The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1904-09-30

hhh iSU uIIC 1NOl Ill huO" real lCGl-
ings and pm poses. Hyp, crisy and
cant have had their day and so far as
l am concerned | will none OF them.
may not be u fair representative Of
Southern thought ard feeling, but If
l speak the truth and nothing but
the truth" my discretion may be
doubted or denied, but my honesty
should not be called in question, and
1t Is an open question whether my
method Of treating the race problem
Is not the right one.
AS for the II chmord News Leader
and its venom, have not seen what
1T had to say, but your readers may
recall that one Of It's diUors us, d to
run the Greenville Is. CD News and
that may explain its attitude toward
Lie.
Again challenge any one to dis
pute the attitude and reasoning of the
letter to MIR. Bryant and to specify.
b. r. Tillman.
Trenton, S. c., September 20.
The follC ewing is Senator Tillman's
letter to MIR. Bryant:
Trenton, S. c., August 30, 1904. -
Wilbur +. Bryant Esq, Lincoln.
Dear Sir: l have your letter Of August
10. AS you addressed me as a Demo-
crat, presume, your Inquiries are
made in good faith, and J therefore
take the trouble to answer you at
some length, not as fully, however, as
1 would like.
The act Of the mob at Statesboro,
Ga, is to be deplcred, but more de-
plorable is the fact that whole fami-
iy OF white people have been butch
cred, stamped out, by the two tiends
no were burned and their accom-
plices. The more deplCrable still Is
the condition in the Southern States
which makes such things pt ssible and
which promises TO make them OF more
frequent occurrence In the future
Mob violence Is getting to be only too
common In this country, but ] think
the burning Of TWO confessed murder
erS and condemned criminals in
Georgia will not j Opai dize the repub
Tic ne-thouSandth part as much as
the action Of he mob In Colorado
which has receL tly Leen trying and
conde demning men and exiling them,
and doing this, too, outside Of the
forms OF law.
Mobs are bad, but they are evidence
OF spirit Of liberty. There was
mcb in Boston once which bOardt d
vessel and threw some tea into the
water In resistance to tyrannical
tax. a mob in Paris stormed the
Bdstile and aflerwald captured the
French King in his raiace. We never
hear OF a mob in Russia, unless they
are doing the work Of religious fana-
tics, as was illustrate q III tie mas.
sacre OF Jews in that country.
The Southern people are confronted
by a condition such as has never eX
listed In the history of the world. Two
races, one Of which has been slave to
the other, are living in the same Coun-
try and under the law they are entire
ly equal and entitled to all the rights
and privileges Cf citizens. There are
1856, 200 negroes in South Carolina and
only $50. 600 white people. For eight
long dismal years these ignorant and
dcbased negroes governed, If the woId
can be applied to such rule us we ha d
and then the white minority threw of
the yoke. We did ii because life hal
ceased to be worth living on the tel ms
and conditions which existed from '6S
to '76.
Fro IN necessity we used force and
fraud to overcome the majority. The
negroes were backed by the United
States Government and the great Re
publican party. The whites had
nothing but the meme ry OF a civiliza
tiOn coming down to them from a
thousand years uf Anglo. Saxon man.
hood. We used our brains and man
aged to lberate ourselves from a
condition that was hopeless ard un.
enduIable. We have re- established
law and older as far as practicable
and are eEdeaVoring to prcst rye our
civilization. The negroes have the
memory OF eight years Of license and
inspired by the actions and utter
ances OF President Roosevelt, they
have given evidence only too plainly
of hope and belief that their time
will come again. Race antagonism
and hatred grow apace
The whites are resolved to govern
Mt whatever cost b. cause experience
has shown that any other cour. e
means ruin. The criminal class
amorg the negrt es increases at fear
full rate and unless the Northern peo-
pie can be made to under stand that
negro equality Is something that will
not be tolerated and that no power in
the world can force it upon us, race
war Is inevitable, with the result that
the negroes will be eXterminated.
History is full OF Instances where
white men have governed white men
,ruthle. SLY. There are OF ject lessons
in plenty Throughout the world today
OF the fact that the races are not
equal, cannot lie made so either by
law or constitution, and that the
white man governs where Yer he Is In
contact with any of the coltred races.
Sentimental iieas and feelings will
not settle this question. The white
people Of the South are on top and in
tend to stay there. White men OF
the North would do likewise under
similar circumstances IntermeQOlinp