The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1867-09-12

men OF the South owed their election
to free negro votes.
In Ohio, all nearer white than
black have always been allowed to
vote.
Under this unjust discrimination
trustees not specially skilled in color
have been bothered to decide whoth-
err voter was nearer white or black
and generally, decided 1t according
TO the complexion Of the vote aud not
the voter
They are not excluded by any
Chislian nation in the world but ours.
In Great Britain, France, Prussia,
and Italy. elections occur moro or
less general in character, aud in none
OF them are men excluded merely Tor
the color of their skin.
Our American system of elections
is slowly revolutionizing the world,
auu yet no nation has adopted our
exclusion of persons OF African dc
/ scent.
The truth is, il is based upon a
narrow prejudice Of caste, not found.
ed upon reason or natural laws, but
the offspring of the same intolerance
and bigotry that excluded the Israel.
ite from all participation in the gov.
ernment of the Egyptians. They are
not willing to exclude either ignorant
or intelligent rebols. They welcome
to their embrace men whose hands
are yet red with the blood of our
kindred.
1t is only "niggcr" they would
exclude. 1t is nothing to them that
the uigger has fought for our country,
has been wounded in our service, is
intelligent, sober, industrious; he is
u niggcr, and therefore must have no
voice in public affairs.
am far IRON admitting that there
is such marked iuferioriiy among
the colored people Of Ohio as our
Democratic friends assert. There arc
worthless characters among them,
but through what terrible process.
have they pass, d forty years. Re.
jected, depressed, excluded from most
enjoymen,s of life, excluded from
schools, aud even from churches de
voted to worship Of Almighty God;
without political rights, at times
without protection, either by law or
public opinion; by the same prciu,
dice that divides the Chinese. and
Hindoos into caste; the same that
makes an Asiatic regard all Europe.
aus as barbarians; The same feeling
OF pride and intolerance which ena-
bles an aristocracy in Great Britain
to exclude the laboring classes from
all voice in the Government.
We owe it to our character as
American citizens to free ourselves
from such prcjudices, and to be just
20 those who are boru on our soil,
share in our burdens. aud are only
different from US iu that their ances
tors came from different part of
Gods world than ours did.
What reasons do our Democratic
friends give for keeping up this ban
Of prejudice against tho colored race?
The real reason, imagine, is be-
cause they have no hope Of getting
the darkiss to vote with them. But
they tell Us negroes are rot intelli-
gent enough to vote. Aud yet they
do not propose to base voting upon
intelligence. They do not ask to
exclude those who can not read or
write. They do not ask us to ex
clude persons who cannot understand
our language, and yet, with all these
terrible disadvantages, it cannot he
said that they are 80 ignorant as to
be unit to share with all other men
in the right to govern themselves
Take off the ban of prejudice, give
them an equal chance, aud theh make
the COMPARISON.
They say that the negro was en-.
shaved in his own country, that Alri-
Gu has never produced great states
men, poets or mechanics. Well, If
that argument is good. it ought to
apply TO families as we'll as races -
Would IL be fair to exclude a man
IRON high Office becau G his ancestors
have lived for centuries of civilized
society, aud not one of them has left
IL name2 Our own race has been gro.
ping its way upward so slowly that
we cannot set ourselves far above
other men, without the same presumpr
tion for which we sneer at tbs Chi
nese. All races are descended from
one stock, if we can believe the Bible,
except Nasby's All differences are
the result of climate aud opportuDi
ties of civilization.
Even if our race is better than the
negro-raoe, that is No reason why we
should deprive them Of equal rights.
Il is only another reason why we
should give them an equal chance
with US.
And fellow citizens, there are spe-
cial reasons why we should allow the
colored people to vote in Ohio, aud
why the Republican party, which has
been the bu wark of our country du-
ring its recent history. should eheer-
fully extent this right. Their exclu-
sion is the remnant Of the barbaric
influence of slavery. and should fall
with the rest Of the Internal system.
But for slayeryit would never have
existed. The word white" was in
serted in the Constitution Of 1902 be
cause the trainers of that Constitu-
ton, being most from slayeholdng
States, were auxioas to exclude from
the State negroes who we're debased
by slavery Ohio was among the FIRST
to exclude negroes from the right of
suffrage, aud this was soon followed
b. an Infamous code of black laws.
This code was repealed by eneral