, con-
tending all the while that he is a Dem
ocrat and that he has the right to
define What Democracy means, has
brought things to a focus. The Dem.
ocratic party in South Carolina, and it is
well understood that the State is over
whelrningly Democratic, has right to
be honestly represented in the Senate
and III the House, and in fact, ! do not
believe the Democrats of the State
would Intentionally and willingly elect
any man to any Office whose Democracy
was unsound if they knew it.
Our present danger Is Republican,
ism in the guise Of Democracy. There
fore the question has been raised and
1T ls now an issue, and 1t must be SET
tied as TO what constitutes Democracy
and who shall define it. 1t is con-
tended that we should leave the pm-
mary just as it is and make no new
rules and regulations TO prevent q re.
currencc of the election of man or
men whose Democracy does not tally
with that of the national party. We
arc urged to permit every man to vote
who will take the pledge, and not to
require of the candidate any other
pledge than the one now in force. TO
the first proposition there can be no
serious objection We need not be
solcitous about the rank and file; at
least l do not think the time has vet
come when we must drive out of the
party individuals who will pledge them
selves to support the nominees, State
and national, though they may be dis
loyal. twould be manifcstly unfair to
permit Republicans to vote in Demo
cratic primary, thereby cndangcring,
if they were in sufficient numbers, the
cleo tion of a genuine Democrat as
against some mugwump or traitor. |
do not think, however there are
enough avowed Republicans who will
take the oath to make it necessary to
trace their records back to the preccd
ing November election and see wheth-
cr they voted as they pledged them.
selves.
1t may III time become necessary to
use the registration lists at the legal
election to purify the club lists, but we
cannot well make the rules 80 LXactinp
that we will bar out men who want to
act independently in merely local mat
tcrs. The fact that our fight is IN the
primary and not in the legal election,
and hardly half of the Democratic
votes are ever pollcd at the legal cleo
ton, would make it difficult to devise a
scheme to prove who or who had not
supported the nominees of the
party" | will not, therefore, discuss
that phase of the subject, but it is a
matter Of vital necessity that we shou Id
make candidates define their attitude
and give explicit pledges as to their ac-
tiOns while in Office.
Senator Mcl.aurin was charged with
lScpublicanism in his race lin the
primary of '97 but he denied it bitter.
ly, and ! thought he was honest. He
denies it still, but his uLtcranccs now
arc all in endorsement of the Republi-
can policy, and his votes tally with his
speeches. We must have q revision
of the pledge given by candidates
which will make it impossible for anv
honorable man not Democrat to &C.
cure the nomination, if we are to keen
the party from beng stabbed in the
back and not have repetition of the
present disgraccful state Of affairs.
AT this time South Carolina leally
has no voice IN shaping public mat
ters in the Senate, and if she has q
voice the votes Of the two Senators arc
nearly always on opposite sides OF any
given proposition. This is somcthing
that does not obtain in any other Dem,
|