Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-08-18

Z enlightened. 1 believe this so religious
ly that 1 would rather have a bad gov
: ernor or bad senator elected by al
the people than good one elected by
any one class. The whole people cor
rect their blunders; the rule Of class
tends to the growth and perpetuatior
of abuses. l have implicit faith thai
all the people Of South Carolina are
going to stamp out Bleaseism sooner
} or later. The strongest Bleaseites viii
be leaders as soon as they are convinc-
ed that they have made a mistake. II
l did not believe this, l would lose al
faith in government.
"Jefferson's slogan was, Teach the
people and trust the people, To this
principle all patriots will give cred
ence, and all Democrats. will gladly
obey. When the demagogue comes
along and blinds the people by the
glamor of his arts and instills deviltry
and poison into their minds, good citi-
zens must not despair but redouble
their efforts; for the truth is more
powerful than falsehood and must pre-
vail in the long run.
Again / reaffirm my faith in the
people, The battle between privilege
and freedom between equality and ia
voritsm, is world wide and ages old.
It has brought the cataclysm which we
are witnessing in Europe today. The
people of that continent are struggling
to free themselves from the shackles
of autocracy and the divine right of
kings. 1t is a battle between auto
cracy and republicanism. The contest
| in South Carolina in 1890 was to over
throw an aristocracy which had come
down to us from colonial days.
The Real Revolt.
1t was a real revolution, in which
families were divided, father against
son, and brother against brother, show
| ing that principle, and principle alone,
moved the people to action. 1t was my
high privilege to lead that movement
which emancipated South Carolinians
from the thraldom of an oligarchy
which had ruled the state for GEN.
tury.
That was my greatest work. taught
South Carolnians to know their rights
and how to obtain these rights, and
the state has made marvellous progress
in every way. In education, in some OF
it's aspects, it has progressed more
than any of it's sister states; for we
have Clemson and Winthrop as model
schools, the best Of their kind, and, If
there were less selfishness and more
public spirit throughout the state, the
lamentable ignorance now existing in
some sections would soon disappear.
But our common schools in many
be improved A democracy without
| adequate means for educating it's citi-
| zens is bound to be shipwrecked. We
can not afford to let our children grow
up like weeds. If we do, ignorance will
choke out all that is best in our people
and destroy our civilization. The state
in self defense, if for no higher reason,
will somehow or other have to see to 1t
hat all the white children get at least
the rudiments of an education. Com
pulsory education is a big question,
| and have never heretofore favored It,,
but acute diseases demand drastic
remedies, and If statute can be franz
ed that will force the white children
| into school and at the same time give
the blacks only the kind of training
manual and industrial-which they can
assimilate, it ought to be done. Effec-
tive compulsory education will require
a great deal Of money, but If we are
not willing to spend money for our
children God pity us. Whether a gen.
eral law or local option by counties is
the best is matter Of opinion and
will have to be threshed out by the
Legislature.
| Their Mistake.
THE people two years ago elected
man governor who has run amuck as
it were, and displayed so little reali-
zation of his high opportunities that it
makes me sad and angry to be told, as
| have been more than once, that Till
manism is the direct cause OF Blease-
ism. All thoughtful and intelligent men
know that this is only half truth, and
half truths are the worst sort OF lies.
Tillmanism taught the people that
they could whip and destroy special
privilege with the ballot. That was q
good thing, all must admit Now, is
Tilmanism to blame because the peo-
pie have that same ballot with Whlch
to elevate a demagogue? Yes, L taught
the people that they had a right to
govern South Carolina and l proclaim
the principle anew. They do have the
right, even if they elect hundred
Bleases. Teach the people and trust
the people We will, in the end, have
better government at the hands OF all
the people than we would have If any
one class ruled The people will rec
tify their blunders as soon as they
have become convinced of their error
1T would be just as true to say that
| Democracy causes Socialism ana anar-
chy as il would be to say that Tillman-
| ism caused Bleaseism. Had my health
continued good, | would have taught
the people the folly Of Bleaseism two
years ago, pointed out the difference
and stemmed the tide which Jones
found himself unable to cope with.
would have guided the Tillmanites,
while Blease only misled them, and all
for the qualification Of his own selfish
ambition.
Tired of "Law and Order"
"A large per cent Of those who two
years ago and now are yelling law
and order want a law and order or
their own contriving. They are not
ready to admit that, politically speak
ing, all white South Carolinians are
equal They think themselves divinely
commissioned to rule everybody else,
and this, not Tillmanism, is the true
cause of Bleaseism. The plain people
saw this rcsurrected bOurbonism ana,
thinking it was the old ring come to
life again, took Bleaseism in preference
to it. Blease himself is a mere symp-
tom. The real fever is bigotry, politi-
cal intolerance and social injustice.
call upon you, my fellow citizens, you
who know and claim to want better
and higher things, to broaden your
sympathies. Stop prating about law
and nrdar' and treat yOllr next door