Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1870-12-01
What the Negro Vote is
Doing for the Radicals.

!
following 4 T
">everal Of cur Democratic ex.
changes are very anxious that we
should tell them how It isthat The
Southern States, with their masses
OF colored voters. are going for the
Democracy? We can answer the
question quickly and conclusiyeiy.
An ignorant black man is in no
wise different from an ignorant
white man. Both will vote the
Democratic ticket. The wisest
and clearest heads Of the Repub-
lican party have always foreseen
this result and expected. it, Until
the fire schools have thoroughly
emancipated the slave, and err
ased the last traces Of mental and
moral bondage, we may expect
Democratic successes in Dixie"
The Press is very much mista.
ken if it supposes that considera-
BILE numbers of negroes in any
Southern State voted the Demo-
cratic ticket. The unanimity
with which they vote for Radicals
is surprising. No Democrat can
be elected where they prepouder-
ate largely The truth is, this
nranlmlty of the negroes in the
support Of Radicals for cffica, has
been serious cause OF weakness
to the Radical party in the South,
by driving white Radicals to the
support OF Democrats, as the re-
cent elections have amply demon
strated. This disposition is as
manifest in the Northern rs the
Southern States. Wherever in
the States, north and west of US,
pains have been taken to investi-
gate the matter, it is shown that
the negro vote is an element of
weakness rather than strength to
the Radical party, driving from
them more white votes than they
gain of black voters. In Pennsyl,
vania, Indiana, New York, and
other States, where the blacks
have voted for the FIRST time, the
Democratic gains have been much
larger than the entire negro vote
cast. The effect of the large ne
gro vote in Maryland is thus stat
ed by the Baltimore Gazette:
"In spite Of $1,000 newly regis
tered negro votes, IN spite CT their
secret leagues, their United States
Marshal and his horde of deputies,
and lowering in their rear strong
force Of Federal bayonets-in
spite of these and at all the ;nhu-
ences, both Erect and Indirect,
which. the Federal Government
could bring TO bear upon this cleo
ton, we have carried every Con-
lgressional District, in as orderly
an election as was ever held in
this State. In the city of Balti-
more we have beaten the COM
bined blacks and white Radical
vote bya majority Of nearly four
teen thousand votes, and we have
demonstrated the fact that the
pivot OH which the election turned
was the negro vote. So thorough
Ily was this understood, that in
many districts where there was a
large negro registration, this new
Radical element was entirely nul
lilied by a corresponding accession
OF white voters to the Democratic
ranks, and the old majoGiries W re
thus maintained. An analysis OF
the vote iii Baltimore presents the
following suggestive results +: The
total vote cast was SO, 043. OF
this the Democratic vote was a.
SAT +; the Radical vote, black and
white, was 1916. OF the 1858
negroes registered not less than
5000 cast their votes for the Radi-
Gals. The white Radical vote
was erefore, but a little over T.
900, thus clearly showing that the
negroes constitute a majority of
the Radical party in Baltimore. "
What is true Of Baltimore and
Mary land will hold good as TO
other States. Indeed, it is great
ly to be feared that the question
of race will vet become very i'm
portant issue in our politics. AT
the South, where the negroes are
at present strong enough to be
tempted into the idea of setting up
for themselves, in hostility to the
white owners Of the soil, they will
find their mistake when it is too
late. When their carpet-bag mas
tiers desert and spurn them as no