, 1864-05-01
Gl,!foau Qribn.le.
SUNDAY, MAY !. 1864.
TREATmENT ToFBLAOK SOLDIERS
Conprcse Is still notterinf. srerrs no.R md

SUNDAY, NAY i, 1864.
TREATmENT r OF BLACK SOLDIERS.
Congress is still pottcring, everY now and
then, oycE TIC question Of paying black SOL
diets; being In deadly fear lest they should
receive-uot the fair amount they may be
worth-but as much rs tho white soldiers Of
tie same rank and service. II the white men
get ten dollars per month, the black may
have seven; but If whites receive sixteen,
the blacks arc allowed thirteen 4 late Law
reported to the House from the Senate equal:
ICES The pay, Us the dispatch leaves us to In
Ter, but tacks on provision, that three dof-
lars Of the black mans wages shall be re
served for his family or dependent relatives
Now, What earthly reason. can, any man
show for any such provision. Why not re-
serve three dollars Of the other mems waEcs
for q like purposes Have white mcn' no
wives and children; or mothers and grand
.mothersl Or do all the wives and children
Of white men taKe care OF themselves or
arc they taken care Of by. husbands. and is
Tiers? It ls time this toollng with the black
man was done with II he earns wages, why
not pay them to bimr 1fhe earns rs much az
man Of any other color, why not pay him
as much9
There is reason for excluding black men
from The higher grade Of military offices, st
least Is general rule; because such officers
need an amount Of education which the
blacks have been forbidden to obtain.. The
presumption therefore fs-dnd the prusump-
ton is sustained BY the facts-that he IL not
competent tor the higher grade OF offices;
not on. account Of his color, but of
the ignorance which has been, fas-
tened upon him BY reason Of It. Yet
il competency can be ahown for command,
in any particular case, thcrc Is no reason why
command should not bo conferred. Robert
Small exhibited his ability to command the
steamboat Planter; and We have never eird
of any evil resulting from bestowing 1t upon
him.
But does this inability to read operate In,
the same way in regard to private soldiers y
If It doea, We ought to apply 1t in all csses:
where 1t exists. We all know that large
bodies Of our most active voters make thcir;
mark instead Of writing their names; but it
has never been heard Of In Congress, as a
reason for reducing their wages, as soldiers
OF ssllors. Tho testimony on the other hand
is that it is no dssqunlid whatever; but
that the blacks perform all their duties,
fighting included, as well as the average Of
white men; and that as artlllerymen in par!
ticular they are very superior. The last dis
patch from Washington Gays that the black
BRIGADE Of Burnside's army 'tmarched better
than tue white ones,'' The last paper re-
cefved from Richmond contains the rebel
opinion. that the blacks will prove <tas good
soldiers as the rffCraff of ireland and Ger
many
The real truth Is VIC have got so In the
habit of estimating the black man from the
standpoint Of slavery, that we are incapable
OF doing anything else.
Tbsa extreme Of opinion on that side has
beeotteu an opposite one on The other. Ne
grophob1a has produced q few cases Of Nc
zr1onhilistn As the first makes him great
deal worse or inferior than Others, on account
of his color, the last makes him great deal
better. and hence may insist that you have
either got to hate the black man outright as
loathsomc reptile, OF to. love him as q
superior be1uE. You must enslave md
whip him, or you must marry With
his race, And these two extremes
of opinion materially support each other,
But the truth t. we are In no danger o1
doing either. We will neither marry the ne
ITO nor abuse him. All that is wanted Is, t
let him alone, as We do any other man. W.
: are to treat him, SO far as We have relation.
with him, as we treat othe1s-.aceordlng tx
his intelligence, and according to his politl
cal, social, and moral value There neye
was greater humbug embodied in m,
aphoris1n than that the negro "must be take'
care Of" .=.
Tho truth is there is no man In the natlo1
Of his grade of intelligence, that can tax
better ca1e Of himself than he. This
shown by an abundance Of testimony fror
all quarters. A small List OF bl.cks pet
toned the President, Of late, for the right
vote in Louisiana, On tho ground that the
owned together, fifteen millions of propert
aud this property had bsen gained in s1a,
State, where all the prejudice III
disability possible was heaped upt
them. Those who have to do with t
statistics of crime and poverty
our cities know well TINT tho blacks come
Tor emaller share of attention On these
counts than come other nationalities. 7
Government is well aware that the cont
bands about Washington have, not beer
public expense, but have actually made mt
eyfor the Government, when anything lk'
fair chance hns been offered them. vi
then, continue to reserve wages In this
tulttng ways Pny The black troops
wsges-and pay u.em--ipnd Jou will not nj
to look after their mode Of cxpending the
Do them simple justice md they will scld
need your charity.