The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1866-03-24
NEGRO suFrRAGE.

NEGRO sUFFRAGE. =.
The New York Tmss, the leading and
recognized advocate oftAe Presidential pelicy
thus declares its position on the question oi
the admission Of colored citizens to the exer
else of the right Of suffrage:
.swithin this category comes the question
of negro suffrage. The Union party has in
various ways asserted principles that logically
involve that result at last The details OF
time and method are the only real questions
left for argument. We have right to con-
slider the principle as practically settled
and, il SO. we have also right to hold epin
ions OF our own as to when and how the
principle can be carried out, without being
denounced as traitors to the cause.
.'Some moral and political points ara very
obvions. The Federal Government has in
various ways, incurred obligations 70 the
black race that should be promptly discharged.
The black soldier who has helped fight our
battles should not be made an alien now
He has not only served bis country in the
field, but has almost universally qualified
himself by education to serve her inteligently
at the polls. His time Of delay should be
short, his method prompt So, too, with
others, who have looked into the spelling
book and the Bible for the first qualifications
ofyoters. To such rs these, and we may
add, those who have raised themselves above
their level by the acquisition of property, we
are willing to give the ballot as we gave the
musket' a
Our own views in their practical applica.
ton, accord entirely with this position. We
hold that all men are of one blood, and crea-
ted with equal rights, to life, liberty, and the
of ban I'd ca IL !,
principles of Democratic Republican govern
ment in opposition to here ditary monarchy or
arristocracy, is the equal right Of all to par
ticipate in the formation of political institu.
tions, and the choice Of those who. are to ID
ministerthem Such equality constitutes The
ultimate ideal perfection of the Republi-
can idea. and every advance in that direction,
every difficulty overcome, every obstacle re.
moved, every advance by whatever means
in that direction, is progress in the right di-
rection and meets our hearty approval. II
the state of public opinion will not admit the
realization Of this idea at once, or If the con-
dition of a portion of the people from any
cause renders it unsafe to the Republic to
trust them with share in this fundamental
sovereignty for the present, let them wait the
amelioration Of their condition. But whether
the disability springs from disloyalty or from
debasement, let it be limited to the briefest
period possible, consistent with the welfare Of
: the public. And let 1t be understood on all
hands that the right is withheld and kept in
allegiance for the time being only in tender
consideration Of the public safety and the
general good.
In this view, then, SO far as colored people
are concerned who have never exercised the
privilege of the ballot, and have been par
TALLY untitled for its exercise by years Of
bondage and degradation, We are willing to
accept limita tions based upon intelligence or
patriotic military service, as a. grand stride
forward.in the practical path to the ultimate
destination Of universal suffrage.
Admit colored men to the polls upon what
ever condition and you have broken through the
barrier Of public prejudice against their color
and their race, and for all practical purposes
have won the victory. Then with the appli
cation Of the colored men to attain the stand
ard of qualification and the rapid decline oil
prejudice, resulting from the accustomed
spectacle of colored men at the polls, tt will
require but few brief yearsto gather the full
fruits of victory. And in the meantime du
ring the progress of working out the solution
of the now threatening problem, the coloree
men will be stimulated to qualify themselves
for the exercise Of this high privilege of citi
zenship. and the white men will be gradually
accustomed to, and prepared for their genera
participation in the elections without any
serious shock to their prejudices. or any dan
ger of internecine strife in consequence.
We are all the more ready to accept ane
advocate the measure in this shape, for the
present because it was suggested by Presiden
Lincoln, and is understood to be regarded
with favor by President johnson, and those
of his more peculiar friends who cannot abide
radical ideas. And we trust that no Senato
or Representative from Iowa will be so i'm
practically radical as to prefer the failure o
the bill for universal suffrage in the District
of Columbia to the success of a bill securing
10 great an advance in the right direction al
that indicated by the position OF the Times.
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