The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1916-06-21
The OLD-TIME lines
ARE NOW BEING DRAWN
PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE A CLOSER
INTEREST
South Carolina Politics Compared to
National Politics as Described
By Writer in Daily Press.

Special to The Herald and News.
Columbia, June 19.-The State cam
paign will open at Spartanburg to-
morrow morning, and will swing
around through the Piedmont until it
reaches Newberry on the first day OF
July.
After it is all over, the people will
express themselves at the ballot box
on the 29th day of August.
1t seems that the old lines of 80
and '92 are going to be drawn this
year. Under different leaders the old
Reform" party and the old "anti" or
conservative" party are battling.
The recent State convention drew the
line, and on one side or the other
the people are massing.
In an article in the daily press on
Sunday morning, Mrs. Mary Roberts
Rhinehart, one of the mot gifted writ
ers in the country today, in deploring
the fact that the people had no real
voice in the recent three national
conventions. which were manipulated
by few men, says:
THAT is what these conventions
have meant to me-a puppet show,
with marionettes dancing to the beat
ing of a drum and waving the flag;
and back at home the men who are
interested only in the end is attained,
patriotic, but naturally lazy peo-
pie, being humbugged."
"Wakeup," she pleads, ''to the fact
that you are not ruling, but are being
ruled. Wake up to the fact that in
the hands OF dozen men or so, and
those not of your own choosing, lies
the fate of this country. Be frank
with yourselves and with each other.
Break this conspiracy of silence and
demand that the will of majority of
the people shall prevail
It was somewhat after this fashion,
on a smaller scale, that the recent
State convention was manipulated. In
that convention there was faction Of
the Democratic party of this State in
control-a faction which will be
known this year as the "antis. y
Everything was cut and dried. An
iron-clad program had been arrang-
ed the night before, from which there
was not the slightest deviation. The
ordinary delegate who came from the
people had no voice. In the election
OF delegates-at-large there were eight
of the faithful whom it was desired
to take care of-so that a peace and
harmony" ticket of eight, with a half
vote each, was decided on. They
were nominated one by one by differ
ent delegates from the foor-but
everybody in the convention knew ex-
actly who was to be nominated, and
by whom-and the people had no
voice. Even the gentlemen who re-
signed the chief iusticeship and put
up such a stubborn fight in 1912 was
forgotten. The framing of the plat
form was after the same manner. So
was the election of officers, and of
national committeeman and State
chairman. And in the election Of na-
tional committeeman and State chair
ma, it seems to have developed that
there was even more of ring within
ring than any except a very few
in the very inner sanctuary had any
idea of. Said the Columbia Record
editorially, under date of June Is:
THE news comes from st. Louis that
senator 1lllman mas reLlFeu IRON lue
position of member of the national
Democratic executive committee from
South Carolina and that John Gary
EHans has been selected in his place.
We confess that we do not like this
way of handling this honor as if it
county conventions over the State
met, the Record heard the names of
several young men who were men
toned as possible successors to Sen
ator Tillman. Ex-Governor Evans
declared that Senator Tillman had ex-