The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1869-07-21
CORRESPONDENCE.

For the Standard.
Letter from a Colored Republican.
To Ms officers and leaders of the Rpublican
party: @ f
The colored people are poor and needy,
and it appears to me that we will have to
remain so. Why do l come to thii conclu-
sionY Because there is a large amount of
work to he done, and there are large num-
bers OF hands who want labor, and are Of
fered but the pitiful sum of soyenty-five
cents per day or less, and board themselves,
and from the small sum thus carmel paying
enormous prices for provisions, Lish rents
and taxes-but do not understand that we
object to paying our taxes-but in the name
OF common humanity and everything that
Is good, how can men pay taxes and the
present high prices for provisions fiom these
wages, when they cannot feed themselves
and families, exclusive of their clothing.
| doctors bills and other necessariss? Our
government is able to pay hands s1.s5 per
day and farmers $500 to do hard labor in
the sun, and l should have thought that our
business men would have taken that care
for the laboring class of people. We do not
object to any pay they may get, but we
want to have them think of their hest
friends and give US living chance.
We are advised to work, and we are will
| ing to render good service, and we want to
have the compensation correspond With the
service rendered; all employers ought to be
willing to give it TO US when we are employ
ed. never knew colored man to hold
| any office previous to the adoption of the
new Constitution, and now there are not
many holding places that pay them much or
| get any work from any one worth much to
them, but l know several that lave the
| qualifications They are all Republicans,
too, and that is more than can be said of
| some men who say they are Republicans, or
"our best friends" just to get an Office, when
in truth they are only Democrats and notori-
Gus rebels. S., J.. G.
Granville county, July 10, 1869.
| The above is the communication OF an
intelligent colnred man who has the ability
and ambition to do better than most of his
fellow citizens are doing. There has been
an effort on the part of many employers to
reduce their laborers and former slaves to a
condition of peonage more unsupportable
than the old form of slavery itself. Many
enemies to the government and bitter foes
of the black man would prefer to see the
race blotted from the face of the country,
rather than allow him to rise in the scale OF
manhood and exercise the political rights OF
a freeman. So long as this unjust prejudice
exists causes of complaint will continually
arise. And so long it will be necessary for
the colored men to remain a united body
for the maintenance of their rights. Let
them continue in the course which they have
followed so creditably to themselves; let
them be honest, industrious, and peaceable
citizens, doing all they can to maintain OIL
der and educate themselves and their child
rem; let them remain together in the future
as they have done in past, in the support o.
the party which gave them liberty and trie:
to protect them from wrong and outrage
and they will be sure to prosper and receive
that consideration at the hands of the Re
publican party which their merit deserves.