Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-01-16

startled at. The character OF the INTEL
ligence Of its people Is not to be made
light Of. The moral tone Of its citizen
ship Is not to be Knocked at that such
situations abound as do now abound
under the rule Of Governor Blease IT
Is one Of those curious facts Of history
for which we often have to go back q
little distance to find satisfactory ex-
planation. It Is one Of the freaks Of
democracy for which there Is no imme-
diate accounting, but for which some
body or some condition away back yon-
der is responsible.
In the days of slavery South Caro-
lima developed a little oligarchy Of
about $50 Of the most prominent land
owners and shareholders in the state.
It was precisely the form Of an oligar-
chy that was not uncommon in the
south II little more intolerant in
South Carolina. It was the oligarchy
that was spectacular before the war, of.
the fire-eating type Of citizenship, do
ing much to superinduce the war. We
all agree now that such an institution,
collectively regarded, was bad for
South Carolina, and yet Il was made up
Of men who,. individually, were as fine
as any living in the United States. Such
a man as John C. Calhoun was the pro-
duct Of the little Palmetto oligarchy.
They fought in the war among the very
best Of soldiers. Their impulses were
always the most generous and brave.
And IL to their impassioned minds and
hot tempers were largely due the break
ing out Of the war, they took the lead
and did noble work to rescue the south
when the fighting ended In disaster and
defeat had looped its black flag over
the cause they had espoused. They
plunged bravely and heroically against
the iniquities Of the reconstruction
days and contributed nightly to the
redemption Of the state All Of this
time the plain democracy Of the state
followed the leadership Of the oligar-
chy and later when white rule became
established. democracy became restive
under the dictation Of the oligarchy.
There was spirit Of rebellion. Under
the leadership Of Tillman, some Of the
most notable chieftains of the oligar-
chy were repudiated. One by one their
idols were shattered by the attacks OF
the plain people. II looked as though
Tillman had done his work well and
had permanently quieted the oligarchy
nd a
more or less reconciled to him and ap-
peared willing to merge into the de-
mocracy Of the state. But the old fire
was hard to quench. The democracy
continued to put up leaders and the
oligarchy mustered what forces 1t
could. The campaigns have continued
to be based primarily on prejudice. The
newspapers have practically all favor
ed the oligarchists and in some In
stances have been as intolerant as in
the olden days they had allowed no
difference Of opinion as to the institu-
ton of slavery. At the ballot box the
democracy has been triumphant az II
will ever be and sooner or later the en-
tire population Of South Carolina win
be amalgamated. This is not only our
hope but our judgment based on the
precedents Of history. It is as inevita-
BILE as that slavery had to be abolished.
In country where democracy Is the
rule and not the exception and It
is gaining strength every day, no SIM
gle state can pursue policy alone and
the intel rance Of the oligarchist will at
length yield to the sane and safe tri-
umphs Of a Democratic republic In
this manner South Carolina win work
out its political salvation, not by spec
tacular or sporadic processes, but by
gradually becoming leayened with the
genius Of the distinctiyely American
spirit.-Charlotte Chronicle.