Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1867-07-03

b the political privileges which all 9th
d ers enjoy. Deprive class of the onll
IS defensive weapon we respect, which in
y huences all others, and the effects o
3, which perYades all our institutions
b and you at once doom that unfortunate
t class to persecution and oppression
d Deprive a class of the protection o
Vt suffrage, and that self-asserting con
= quering spirit Of our people which has
y cleared away q Wilderness, redeemed 9
+ continent, shaken off the yoke of the
= then greatest maritime power of the
y world, that spirit which recognizes nc
8 impossibility and shrinks from no OBJ,
, stscle, will Immediately weigh down
: and oppress that class, and either de
4 prive it of all rights or set their re-
naming rights at naught by that pow.
erful control and influence which
7 public opinion, right or wrong, well di-
rected or misguided, invariably exer-
cises over municipal authorities, courts
|, of justice and all other branches and
! departments of Government.
Hence, if you want peace and secu-
rity for yourselves, if you want our ma
chinery of Government to roll along
smoothly and harmoniously, let there
, be no man without that shield which
even the mighty, the strong and the
powerful can not fail to respect.
Let there be no man without that
magic wand which transforms the
great Governor of to-day, representing
the sovereignty of millions of people,
into the afable candidate of to-mor-
row, who anxiously inquiries for your
dear health, and the well fare of your
good lady and children.
NEGRO SUFFRAGE.
For these reasons we said to the ne
gro in the Southern States: Friend !
we have done our best to protect you.
We have tried it from above downward
and it would not do. We passed
Freedmen's Bureau and Civil Rights
Bills, and they gave you no security
We must now adopt the American
plan of self-protection, and try it from
below upwards. We will clothe you
with that power which alone affords
security and a fair start in ife-the
right to vote. Take the ballot and pro-
tect yourselfw And, sir, this remedy
at once effected the desired cure. The
poor contraband is no longer the per-
secuted outlaw whom incorrigible
rebels might kick and kill with impu-
nifty, but he at once became "our col
ored fellow-citizen" in whose Well-be-
ing his former master takes the iveli-
est interest. Thus by bringing the
negro under American system, we
have completed his emancipation. He
has been transformed into human
being, invested with the great national
attribute of selfprotection ;-and the
re-estsblishment of peace and order
and security, the revival of business
and trade, and the restoration OF the
Southern States on the basis of loyalty
and equal Justice to all, will be the
happy results of this astonishing meta
morphosis, provided the party which
has inaugurated this policy remains in
power to carry it out. II, however, the
reins of government should fall into
the hands Of the party whose leading
principle is opposition to that policy,
the great pesce-work now accomplish |
ed would be undone, the foundations
which we have laid for the new edifce |
soon torn down, the storm of passion |
and hatred would break loose anew,
and anarchy, confusion, bloodshed and |
perhaps q war of races would again |
deyastate the South and prevent, per
haps for generations to come, that
peaceful and prosperous develop
ment which few years more Of repub-
lican rule win secure.
THE OPPOSITION OF PREJUDICE.
While endeavoring to extend to the
negro, in Justice to him and for rea-
sons of public policy and peace, our
system of self-protection, it Is natural
that we should offend certain preju-
dices and antipathies, the results Of
the wrongs the white race has inflicted
on the black. 1--WE generally dislike
those whom We injure !" IS an old say
ing, verified by the Democratic party
in this case. But, If anything distfn- !
guishes our people, it is the facility |
With which they overcome obsolete /
Look back at our short /
history, and you will behold with as !
how many prejudices and :
popular errors we have overcome. We !
have overcome the mistaken belief IN 7
the necessity ofa State church, preju- ]
dice from European nations are not yet c
We have overcome the {
time -honored prejudice in favor of he q
reditary sristocracies. We have over
come that mean relic of barbarism- !
the prejudice against the Jews-which c
iisgraced European civilization for so a
many centuries. We have overcome h
that prejudice and timidity with which l,
during the war, We approached the Q
irst steps towards emancipation. We =
have overcome the prejudice against I
negro soldiers, so dextrously famed d
md stimulated by the Democratic par d
y. - o
Now, if you consider how little time, n
comparatively, it took to overcome h
ZACH of the preiudices l have referred 3,
20, you will agree with me when l say d
that the policy Of a people n
Ike ours cannot Be permanently guided By "
,rejudiee. Prejudices may gain tenn q
,orary hold on the public mind. They Z
nav temporarily sweep everything be- u
ore them and "strut and fret their n
lour on the stage" but you cannot o.
ngraft them upon our Government, Vi
r make them the basis for success G,
VI party organization. The sober Sec 81
nd thought of our people is sure to ST
weep them away. al
he GREAT MISTAKE or THE DEMOCRATIC pl
PARTY. o
And herein, Mr.. Chairman, lies the :
ardinal error of our opponents. The -
Instincts of our people are democratic. -
Democratic ideas have always swayed "
be country. Our national existence ~
ras conceived in the spirit of Democra- =, -
Y; and Democracy stood watching i
yer its cradle. As long as the Demo n
ratio party understood this, it was sue =,
essful. As long as it understood how n
D appeal to the democratic instincts of =,
be masses, it almost invariably carried - -
be day, and governed the country al - -
lost without interruption. The mo- =,
lent it turned its back on its own fun. y
amental principles, and openly and =.
discarded the Declare - -
on of Independence, that great evan r. r.
81 of American democracy, the doom -
{ the party was sealed. As long as It 4.
as possible to cover up its apostaey or =, -
|, dodge the real issue, the masses -
ung, with the old affection, to the a. a.
emocratic nGRs, though the Demo -
-atic spirit had long departed. To that ~ ~