The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-06-30
and two Conservatives have been

! chosen
| NO political influences or feelings
We're considered or involved in the Sc
lection of trustees then or since. and
while at times there have been some
pclitlcal diHerences among the seven
life trustees, 1 do not feel that I am
| sFeaking too strongly to say that no
one of the seven has ever allowed his
| political bias to influence him in the
slightest in any action affecting the
| college or its organization and man.
agement. Those who are trying 70
inject politics into it's MANAGEMENT
| now are no friends to it and never
have been.
The establishment of the Agricul-
tural and Mechanical Annex in Co.
lumbia and two experiment stations
had caused the separate school agita-
ton TO die down, but it was only
smouldering. The fire was not extin-
guished. The Farmers Movement As
sociation continued to hold its annual
meetings, and reiterate it's demands.
Mr.. Clemsons will had become
noised around among the leaders and
his death, April 6, 1888, with the
knowledge that there was a large
plantation and 100000 in cash for the
purpose for which we have been
striving, was the signal for reviving
the demand Of the farmers for a sep
arate College in full vigor.
In the meantime another State
Democratic convention had been held
in 1888, in which the battle between
the farmers and the Ring" was re-
newed; the people were becoming
| aroused to the necessity of political
organization and control of the Dem
ocratic clubs. The Court House rings
found their hitherto undisputed sway
jeopardized in many counties and ov-
erthrown in many others, so that in
the convention of 1888 nothing pre-
vented Richardson's defeat, except
the fact that the man whom we had
chosen to oppose him, Joseph H.
Earle, was under pledge to support
Richardson's denomination, and his
name was withdrawn after the bal
loting began by his own brother, one
of the delegates from Greenvillc
| Nevertheless we came within a dog
Ell. votes of a victory, without even
| having candidate. The struggle then
turned to the control of the legisla-
ture, and in the primaries the oppos-
Ing factions were aligned. over the
question Of accepting or refusing to
accept the Clemson bequest. It might
as we'll be understood that the friends
and supporters Of the South Carolina
College and Citadel, the two then ex-
sitting State institutions Of learning,
were bitterly opposed to the separate
Agricultural College idea, seeming TO
fear that it would result in the death
Of these two institutions.
DenOminatiOnal Antagonism.
| Another eXplicable source of antag-
onism arose among the friends of the
dercminational colleges, who argued
that school, such as we advocated,
would inevitably initiate against the
support Of those institutions. They
gave as a reason that the University
being better equipped and Of a broad.
or type than the UNCONVENTIONAL col
leges, was sufficient. and declared
there was no need for another State
College. They had attacked the
South Carolina University after the
1 overthrow Of the carpet bag govern
,nrnt in 1875, clamoring agains. free
tuition. but were unable to prevent
its being reorganized and reopened.
They felt that as the proposed Agri-
| cultural College was intended mainly
to teach poor boys along practical
lines. it would prevent many students
from attending denominatonah col
leees and thus destroy them. The
Ring" having a large number Of the
hcld-Over senators. the victory for the
acceptance Of the Clemson bequest,
by the General Assembly was diff
cult thing to achieve, and the deciding
vote for the bill which had passed the
House, yeas, 67; nays, As, was cast
in the Senate in behalf of the accept
| ance of the Clemson bequest by Lieut..
Gov. Mauldin. 1t is we'll to state here
| that after the bequest was accepted
| by the Legislature Gov. Richardson
| withheld his approval by what is
known as a pocket Veto" thus pre-
venting any action, looking to work