Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1865-06-29
N NUMBER 3; /.
black RniTots.

II The ,vigor with which those who call
themselves tile "earnest men Of the coun-) y
try"i are agitatlng the subjecto OF extending 0
the right of suffrage to the blacks In the,
Southern States shows that they intend to
make this, a prominent issue in future po-s
litical campaigns. Various arguments are
presented why the negroes should be given
the ballot It is contended that they have
always been loyal; that they have been o
greatly oppressed; that many of them have =
done the nation service in our armies; that
" there can be no certainty In the regenera-'
tion Of the South unless these 'loyal1 peO-lY '
pie areipermitted 10 swallow up with their nj
notes.-the influence Of those dangerous mis-
chief-make;rs who g9t the country iitolts
exist in feferenceito the attainment of this =
object Thus religious newspaper called,
The Christidn, Observer, declares that negro
suffrage twill add fine hundred thousand Pro- N
testant votes to the country Df7The most
common consideration in favor Of the doc ,
trine is probably, however, the belief that
it will add that number of Radical votes to .
the country. Those who, would like 10 see
the national debt repudiated advocate the
proposition, as they think the negroes, be- =
ing Irresponsible, would be with them on /,
that tquestion. And so diversity ofreasoris
may be given why the "earhest men Of the I
country" are for allowing the negroes to :
vote, Independent of the ostensible one pro- Il;
Tossing to look to the advancement of "great
moral IDEAS" ''
We consider that the enfranchisement of 7
the negroes, instead of beinga blessing to Z,
them, would be an unmitigated CURSE
While in their condition of ignorance as to
the workings of Government, and as to 2
nearly all questions Of political economy,
they could derive no real satisfaction from
the exercise of suffrage, they would beeon-
slant subjects Of deception, and the dupes
of innumerable schemes of demagogues and I
rascally intrigue. Eventually as we verb p
ly believe, the blacks OF the South would be
influenced absolutely by their late masters, ,
and SO vote against the very party who put
the ballots into their hands. Alta events,
the great mass of them would go upu
to the polls wholly in the dark with refer
ence to any principle their votes might de-
eide, .,7. a.. ,....
But, to the charge of ignorance on the
part Of the blacks, answer is made that
many white men are allowed to vote who
neither write nor read, and who have no
greater comprehension of the science Of
Government than the emancipated slaves.r
We suppose this is true; yet all know that
the proportion of white men who cannot,
read to those who can is very small, while
with regard to the negroes the ratio Is
more than reversed. In this country wo-'
men do not vote, yet because hundreds Of
thousands of them understand public affairs
much better than hundreds of thousands of
men who do, vote, few contend that the cleo
tive franchise should be conferred upon
women. The New York Tribune, we see,
declares thereis real, demonstrable rela-
tion.between the right to vote and the right
to eat and, while men have the privilege Of
voting, which is denied to the other SEX
women have to work. tor less wages, and
find itmuch more difficult to procure agree
able employment, II The Tribune is driv-'
ing at a project to allow women to vote as
well as men, in order that their wages may,
be increased and more avenues of respecta-
BILE labor opened up to them, we presume
that paper would not cOnfine this suffrage
10 white women, but extend 1t to negresses
also. In this way our latter-day refOrmers,
the ''earnest men of the country" are run
ming into all manner of ridiculous and re-
pulsive fancies.-St. Louis Republican. iFN.'l