New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-08-13
AIKEN, S. c., August, 1874.

AIKEN, >. u, August, 1914.
TdMe Editor orMe Ne,o National Era:
With the festive thermometer at eighty
odd degrees in the shade, seize my pen,
"that mighty instrument of little men," and
dipping it into the cavernous mouth of my
ink horn, proceed to send you few sings of
the black fluid.
l have read with much qualification the
communication Cadet Smith published some
weeks ago in your valuable journal. heart
lily admire the stand he takes, and the "show
ing up" he has given to Professor Niche
and the Secretary of War. What a farce
seems this republican government, ''the best
the world ever saw when at an institution
supported and maintained by taxes paid by
colored and white alike, man because he is
a colored man, has denied him the right to be
educated, and finds himself dismissed on the
most fllmsy of pretexts. "Can such things
be:' Can men high in authority allow the
unbridled prejudice Of white cadets and the
corps of professors to influence them to per-
form an act at once unjust and wrong: 1t
has been done, however, and another insult
has been offered the colored people.
The political cloud is fast rising in this
Commonwealth, and the buglc notes of the
campaign have been sounded. Reform is the
cry from the mountain to the seaboard, ech-
oed alike by Democrat and Republican. The
leaders of the Republican party seem in earn
est, and mean, if possible, to stop and put
and put an end to the pillagmg of white rem
egades and carpet-baggers who have plunged
their hands deep into the public purse, and
left the colered people to bear the odium at
tcndant upon such acts.
The State Republican executive committee
have issued their address, which, doubtless,
you have already seen. 1t contains good adj
vice, which, if followed, will redeem the
party fIom the errors of the past years and
bring peace and its attendant blessings to us.
There is one sentiment in the address, how
ever, which fails to meet my approval and
that of host of citizens of this State, re-
fer to that in which the colored people are
held solely responsible for the misdeeds of
the party. l venture to assert here that
there does not exist upon the face Of the
globe race of people who are less RESPONSE
bic for the condition of things here than the
Woodworking colorcd voters of South Carroll
ma. believe in putting the blame W here it
belongs, not saddling upon the much
abused Southern ycomanry that which be-
longs to the leaders of the party. white and
black alike. Lay the blame to the carpet
bag element, the rotten, debased corrupt
white men from beyond Mason and DiXon's
line. They are the cause of the present de-
plorable condition Of. affairs-they and the
Democracy. 1t must be confessed also that
some of the colored men, leaders among the
people of their race, have had a hand in the
work of pillagc, and being blinded by the
FEASIBILITY of their white allies, have al
lowed themselves to be bribed to the perform
ance of acts condemnatory in every respect.
But, thank Heaven, the promise is to weed
out all of this class, and supply their places
with men of honor, intelligence aud capacity.
The gubenatorial election, coming of in
November, has caused candidates without
number TO spring up and set forth their re-
spective claims. Moses and Chamberlain
thus far seem to have the inside track. Saw
yer looms up in the distance as the candidate
of the National Administration, while the
names of Robertson, U. S. Senator; }. b.
Kershaw, of the {. S. A., and Ex-Governor
VIM. Aiken are put prominently forward by
few of the papers as suitable persons to
wear the executive robe.
As to who will be the next Congressman
it is hard to tell. On dit that Hon. Il. B.
Elliott will resign his seat and run for the
State Legislature from one of the counties Of
his district. Calamitous, if true. Aaron
Alpeora Bradley, the agitator, and an APT