New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-05-25
know that they have been tolerant and

| is bad enough, II mas, 10 d Eeiy 6'o"e o'
been made SO by our own perveiseness, anu u,
| humanity. warming the hearts OF those IN
| authority over US, might have been meal
| cnIsbjv worse than it is. But our people
| seem to have been impelled all along by the
madness of desperation, when they should
have Welded TO counses OF moderation.
When. before, have we heard Of such bodies
| of men AS Ku-KluX organizations, VINO rlde
| about at night, in ghostly attire, resembling
| the sheeted dead, and who, under the
| boosted myth of American liberty, MAKE
| night hideous, in order to fright tne
souls" of constrained political adversarles
! Do these things, Indicate in the aw-lovlng
Democracy, a patriotic desire to give su-
premacy to the laws OF the laho! are
| they calculated to form more perfect
union, establish justice, insure domestic
tranquility, provide for the common defense,
| rromote the general welfare and secure the
| blessings of liberty to ourselves ana our
posterlty? If they are, many OF the most
enlightened and patriotic men OF our DAY
and generation have read and rejected IN
| vain.
It owing to the existence OF organiza-
! tions. such Us this, and the general tenor OF
| feeling existing in the minds OF the white
race. that we hear of and witness murders
every day in the year. And it ls equally at
tributable to these causes, that we see the
| administration of punitory laws entirely
| psralyzed, and criminals go unwhipped OF
| of Justice. In this state of things, tho
blacks will inevitably suffer, for the weak
and helpless in all countries need the pro-
| lection of the laws. What then. should be
the settled and immediate policy OF the
colortd race, in view of these well-estab-
| lished and universally conceded truths,
| They know that the laws enacted for their
| eufranchisement and to define their po-
litica status are ample for those purposes.
They can not fairly ask for any more leglsa-
ton on the subject. All they can now
reasonably ask is that they may realize the
full benefits of these laws. How are they
to do this The answer is plainly the
election of men to Office, in every instance,
who are not only willing that they should
get them, but who also possess the moral
courage, the intellectual power ana the
infiexlble honesty to see that the laws are
faithfully and impartially enforced. Such
men. whether they be parsisans or not, are
the men tie colored men of Louisiana should
elect to office. What is the duty OF the white
voters? Is it not to willingly obey the laws
under which they live? Certainly so.
Should this obedience be made, by party. to
depend on their approval or disapproval OF
the laws? Certainly not. L. 1t not futile
for any one to attempt to resist the practical
operation of the fifteenth amendment
Why then, under ccor of party organiza-
ton, persist in throwing obstacles III the
way of that which nation, world III arms
has made inevitable?
The Democracy of some of the more Nor.
thern States have publicly announced their
approval of the amendment, and all the
fdnfdrondGe we hear about National De.
mocracy, is the veriest of silly presump-
ton. The Democracy of Connecticut, for
instance, is almost identical with the Repub'
Ecansm of Louisiana. So much SO that
the New Orleans TIMES of the tenth of April
last. declared that if Governor English,
the Democratic candidate, were in this State
he would not be recognized as Democrat
| by the so.called leaders of the Democracy
There IS no National Democratic party, ex-
cept as to unity of purpose, to get into office.
| This seems to be universal and ubiquitous
object wherever the mythology Of democ.
| racy is kept in remembrance By the con-
| tinued use Of the term. Go I'd men every
| where acknowledge that it Is dead, ard
that its soul, if it ever had one,
| has gone vaporing Through the thingsthat
were.n There is great ground swell going
| on that will, ere long, destroy the last vest
| iges OF it, as effectually as if an "earth-
| quake had smacked its lips over it," 'One
year ago." said the speaker, 81 published an
address to the people Of Louisiana" which
WAS sent out without signatures, the object
of which was to bring the people to timely
L lie
visionary. but the more recent tone OF the
| New Orleans Times, the deliberations OF The
press convention, and the meetings OF the
! intelligent masses in New Orleans, show
very clearly that I was only ahead OF the
people when it was done. | am willing to
| bide nov time, and, believing that Radical
| ism is wrong, whether it be Northern or
| Southern, and that true Constitutional Re
publicaliism is right in this government, L
am not ashamed nor afraid to say go on all
| occasions.
| Democracy in its original meaning was
well enough-it means the power OF the
people 70 govern-but in practice at the
| present day, and during many years past, 1t
| had lost its power and spirit, and is not the
democracy of the times Of Andrew Jackson.
Read the proclamation OF jackson to the
people of South Carolina, in 1892; his Ian
| guage in that document would now be con-
| sidered the rankes. radicalism. In case OF
war with any foreign government the
| colored man would be obliged to shoulder
| his muskes to protect the county. The
| rights granted to him are but necessary
and natural result of services due him mu.
| tually to his country.
| We have heard much said by ranting poll
| ticians as to this being white mans gov
eminent. In one sense this is true, but in
| the sense in which it is ordinarily used
| it is false. He challenged any man to
| point out to him syllable in the articles or
| confederation of TIT, or in the constitution
of the United States as adopted 1887 and
since amended, which would have prevented
| q colored man from being the President of
the United States, or holding any other
Office under the United States government.
| The truth was, that the delegates that
| framed the constitution we're voted for Dy
| colored men. That when it was proposed IN
| the convention to insert qualifying clause
| in the constitution, by which the right OF
citizenship would be restricted to white men,
1t was rejected by eleven out OF the
| thirteen States in convention. That ten OF
the original States, when they framed State
constitutions, permitted colored men (noS
slaves) to vote. and that they did vote for
different periods in the different States,
from thirty-one to sixty -four years after
| they set out in their wonderful career un'
der republican constitution. (Here some
| O he asked him which of the States they
were that restricted voting to white men
| by their constitutional. The speaker re.
piled: Three of them did it. They were
| Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina. He
| said: Away then with these new-falgled
| theories of a rebellious Democracy
At one period of our history its creed was
| universal suffrage, now it is ready to war
tor restrictions and qualified suffrage. Yet
it claims to be the time-honCred. never
changing Democracy. Now, four out OF
every five of those who call themselves
Democrats, are radically opposed to permit
ting or allowing the colored man to vote.
They could not deny it. If they were not
opposed to it, why do they resort to violence
and intimidation to keep them from the
polls? They say they are too ignorant to
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