The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-08-21
sumn.r,s Advice to the Colored People.


WARRINGTON, D. O.. July 20, 1879.
GENTLEMEN AND FELLOW. CITIZENs:
am touched by the appeal you make. 1t ls
truo that am the friend OF your race, and
have held consistent course in the Senate
and elsewhere as the special advocate of your
rights. That course, by the blessing OF God,
I mean to hold so long as life lasts. know
your infinite wrongs, and feel them as for my
own. You only do mo simple justice when
you add belief that my counsel, at this criti-
cal juncture of your citizenship, would be free
from personal feelings and partisan prejudice.
In answering your inquiries. can have no
feeling except for your good, which most
an1iously seek; nor can any prejudice OF any
kind be allowed to interfere: The occasion ia
too solemn. Especially is there no room for
personal feeling or for partisan prejudice.
No man or party can expect power except for
tho general welfare; therefore, they must be
brought to tho standard of truth, that they
may be seen i'll life and act. You arc right IN
saying that tho choice for the Presidency is
now narrowed down to President Grant or
Horace Greeley. One of these Is to bo taken;
and my observation of their lives, you invite
my judgment between them, asking mo espe.
cially which OF the two, judging from their
antecedcnts, as we'll as present position,
would enforce the Constitution and laws, Sc
| curing your civil and political rights, with the
most heartfelt sympathy and the greatest
vigor. Hero remark that, in this inquiry,
you naturally put your rights in the fore
ground. So do I-belicvinE most sincerely
that the best interests Of the whole country
are associated with tho completest rccoG Gnition
Of your rights, 80 that the two races ehall live
together in unbroken harmony. Slso re-
mark that you call attention to two things,
tho 'antecedents'' Of the two candidates.; and
secondly, their 'prcsont position" You wish
tho most heartfelt sympathy and greatest
vigor in the maintenance OF YOUR rights; in
other words, which, judging by the past, will
be your trueet friend.
J., I,ox-
honored mo ia not alone. Colored fellow citi-
zens in other parts of the country, I may say
in nearly every State of the Union, havo made
a similar request, and somo complain that
have thus far kept silent. am not insensible
to this appeal: But il my opinion is given, it
must be candidly, according to my conscience.
In this spirit answer your inquiries, begin
ming with the antecedents Of the candidates.
l. Horace Greeley was born to poverty and
| educated himself in a printing Office. Presi-
dent Grant. fortunate in early patronage, be-
came cadet at West Point, and was educat-
| ed at the public expense. Ono started with
/ nothing but industry and character; tho
other started with military commission.
| One was trained as q civilian; the other as u
| soldier. Horace Greeley stood forth as re-
| former and Abolitionist. President Grant en-
| listed as q pro-slavery Democrat, and, at the
election of James Buchanan, fortified by his
vote all tho pretcnsions of slavery, including
tho Drcd Scott decision. Horace Greeley
from early life was earnest and constant
| against slavery, full of sympathy with the
colored race, and always foremost in the
great battlo for their rights. President
Grant, except as q soldier, summoned by tho
| terrible accident of war, never did anything
| against slavery, nor has he at any time
shown any sympathy with tho colored race.
| Horace Greeley earnestly desired that>colored
citizens should vote and ably championed i'm.
partial suffrage; but President Grant was on
the other side. Beyond these contrasts. which
are marked, it cannot be forgotten that Fl Grace
Greeley is person Of large heart and large
understanding, trained to the support OF
human rights, always benefcent with the
poor. always ready for any good cause, and
never deferred by opposition or reproach, as
when for long years he befriended your peo.
pie. Add to these qualities, conspicuous in
his life, untiring industry, which leaves no
moment without its fruit-abundant political
knowledge-acq with history-the
instinct and grasp OF craftsmanship
| amlable nature-a magnanlmous aoul, and,
above all, an honesty which no suspicion has
touched, and you have a brief portraiture
ley. Few OF these things appear in the Pre-
honors he has won, cannotlchange tho record
Of his conduct toward your people, especially
in contrast with tho lifetime fidelity OF his
competitor. while there are unhappy "ante-
cedents" showing that in the prosecution OF
his plans he cares nothing for the colored
race. The story is painful, but it must be told.
| I refer to tho outrage he perpetrated upon
Hayti, with it's ,0C0 blacks, engaged in
the great experiment OF solf-government.
! Hero iB q most instructive "antecodent." ro-
| vealing beyond question his true nature, and
| t he whole is attested by documentary evi-
dence. Conceiying the idea of annexing Do