Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1913-11-05

If l had spent eighteen years in the
United States Senate, surrounded by
| its luxury and seduced by scyco-
plants and hatterers. Perhaps, l
| would not know my own child, be-
cause it was not dressed in silks and
velvets.
"The election Of Tillman as Cover
nor in 1890 was general uprising
| Of the masses against the classes, and
present conditions in South Carolina
are the elimination of that great
| social and political movement. The
whole thing is the legitimate result
of the evolutionary forces set in mo-
tion by the destruction OF slavery.
People formerly denied a living
voice in government asserted them
in the plentitude Of power. 1t met
violent opposition in 1890, and there
is now an effort on foot to take away
the rights gained then. Revolutions
never go backward. The people
never give up a right once gained.
Tile true remedy is an appeal to JUS
tice, to the end that power may be
| wisely used.
1--WE cannot have two political par
ties in South Carolina. We must set
tie all differences in a white mans
primary. A division means that
sooner or later minority will APP
npD1 tn tho hn bn1lc
the balance Of power he will control
the destiny Of the State.
Based on alleged frauds in the
last primary there is an outcry, Re
form the primary! 1t is passing
| strange that this cry comes loudest
from those who had complete con-
troll Of The last election where frauds
were impossible except by the con-
nivance OF their own appointees.
eff man has money, and no moral
scruples, no statutory enactment can
prevent it's use where there is a pur-
| chasable vote. We have stringent
laws against bribery. Why has no
one been punished?
"The man who offers the money
and tempts the weak and ignorant is
the real criminal
Does primary reform mean exclu-
sion only Of the purchasable vote?
Why not exclude those able to buy?
The rule should WORK both ways. Our
primary was loosely conducted last
hnt I Innht ha,
irregularities than occur in any hotly
| contested election.
After 1876 we passed the eight
box law. This was a measure of
doubtful constitutionality to get rid
| of negro majority. Congress and
the courts winked at it, because CIV
! iliZation was at stake. We lived
until the convention of 1895 with a
powder mine under our feet. The new
constitution safeguards white su-
premacy in the only way it can be
done, but it is only effective so long
as the white people are united. A
split is just as dangerous now as in
1880; in fact, more so. for then the
whole unwieldy, ignorant black mass
had to be handled. | suppose that
there are now some 1000 registered
| negro voters. They are intelligent.
or they would not be registered. Last
year they would have turned the
scale the other way.
Nov | wish to go on record as
opposed to the burdensome consti-
tutional restrictions designed to hold
the negro down in the general cleo
ton being used in the primary to
mold the white people down.
Another thing: | consider it dan
gerous to entrust the work of pri-
mary reform in the hands of those
who would begin on the basis of ex-
clusion. ! hate to say it, but YOU
know that there is little coterie in
this State who would like to exclude
enough people from the primary to
insure their control. Why, my
friends, | have heard of one man
who said ne would not decide whe-
ther he would be a candidate for Of
fee or not until he saw whether
these constitutional restrictions were
put into the primary.
Instead Of exclusion, let our
policy be participation. Let every
white man in, and then see that he
votes but once.
'All of the political power in this
state is centered in the primary.
Disfranchise man there, and you
rob him Of all voice in government.