White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1868-11-19
WHITE CLOUD, KANSAS:
Thursday, :: November 10, 1868.


Negro Suffrage.
The leading papers in ihs State Or"
advocating the submission Of the question
Of negro sufrake sgain. at next FAlis
election. Il was proper that tho ones
tion should have been left out at the late
election. 10 order thst there might bs no
division among the supporters Of Grant.
ss q defest in that election would have
been fatal to all measures of reform which |
interest the friends of Freedom in Amer
ics. But next Fall. there will bs no
other issue Of importance. and the people |
csu vote sqnsrely upoo the outrage ques. |
tion.
That it is just and right to give this
privilege to colored men. is fast becom-
ing settled conviction 10 the minds Of
the peopia.. Iowa and Minnesots hereto.
fore rejected negro suffrage; nov they
have adopted it by large msjority.
Missouri came near doing Tie same thing.
Hundreds of men in Kansas. who last
year voted sgsinst it. have declared that
IL It were to do over. they would vote for
it. The recent election shows that the
emigration Of the past year has been a.
most wholly Of the enlightened and lib
ersl-mindel Glars. The change in senti.
ment has probably been great enough to
reverse the decision Of last Fall.
I, is getting rather late in the century
to say that men shall bear the burdens OF
citizenship, without enjoying its privi.
leges. When negroes have property,
they are taxed. When a draft was or
dersd. they were drawa and placed 10 the
army. Men who Eight and pay. are en-.
titled to the right to vote. 1t is claimed
by many. that the negroes have been Civ
en- their freedom. and now ought to be
satisfied. and let white men make laws
for them. That argument is but little
better than the Shareholders used in fsvo,
Of holding negroes ss property. sad hes
lost its force.
The ignorance of the negro is another
great bugbesr. In view Of the manner
in which New York has been carried BY
the Democracy, the least said Of negro
ignorance. the better. On election day,
in this place. nearly every negro in tho
country round was in the vicinity of The
polls, with straight Republican ticket
10 bis hand, desirous of voting it. This
proved three things: that negroes are
anxious to vote: that they know what
ticket snits them; and that they are on
the right side politically -and these three
things prove that they ought to vote. On
that same day, there were white men who
could not be cosxeI to vote-they didn'i
c.re enough aboat it. or got sssbborn. OF
got miffsd at some individual. and KEEP,
swsy from the polls to spite him. Per.
hsps such men, who refu~e to exercise q
right which they possess. would howl the
loudes. against giving the negroes the
same right. who are anxious to exercise
il. Men who had served faithfully for
more than three years in tho Union army.
without once receiving furlough to visit
their families, were not allowed to vote.
because they were black. Other men,
whose sympathies had oil been with the
rebels. and whose bodies would have been
there if circumstances had permitted. de-
posted theirsEotes unchallenged. because
they were of lighter color of skin
There is no justice in this. When ne.
gross once have the right Of Suffrage. and
people once get used to it. those who now
trembls at the very idea of it. will won.
der how they could ever have been 60
foolish sad prejadiced.
Let the question be submitted. and give
the people another opportunity to place
Kansas 10 the front rank of progress
Let this question be submitted singly end
alone. with no nightmare fastened upon
il to smother it to death. We had
enough Of that, last Fall. The Woman
Suffrage question was coupled with it.
and our State Was overrun BY set Of
squAwkers. who. while expressing . de-
sire to purify politics. sought ont the low
est filth. scum, aud ruif -scruff of society,
pstted them on the backs, called them
honest. Intelligent citizens. sad psndered
to their lowest prjudice.. in order to &c.
cure their votes for Woman Suffrage,
which the ''intellieent" fellows Supposed
wss en- sntsgonistic measure to negro
suffrage. They undertook 10 trade OF
negro rights for womsn's rights. They
admitted thst both propositions were iust:
but it they could not secure their own
rights. they wanted to prevent the negro
from securing his. We have hsd enough
of this. Try one proposition ct time.
and let the women wait awhile. We
still believe 10 the justice Of Woman Suf-
frsge; bat for the sake of the women, We
think It had better be deferred until after
the present school Of female sgitators