New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-09-19

umn are comp itef by the square i' W WV
advertisements less tIue thar h-oa
arc charged transient rates.
80
keepers, pugi)ists, &c, &C., for the Presi-
0ency; he Is their staudard-bearer, their
representative, and would put these 'dan-
gerous and criminal classes" in possession
OF the National Government.
For long time he was a strong champion
OF a protective tariff; with Presidential
office in view he turns about in an instant
and tells the manipulatOrs Of the Cincinnati
convention that 50 far as protection is con-
ceEned they may do rs they have Il mind to.
/ hose who favor ii may vote for it; those
who do not, need not.
! with his vaCllations and whin.s. and tina
uncertainties as to his course, he is not the
man for us to trust our destinies to for the
next four years. There Is no TELLING what
will be his future course. We need more
sturdy and reliable man at Washington. We
| need ut Washington, and the country needs
also, what ne does't possess and what Gen.
| Grant does-political integrity, and straight
! torwardness, and firmness Of purpose. The
| country needs to be assured that in the adj
mnistration of affairs public interests will be
| safe, and that no unwise and no ridiculous
| thing shall be done by our Government.
| This is not simply a contest between rant
and Greeley, as it is sometimes suggested;
this is more than that ; 1t is a battle between
| tworeguarly organized political parties, with
records behind them and with objects in
| view. The materials which these parties are
composed Of are as different as light from
darkness As II. II. Dana saws: " 1t is 8
war of clements On one side is the Re-
publican party, the party Of freedom, which
| from its birth has been fighting slavery, which
was created for that purpose, and whose ear
Hest infant cry was Free soil for free men,"
"No more slave States"
On the other side is the Democratic party
the party of slavery, its supporter and de-
fender; the party which passed through q
Democratic Congress and enforced by Demo-
! cratic President the fugitive slave law,
and with Democratic minions came into this
city and under the shadow of Eaneuil Hall
dragged fugitive back into slavery.
On one side is the party which put down
the rebellion, emancipated the slave, adopted
the constitutional amendments giving civil
rights, citizenship, and the ballot to the col
ored races and passed laws to protect them
in the enjoyment Of these rights and priv
ileges. On the other side is the party which
opposed the war and all measures for sue
cessfiIlly carrying it on, which gave aid and
comfort to the rebels by.its newspaper press
and through the mouths of its orators, which
not only fought the constitutional amend
ments on the floor of Congress, but attempted
by fraud to defeat their ratification in the
State Legislatures. These are the clements
which are arrayed i'll opposition, there is no
commingling of them, it is right against
wrong, justice against injustice.
| The banner which the Democratic party
| carried before the war and fought under and
won its victories, had inscribed upon it
| Slavery" This is a white mans govern
ment," "Black men have no rights which
white men are bound to respect" Since the
war it is - Down with the negro, down with
negro equality" and covered all over it is
| the blood drawn by the shareholders lash,
| the teeth of merciless blood hounds, the over
seers' bludgeon during two hundred and forty
| years of slavery; the murdered heroes Of
Fort Pillow, the victims Of the New York
mob, the barbarous cruelties of the Ku-Klux
during and since the war. This same banner
is now being lifted high in air and is being
| carried into another Presidential fight. They
| have lured into their ranks one of our chiefs
as leader, and are making professions of
new faith, but with this black record against
| them and with the fact that the rank and file
| is composed of negro haters, unrepentant
| rebels, and men III the North who opposed
| the war, colOrcd men cannot be deceived by
| their professions.
| The constitutional amendments will not
| execute themselves, ii requires somebody to
| enforce them; now who will most likely do
| it, the Republican party or the Democratic
party? The Democrats fought against them
at every stage, the Republicans fought for
them-"do men gather figs ofthorns OF grapes
of thistles?" Is it wisdom TO give up old
friends for new-mOre especially would it be
wisdom in us to do so on the eve of the cleo
| ton. 1t is said that the platform of the
| Democrats is as liberal as the Republicans,
and that they will do as much for us as the
| Republicans will. Assuming this to be so,
| will it do any harm to test their sincerity by
waiting little longer, and let them prove
| their words by deeds, as they can in the
| States under Democratic control, such as
Georgia, Kentucky, and others. When we
remember that they went straight from the
Baltimore Convention with these professions
of friendship on their lips, TO West Virginia,
and voted for constitution which denied to
cOlored men the right to hold Office in that
State and when we remember that colored
men were mObbed for attempting to ride on
the horse-cars in Savannah, Georgia-and
1.-THE Democratic press Of that city upheld the
mOb-haven't we good reason to hesitate
before voting for them? Can anybody blame
us for it? 1t would be injustice to ourselves
and to cur children, and criminal folly for US
to support such party with these facts before
us-''hy their fruits shall We know them"
Brethren, coming up as we are, out Of our
long, dark night of slavery, as we reach the
higher grounds of freedom we pause and look
back upon our weary pilgrimage. The story
of our bondage is one of long suffering, it COW
ers period of centuries of wrongs and out
rage inflicted upon us the dark, receding
lines of our prisOn-house, now fading on the
sight, cover the history of the greatest crime
ever committed upon a race-the untold hor-
rors of American slavery. Let us from these
sacred heights offer thanks to Almighty God
for his sustaining hand and our great deliver
ance. Fellow citizens, we are now TO as
sumo new duties, the responsibilities of citi-
zenship with all its cares are now resting
upon us. and we are called upon to exercise
them. Let us bring to the performance of
them all the intelligence and patriotism we
can command. feel certain that we shall
not disappoinr the hopes Of those who have
confidence in US. Let us in the discharge OF
these duties justify the truth of the hope eI-
pressed for Us by the author Of the em&ncipa-
|, ton proclamation, the martyred Lincoln,
"that we might some day serve to keep the
jewel of liberty in the family OF Freedom"
You know something of the two candidates
for the Presidency. They represent parties
with antagonistic ideas, one the party of pro-
gress and true reform, the other of reaction.