The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-10-02

other naSon in ChristSudom and no citizen
who ha1 the true sentiment Of patriotism
stirring within him, can regard the Assem-
DlAge lnf bis respect with any other feeling
tnan herfst pride. In saying THE 90 not
mean to ne understood a. the least likely
ever TO tPuntenance such IN afR!iatiOn hen
nativY Missiseippan and ex-Ccnfederate
othcer, ADDRESSING q Convention, refers to
coloref delegate who has preceded him as
the gen emen from Georgia :" when a ma
i've Alafama delegate, who has now for the
nrst ting crossed Mason and DixOn's line,
and Wild was from boy hood taught to regard
the negto simply as chatte!, sits in deliber-
ate conanltation at the committe.bosrd with
anotheridelegate whose ebony face glis;ens
with Afric sheen, and sigus the report Of
tnat coPmlttee underneath the signature Of
his coli fed co delegate when An ardent and
aVowedfDemocratic partisan (from New York
at thatk declares with erich Irish brogue"
that b asks for himself no privilege As 4
mechAikc or citizen that he is not willing
20 conTsde to every other lnan-white or
DlAck-kWhen, say, these things can be seen
and eRrd In national convention, called
Tor ans purpose, then one may indeed be
Warran "a IN asserting that time works most
cuTiOud changes. And all this was seen and
heard this City Of philadelphia during
these ngust days in this year Of grace 1869
who pail say, now, that prejudices, no
matterkhow strongly they may have been
implanted in the human breast, may not be
roc tedP putt And just here let me say it to
their cledit, that the colored delegates to the
Labor convention have gained, as they richly
deservS, the respect Of all, and have shown
beyond cavil that If the negro be accorded
even al Approximate to what is known by
the phase " Q fair show" he will give Abun-
dant pfoof that LOrd Moubodo to the con-
trary botwithstanding) he 20 more bears the
familyl of the ape or q bab0on than does the
most AR skinned specimen Of the Caucasian
race. tThe Convention Was not little as
toniste I'D when Mr.. Peter G. Brown, Of Phil
adelpuis, a real ebony negro, on Tuesday
morning disentangled the snarl into which
the Assembly had got itself, by the intro
ductidh of amendments, motions 20 table, to
refer,s to recommit, &C., promiscuously
heapet together by plain, strAig htfor ward
stateUfent of the condition IF the question
beford put forth in a manner that would
have lone no discredit to any presiding
OficeTt and brought the house to act on his
own motion to reconsider" which was
the vATy action needed to solve the difficulty.
And tlhe establishment was not lessened
whenf on the following day, Mr.. Isaac Myers
"a Aulatto, on behalf Of his fellow colOred
delegktee, in an address which drew forth
univefsal praise, thanked the convention for
their kction in having unanimously decided
to ADMIT the representatives Of the black
sons kf toll to equal privileges on the floor
of II assembly. Nor was the intellectual
stdtuk OF the colored delegation in any de-
gree lowered when, Mr. Robert H. Butler, Of
the Jeriest sombre hue, an engineer from
BaltIbOre in . brief speech, rePlete with
good kense and an excellent appreciation Of
the ptwer OF words, addressed the Congress
with arguments gong TO show how ruin
wouls ensue to the interests of labor, both
whit4 and black, if the importation Of coolies
were permitted by the Federal Government
and closing, thanked the Convention for
the banner in " hich the hand Of fellowship
had been extended to the black laborer d
the kouth. 1t was noticeable, too, thai
whe1kver o colored laborer addressed the
chait all eyes were simultaneously turned
in thu direction OF the speaker, and the cour-
tesv IF general attention to his remarks, wa:
valkably paid to him-a matter that the
whit9 members we're not, in every instance
able 10 command. What is to be the effec
Of ths Is change in public opinion Can th'
blacN man be much longer excluded from
the Arades and other avocations, when thu
highest deliberative body known TO tn
worlf ing classes thus unequivocally acknow
ledgfs not only bis tight, but after be hai
empk atically proven bis perfect ability, &
take bart in shaping the course of the mos
abst1 act and most important interests Of Ia
Dor How soon it will be before there i!
effected a radical change In the policy which
now obtains 10 this respect will uot dare tC
propte but that this change 10 inevitable
can 10 longer be q matter Of doubs to any
one Hho has watched with care the proceed
iugs bf the National Labor Convention. The
great wall of caste and color which has hi
therb divided the laboIing classes is nc
longE insurmountable. Whether the Legrc
has kverleaped the obstacle or made breach
through it, is immaterial. The simple fac
remAns that be has gone beyond il, reached
the kther side, and 10 to Be, hereafter, Al
equd in the great field Of competitive labor