The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-09-15

Reconstruction era, the rising generation has been taught
that we have no race problem and that there is no possible
danger from the negroes now; and many young men and
some old ones need to be told of the tyrannies, expressions
and robberies to which the white people of the state had
to submit because of the bad government put in power by
nothern bayonets using ignorant negro votes. 1t is, there
fore, a good thing to have some of the actors in those
scenes appear here and remind you, as has been done by
Judge Aldrich and Governor Sheppard, of the suffering and
danger through which we passed in that dark and gloomy
period of the states history.
l make the assertion from my own personal knowledge
that if it had not been for the death of William Mckinley,
eight years ago, the efforts of John L. McLaurin to orga-
nize a commercial democratic party" would have succeed
ed to a dangerous degree, You would have seen a large
number of the white people Of South Carolina fall in be-
hind him and go off after that Trojan Horse. know many
good men who had their grips packed to take up the line
of march and the scheme only fell through because Of the
death of President Mckinley followed by the invitation OF
Theodore Roosevelt to Booker Washington to dine with
him. Many Of those men who are in control Of our capt.
ftalstic enterprises, cotton mills, banks, etc. were prepar-
ed to fall in behind McLaurin, not as republicans, but as
Commercial Democrats" But what difference does it
make about a name if the movement divides the whites?
Our only salvation in South Carolina has been the
democratic primary which permits absolute liberty of &C
ton and the rule of the majority in our politics, and any
movement which will tempt one faction Of white men to
use the negroes against another faction will bring about
the result so much desired by Mr.. Taft. He wants 'inde-
%pendence of action by two political parties in the south
and a commercial democratic party or a Taft democratic
party will answer his purpose equally we'll.
want to say to you that President Taft has not been
as generous as even Mckinley was in dealing with the
south in the matter Of census supervisorships. He made
"a speech in Atlanta last year in which he said he would
not impose federal office holders on our people who were
obnoxious to them. According to the newspapers these
important places in the census are to be divided in the
south between the democrats and republicans, and the
statement has been made AT the South Carolina demo-
|crats. will have only three places while republicans will fill
THE other four. Mckinley gave all of these positions in
the southern states to democrats exclusively. Mr.. Taft
is on the lookout for weakened democrats who want a
job so bad that they are willing to announce themselves
as republicans. Some people in South Carolina whose
names you would be surprised to know, have written in
the last five months asking me to indorse them to Presi-
dent Taft. About the first thing after his Inauguration l
wrote President Taft to get his intention as to how he
intended to fill places in the south. lie replied that he
wanted to appoint republicans for all positions where it
was possible to find them. When l wrote my constituents
this they replied that they were Taft republicans. In
what does a Taft republican differ from an
Aldaich republican, The News and Courier has been advo-
eating the organization of q Taft democratic party.
1t may be that Deacon Hemphillis ''Playing' possum,
but when l remember that the News and Courier under
Dawson was the leading exponent of the proposed COM
promise with Chamberlain in 1876 which was defeated in
the State Convention by the narrow margin Of seventeen
majority, and that that same paper did not support the
state democratic ticket in 1890 and has never given Mr..
Bryan anything but Joab stabs, l cannot help but be on
the lookout for teachery in that quarter. In 1876 nothing
but the war cry of a straight out white mans fight raised
by Butler, Gary and George Tillman in the State
Convention saved the day.
Beware Of Taft.
l do not like to inject anything personal here and l
would not attack the motive of any man or newspaper if
there were not good grounds for it. When Mr.. Taft comes
to South Carolina to spread molasses and give hungry
&C -.1- a..,~ fo-I H. 1,-t,