American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1865-08-09
VOLUME 9.
About Negro Equality, Amalgama-
ton. &c., &c.
To the Editor of the ". Y. Tribune.


SIR: Will you be candid enough to
answer a subscriber few plain questions,
to wit:
l. Are you in favor of elevatiug the
negro among us to social equality with
the Whites
2. Are you in favor of their filling the
Offices within the gift of the people from
the lowest to the highest, whether Legis-
lative, Executive, or Judicial
3. And, to cap the climax, are you IN
favor of Amalgamation =.
| have been close reader of your pa
per since February last, but thus far have
seen nothing from you that enables me to
determine your views upon the interrog
atories propounded. will not annoy you
with an argument, and | may add that
although | have no desire 10 appear in
print ] make it point to write nothing
/ am unwilling to sign. [ may as well
tell you, in closing that | am no Demo
era. and never was and, as to loyalty, |
will not suffer by a comparison With the
EDITOR of the TRIBUNE or any one else !;
and further, as a citizen and subscriber
(unaccustomed to asking favors), claim
that being a prominent journalist, it is
your duty to face the musc-to show
your hand. Respectfully,
j. BALLINGER.
Sonora, Hancock Co.,, H., July %, go
REMARKS.
Our correspondents assurance that he
is "no Democrat and never was" is en-
tirely superfuous. A Democrat $50 the
dictionaries assure us) is one who believes
that Government should emanate from
and be directed by the whoLe people
Webstcr's great American Dictionary
confessedly the highest standard for def
nition-says:
DEMOCRAT n. One who adheres to government by
the People Javors The Right Of Suffrage TO oH classes
0f men.
Such Government, Mr.. BIS questions
clearly imply, he has no faith in. OF
course he is not Democrat, and can new
er be mistaken for one by any person who
knows what the word means.
And now to his questions:
|. We do not know whether negroes
would be elevated" or not by social
equality with Whites: some discerning
men think they would rather be degraded
by it, But there is no such thing as $50
cial equality on earth, and never can be
while some are good others bad |; some
intelligent, others ignorant; some coarse
and repulsive, others refined and agreea-
Bile Sonora is not very large place
vet We will venture to assert that there
are Whites in it who do not invite Mr..
Rallingcr to dinner and others whom he
does not invite. We insist that he and
every one else shall continue to enjoy per-
feet freedom in the premises, and regard
whomsoever each of them severally will
as superiors, equals or interiors. So with
all others, White or Black. We advocate
the largest liberty in all matters of social
intercourse, so that, if White and Black
choose to live on terms of social intimacy,
they may; if not, not. Our correspond
en-; will give our opinions whatever name
shall please him. Social equality does
not aud never did exist; social relations
are entirely matters of choice and with
any other person intimacies we do not
intermeddle.
But if Mr.. Ballinger refers to legal
equality where he talks of social, we must
tell him that we do favor legal equality
between the highest and the lowest social
scale. We claim all legal rights, and
what we claim we willingly concede to
others. In Great Britain, for example,
Dukes are not apt to invite chimney
sweeps to dinner, and are not likely to
change their pracuce IN this respect; but
any chimney sweep may invite any Duke
into court, and the invitation will have
to be accepted; Being in Court, the
sweep may call other sweeps to testify as
to his claim or grievance, and the Duke
must rebut their testimony or meet what
ever verdict it shall show to be just
And we do favor such equality, and hope
to see it established wherever it has not
already been.
2. We are in favor Of 6lling Offices
with Just such persons as majority of
the legal voters shall prefer. We never
voted, nor wished to vote, for negro /;
but, if we ever should be required to
vote, and should happen to know negro
whom we deemed eminently fit for the
place to be filled, we should deem it a
wrong if law or constitutional restriction
constrained us to vote for some one else
or not vote at all.
8. If by fapalgamation" is meant the
intermipgling of the White and Black
races, and, if the question be, Do you
consider this advisable or desirable our
answer is, No, we do not. There seems
to us natural repulsion between Whites