The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-08-06
PRIMARY REFORM ESSENTIAL.
SENATOR TILLMAN DEMANDS
PROMPT ACTION.
Advocates Legislation That Will Pro
vent Corruption ana Fraud I'm
Primary Elections, but If The Leg
islature Is Too Weak Kneed to Act,
Then The Democratic Convention
Should Adopt Rules to Correct
Abuses

WATERFORD, Aug. "A reiteration
of the call for safeguarding the DEM
ocratic primary in South Carolina and
advice that unless the legislature acts
at the next session the State democ-
racy should hold convention to
adopt rules initiating against corrup-
ton are the features of a letter from
Senator b. r.. Tillman to II. Nj. JEFF
ferries, editor of the WATERFORD Press
and Standard.
In his letter Senator Tillman again
refers to the charges of corruption i'm
the First district election last spring
and intimates regret that the whole
matter was not investigated by con
gress.
The senator says that unless the
legislature adopts some bill for the
protection Of the primary-and there
Is such bill in preparation--it is in
cumbent on the Democrats of the
State to call q convention which will
amend the rules of the primary SO as
to obviate the possibility Of corrup-
ton.
Unless this is done, says Senator
Tillman, there is grave danger of the
elimination Of the primary as a regis
ter of the peoples will This, he says,
would leave the candidates for high
office to fight it out at the general
election, with the ever present dan
ger Of the serious introduction Of the
negro vote.
Senator Tillman's letter follows:
Il have just received your valued
favor of July 80 and have read it with
great care. After citing my recent in
terView about the purity of elections
in our State and defending and safe
guarding the primary, you say: We
take the liberty of asking you for a
statement concerning the recent cleo
ton in the First congressional district
to name successor to the late Hon.
Geo. s. Legare.' You go on to say.
There has been much said concern
ing the use of money in the First dis
trict, and we are writing this to ask
whether this matter has been present
ed to you Further, you ask whether
this matter has been officially brought
to my attention, and whether l am in
position and intend to do anything in
the premises. In other words, il
seems that you desire me to discuss
che conditions in the First congress
ional district brought about during
the recent primary.
you close by saying, We are con-
vinced that the last election in this
district was a disgrace tc our cleo
ton system, etc.
Briefly, l can not go into details
or cover all the points your letter
would suggest, but l have this to
say:
Not being n member Of the house
OF representatives | can not with any
show of reason be expected to ac-
lively enter into the matter in that
body. l would regret exceedingly if
any Of the members from South Car
olina should feel called upon to press
for an investigation of the conditions
and charges of bribery which obtain
ed in the recent primary. There are
better ways to safeguard our primary
than to ventilate that election here
No one knows better than | do that
unless we do purify it and make it's
verdict more trustworthy and reliable
the people will have nothing to do
with it. II will be destroyed as it
should be, and those who want high
Office In South Carolina will be left to
night 1t out at the polls when the
legal election comes off in November.
This would inevitably result in
bringing the negroes back into our
politics. All of them that could reg
lister would be registered and carried
to the polls, led by white man and
protected by white men. Unless we re-
form the entire system of criminal
procedure so as to guarantee convic-
tion and punshmnt for violations of
law, as well as guarantee freedom
from promiscuOus pardoning of GRIM
inals, the State would soon grow so
corrupt and debased and it's politics
so debauched that there would be no
living in it.
"Whatever else happens let us see
to 1t that the white people continue
as they now do to be the only ar
biters in our politics. We can not af-
ford-it would be n crime if we should
do ito have the negroes mobiliZing
and become the controlling factor in
our elections. Even if we are not able