New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-10-23
ttUnT tho Chicago Times
SrnatOr-E Eject PtnCback, Os Louis.
isna, Ta!k. To - Chicago Am-
dicnCe

1HnR. tG!ks To - &htCR:O An
dicnCe
Hon. T. L. =. pinchback, one nf the claim
ants To seat in the Uuited STATES senate
from Louisiana, and now on his way t. Wash
| ington, is stopping in the city, and on last
evening, at the solicitation al Hon. John
Jones and others, addressed his colrrei fell
| low-ctiZens on the status Of the emuncipated
| in the South, at the Oiiyct Baptist church.
The commOdious edtice was crowded.
| Pinchback is generally called a Gocd-lnok-
! ing person of middle age, broad.>houllcrrd.
muscular, alert, and why as panther, and
| it is only By close scrutiny that the Ethiopian
reveals itself in his appearance. His hair is
straight, his forehead is high and broad, and
indicates strength, tenacity, and pugnacity.
| His eve is keen, his nose aquiiiue, aud ii i
only in his lips and closely cropped whiSkrrs
that his quadroon blood makes itself manifest.
! He is a good talker, enunciates with rapiiity,
and his voice is clear and strong. and not
unmusical. There is not even a suggestion
of the negro twans. He is evidently fair
debater, and if hestius the Senate will not
| take Il back seat.
lie said he had been invited Ia deliver an
address on the status OF the colorrd people
of the south In order to do this it was ne
| cessary 10 90 back little. He would not
bring up the horrors of slavery. For more
than two centuries they were in bondage.
At the close OF the war nearly tour millions
of cOlored people, ignorant and poor, were
thrown upon the charities of the world were
literally turned loose. Their enemies said
they were Indoent. Did the facts now patent
bear out this stigma? He believeduot. He
had drawn the picture of the past in few
strokes. He would now speak of the present,
as contrast. In louisiana, at the close OF
the war, ljO, 900 growing youths were in the
state, of whom not 20, 900 attended schools.
These were white; of colOred children it was
needless to speak. They did not attend at
all, but were whipped when seen with Il book
in their hands. Now they had |. loo schools
in the state, and over Toe, 900 scholars, nt
which more than onehalf were c"lorcd. All
the change had been accomplished under
Republican auspices. so much for education.
How was it in the matter of health? Most
of the colored people came into freedom with
out any clothes on their backs. In Louisiana
it was little different. He represented a
class of quadroons, who had white fathers and
cOlOred mothers, who inherited the wealth of
their fathers. The property of these quad
room children was about sl2 900, 900. Now
the cOOred people owned 1000, 900 out of
the taxable property of the State amounting
to 1925 900 900. Though the colorcd people
owned little less than fourth OF the prop
erty, they paid more than Il fourth OF the
taxes, because many OF the wealthy property
owners were taX-resistcrs.
But when it was said that they owned
nearly il fourth of the state all was not said.
The colOrcd men were the producers the
blacks alone titled the soil they were the
only ones who could till it. The productions
of the State amounted yearly to $50 900 900,
aud OF this amount alj, 0OO, 900 was not only
produced hy the coOred people, bu, was
owned By them They were their own pro-
prrtors. These two elements, education and
wealth, made the State. 1t was no di>par-
agctnent for them to be ignorant. But they
were not remaining ignorant, and the progress
they had made in enlightenment was probably
without parallel. In the face of the facts.
it was an outrage to claim that the c"lorrd
people were masking no progress. 1t was
cuutcndcd, after the war, that the free negro
would breed pcsti!cuce and riot, and when
it was found that such things were not com
ing to pass, they tried to make it true by or
ganizing kuklux kans. 1t was also said
that the COiOreh people were dying out.
Neither was this true. They had increased
10 per cent. since the war. IT was also said
they would migrate If they did they would
move south But lac did not believe they
halfway places. There were too many like
himself Prejudice stood still ia the way,
but it va, vanishing. When he went to
school ia Cincinnati III IsIG he did not dare
look decent on the street, for fear Of being
iutten-esged. All this was changed. For
mcrly d,ukcy did not dare pass the front
door OF "a hotel. Now thcy accommodated
him the same d, "A wl'ltc man. THIS wa,
glorious contamination. IL was proof, be-
vond "a. Il, that the cd prejudice was weak
cuiug.
He sometimes lelt Ike thanking the south
efn people trl their madness. But tor their
foil, 10 leap into rebellion, slavery mich have
existed century more.
But they Owed nearly all they We're 10 the
Republican party, and they were bat paying
debt to -tand By it. - long a. the Repub-
lean party vas the paTty Of equal night. they
could belong to no other. There wa nov
some fear that another party would get ahead
Of the Republican party AMI pa-. sumner,
ci,ilTight- ill.
\ great many people who had M obie, ton
to colored man voting, had decided objec-
tons t. voting for a cOlOrel man. But il
happened ia LOul-laDa that the CDlDrrd peO-
pie had about 1900 majority, aud hal
great many white people supporting them. |
EndcI those circumstance il ga. plain that
the Republican ticket won at the last cleC. !
ton In the face Of such facts they Won
1ereI hos u Republican Congr-ss could |
snOrc the Kellogg government, upon whose
success d-Irnded the welfare al ','Nso rlrc-
tor The President had acted uoLly, and
the colored people could never thank him
enough for y hat he had done, aud the EVIL
dence now accommodating would justify hi-
conduct.
He would conclude his address with little ,
advice. lie hoped they would not regard it
as impairment lie felt he belonged 10 them |
in a measure. lie hoped and he be!icged he I
would occupy seat in the United states |
Senate the coming winter. Hence he felt he /
represented them III a measure as no other 4
man did officially. lie then paid high com |
pliment TO Hon. John Jones, as co!ored |
man, citizen, an American citizen. He |
wanted them 10 take All example from him. |
He hoped they would all become John |
II a