After the withdrawal of troops by President Hayes the whites secured control .and white supremacy has since been maintained. In 1886 a property loss of $8,000,000 was caused by a severe earthquake centring about Charleston. Over 1,000 persons perished in a great storm along the coast in 1893. The gubernatorial con test of 1890 was most hitter between the so called aristocrats and the plebs or Farmers' Alliance. The latter were victorious and elected their candidate, Ben Tillman, to the governor ship. Liquor regulation and legislation caused serious political turmoil from 1893 to 1907 when the State liquor dispensaries were abol ished because of charges of corruption. In 1910 Prohibition was a campaign issue and went down to defeat when Coleman L. Blease was elected governor. Blease was soon involved with the State Supreme Court over judicial nominations, refusing to commission any • ju dicial appointees other than his personal friends. About 1911 the governor began to pardon con victs wholesale, and by the end of his second term had considerably depleted the prison popu lation. He also exercised his veto to an ex traordinary degree but very many acts were passed over his veto. Despite considerable op
position Blease was re-elected in 1912. On 11 Jan 1915 Blease disbanded the organized militia and resigned the following day. His successor reversed the order of disbandment. The State voted a majority for Prohibition in 1915. The State is strongly Democratic, having consistently voted a Democratic majority, except during the Reconstruction period, 1866-77, when Republi cans were in power.
After the Revolutionary War the population of South Carolina was estimated at 104,000 for representation in the Federal Con gress. In 1790 the State ranked seventh; it rose to sixth in 1800-10-20. The decline in rank commencing at the latter date has been con tinuous, and in 1910 the State ranked 26th. In 1790 the density per square mile was 8.3; in 1910 it was 49.7. The foreign-born population was only 4 per cent of the whole in 1900; at that date the State had lost to other States 233,300 persons born in its limits, and had re ceived from all the others 55,216, making a net loss from interstate migration of 178,076. The population in 1910 was 1.515,400.