Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-08-07
For the Legislature.

To the Democrats of York County:
Prompted somewhat by the solicit
tation of friends, but more on my own
initiative, 1 wish to announce that l
am a candidate for the House Of Rep
resentatives from York county.
My home is in Fort Mill. Almost
continuously for the last 20 years,
York county has recognized the wis
dom Of selecting it's representation
in the Legislature from different sec
tions of the county. The plan seems
to have worked we'll and l hope it will
not be discarded this year. The peo-
pie of Fort Mill are modest in asking
for county offices--they seldom have a
candidate for any of them, and so
they hope when one Of their number
asks to be sent to the Legislature, the
balance of the county will help elect
him. l think | may say so far as the
present race is concerned, that the cit
iZens of my home community will sup
port me generally. am a Democrat;
| have never voted any other ticket,
nor do l ever expect to. l have held
a number Of appointive offices and
one or two occasions have been elect
ed from York county to the state con-
vention of our party. For several years
was civil service employee of the
national government. In 1908, / was
one of a committee Of two appointed
by the state chairman, Gen. Willie
Jones, to solicit subscriptions from
South Carolina for the Bryan cam
paign. We collected several thou
sand dollars. In 1909 and 1910, / was
Il clerk on the floor of the state SEN
ate. and during the greater part of
1911 and 1912, | was one of the sec
retaries of the Printing Investigation
Commission of Congress, and clerk
to the Joint Committee on Printing.
As such, was intrusted with impor-
tant work, such as assisting in draft
ing the Democratic printing bill OF
the SiXty-second Congress and editing
and compiling the report submitted to
Congress thereon. Also l was one or
committee OF five selected by the
Joint Committee on Printing to pre-
pare standard specifications for a
years supply Of paper. amounting to
one and three-quarters millions of dol
lars, for the Government Printing Of
flee. AS an attache of the State Sem
ate and of Congress, | have had an
opportunity to observe and study leg
islative work which, think, would be
of some value to me as member OF
the House of Representatives.
| am not a politician and do not
claim to be one. | have no hobbies or
pet schemes which l hope to put
through the Legislature, but | con-
ceive it to be the duty Of candidates
for the Legislature to state their posi-
ton on matters they apprehend to be
of peculiar public interest.
Schools for the People.
The prosperity and happiness Of the
and popular intelligence, a well sup
ported and efficient system of common
schools is necessary to the state. The
state should make provision for the
children to attend school, but at pres
ent, the people of each school district
should be allowed to determine wheth-
er or not attendance be compelled, if
there is to be any legislation on the
subject. The presence of the negro
population is a factor not to be ignor-
ed it affects different districts in diff
ferent ways and to different extent.
| do not anticipate with pleasure the
prospect of the white man paying
hundreds of thousands to provide
statewide compulsory school attend
ance for the negro only to have the
negro in less than a generation use
that generosity as club over the
head of his benefactOr. The main pur-
pose of the Constitutional convention
of 1895 was to disfranchise the negro.
Now we propose to undo the work of
that convention by compelling, if pos