Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1866-05-25
THE NEGRO BUG-BEAR.

AAA@ NEOAAO DONT-DGAhs
The history of the measures of the Cop
perhead party for the last ten years is sum-
med up in that euphonious little word of five
letters-NEGRe. It viii not require an
elaborate essay on our part to sustain this
position. We might it is true, ante-date at
least twenty years. but che last ten are sufi-
cient for our purpose.
The generation that preceded us was
almost entirely in the interest of human
bondage, and apparently only lived to rivet
the chains of that bondage. No efforts
were spared to make the free white man be-
lieEe that the Negro was his greatest social
antagonist All the vices and deficiencies of
the Negro were portrayed and arrayed to
his disadvantage, until the vast majority of
the illiterate and iguorant of the land ac-
corded him only the rights and privileges of
the brute. 1t was to the interest of the
slave-breeder and slaye-driver that this
should be the prevailing public sentiment,
and ten thousand different interests in op-
position to freedom seconded this spirit of
evil. All this had tendency to create an
overwhelming prejudice against the poor,
weak, ignorant and helpless black man. And
let it be said to the everlasting shame and
eternal infamy ofa party that strives to rule
this God-given land of Freedom, that for
the lest ten years it has from day to day,
from week to week, and from month to
month appealed to no other prejudice than
this hel-born spirit of opposition to him,
who, BY the foulest inhumanity that ever
cursed this green Earth, was condemned to
to serve as a bondman, and for no other
reason than in conf rmity to Gods law, the
inhabitants of the torrid regions of the
globe, do not have the same peculiar fea-
lures, color and intelligence that our fair
skinned Caueasians have.
The people, from the oldest down to the
youngest, have infused this prejudice against
the bondmen until the great majority Of
them are Negro haters. we cannot demon,
mate them anything else Not that the
kind, generous, and hospitable Negro has
ever molested them IN the least oh no, but
simply because he has a dark skin; for
which he is no more responsible than those
who hate him. He manifests every char
acteristic of humanity prominent with the
white race, be worships the same God, ex
poets to go to the same Heaven, and it is
generally conceded that he will, yet in this
world he is Stunned and cursed by those
who in the next might find it advantageous
to take a Negro quarters.
This prejudice. the great Copperhead ear
ty, has cultivated with most assiduous care.
1t has been their constant concern, their
entire stock-in- trade. Pick up a Copper
head newspaper, of any date since 1885,
run your eye over its columns, ard our word
for it, the most striking headings will stapd
out in bold relief, emblazoning to the mas
ses the fact that the Negro is at The bottom
of something. The Negro and Abolition
isml were standing heads for many years,
now it is ''The Negro and Universal Suf-
fragel The opposition have so long worked
upon the prejudices OF the ignorant that they
cannot refrain from appealing in this man
ner. 1t has become a second nature to
them. At the outset of campaign the
first matter to be determined is what use
they can make of the Negro, or in other
words the prejudice against him. They
know that the Negro is harmless and that
no one desires to give him more than the
rights Of citizen, yet the moment they
wish to carry point, storm redoubt, il
you please, they set up furious shout
against the black man asif he were the hosts
of Sennacherib. IF they desire to carry a
township election, clerk, or an auditor,
and that, too, in district which has not a
Negro within ten miles of it, they set up
this Negro straw man and pummel away at
him until they fill the eyes of the ignorant
with sufficient amount of dust to enable
them to affect their purpose From Gov
ernor down to auditor the tactics are the
same, Negro Negro this, and Negro that !
When, we ask, viii those Copperhead
demagogues learn that the people cannot
longer be deceived by their hypocrisy ?
For the last four years defeat has stare d
them in the face and overwhelmed them at
every point, nevertheless they hold on to
the same OLD tactics with fondness that
would be commendable were it for the ad-
Eancement Of a sacred cause. But we are
happy to say intelligence is rapidly dispeI-
ling tbs dark mists aud the advocates of in.
fanny viii learn to their discontinue, that
the prejudice will soon have disappeared
and that the last hobby upon which they
have for so long based their all will have de-
parted.