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

LAKE VILLAGE, ARK, Aug. 90, 1872.
To the Editor Of the Nep National Era:
Permit me the favor of little Of you
valuable space to say few words, as 6
Southern colored man, in regard to the Opin
ions expressed and course pursued by the
Hon. Charles Sumner as they appear by his
now famous letter of the 29th ult. The I'M
We here have only the mails to depend upon
for outside news) caused it to be late ere we
saw this letter, but some things therein con.
tanned seemed to be so different from oul
conceptions that ono feels constrained to
assert the contrary.
Now, sir, it seems presumptuous in me to
attempt in any manner to contradict any
statement that may have been, or may be,
made by the great Charles Sumner, and so ]
suppose some of my colored friends will con-
slider it !; but there are times when it becomes
the duty of the humblest citizen to enter the
list, even against the most powerful and
talented, especially when he sees his people
about to be misled, either willfully or mis-
takenly. This consider one of those times,
and though many ADLER than have already
manifested their dissent from the opinions OF
Mr.. Sumner, it is idle to disguise the fact that
some of our people are blindly following him
to the camp of tho enemy.
The whole affair in regard to this letter is,
though very grave matter, to certain eX-
tent, amusing. A dozen men and boys in
the city of Washington, priding themselves
upon their intelligence and education, take
upon themselves to go to Mr.. Sumner in the
name of the celored people of the United
States, and ask him in that name as to what
should be the proper course Of said people in
the coming election. A purely self-consti-
tuted committee, who will, take it, as citi-
Gems of the District, occupy very small
share in this campaign, and who venture to
speak in behalf of aud by authority Of the
people, the mass Of whom were utterly igno-
rant Of any such authority. And what do
they say? That, in effect, they (the men
and boys) are in doubt as to the candidate
for whom the colored people should vote, and
they request Mr.. Sumner to make a state
ment relieving them of that doubt, solemnly
assuring him that thousands of colored
voters-intelligent ones will follow his state
ment and advice. They were in doubt!
Why, would say to those gentlemen that if
they come to this part of the country we will
take them to the cotton-felds and show them
thousands of unlettered black men, with the
cotton sacks on their backs, who have not
ant rXosr 30 Al
colored voters Of the nation should take in
the Presidential contest now pending" since
the Cincinnati Convention adjourned. We
may often learn from infants. I doubt not
that my highly intelligent colored friends of
the city of Washington (the men and boys,
mean,) might learn something in regard to
the choice of candidates in a g Presidential
contest" from even the untutored laborer in
the cotton-Geld.
The statement of their doubts and petition
was preceded by the fulsome hattery so COM
monty bestowed by our prominent men on
the honorable Senator, and which seems in
this instance to have been rendered in order
to draw the apparently sleeping statesman
from his state of political lethargy, to inn
mortalize the names of the signers of the
doubling letter (the men and boys aforesaid)
by making them appear in the newspapers as
the cause Of the great Senator's letter.
The result was that, on the goth of July,
Mr.. Sumner, after eighteen days. reflection,
pens letter which struck the American
people with astonishment-a letter which
shows that even the great Charles Sumner,
the paragon Of American statesmen, the
worshiped of the black man of both North
and South, does not disdain to make misrep-
reservations, either willfully or by mistake,
in order to crafty personal spite, or to
carry point Of defeating the candidate of
the party to which he professedly belongs, be-
cause he has personal objections to that can
didate. If these Misrepresentation were
made by mistake, then we may express sur
prise that man like the Senator would make
them without the fullest information, or on
the most unquestioned authority, as was his
wont; If they are made willfully, we are yet
more astonished that he, of all others, should
stoop to mislead race of people, urging
them to submit to their lifelong and invet-
crate enemies, by making statements which
be knew a: the time were not true. We
should never have supposed even that the
Hon. Charles Sumner could have been guilty.
Of such; but, when we consider how well
informed he usually keeps himself, and think
OF his well-known craftsmanship and unques-
toned ability, We are forced to confess that
it looks much like the latter assumption is
the true one.
The whole letter seems to be craftily COM
posed-to suit the particular prcjudices-to
meet and arouse the well-known tendencies
Of the colored people ON one or two points.
They are carefully informed that President
Grant had designs upon "Hayti, with its
100000 blacks engaged in the great expert
ment OF self-government," and that certain
overt acts were committed, though what real
harm was done does not distinctly appear; that
he insulted the whole colored people in the
person ofthe Hon. Frederick Douglass, (Which
statement Mr.. Douglass, believe. has since
characterized as grossly misconstrued y and
after carefully telling all that he thinks will
incense the colored men against the Presi-
dent very unfairly closes without ,,ttar;pc