Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-09-29
THE CONVENTION A=D JflE
COLOR LINE.

relates to the subject of education and
the measures adopted for its increase.
The first change made by the proposed
amendments to this article calls our
attention to the position taken by tie
Convention upon what is called the
''color line." The second section OF
this article reads as follows:
SEC. 2. The General Assembly at
it's first session under this Constltu-
ton, shall provide by taxation and
otherwise for a general ana uniform
system of public schools, wherein tn
ticn shall be free of charge to all chll>
dren of the State, between the ages of
six and twenty-one years.
The amendments now pending be-
fore the people for ratification propose
to add to this section these words:
"And the children of the white race
and the children of the coiored race
shall be taught in separate pubic
schools, but there shall be no discrlm-
nation made in favor of or to the PEE
iudice of either race"
The amendments propose also to
add to the fourteenth article of the
Constitution. a new section as follows:
Sec. z. All marriages between a
white person and negro, or between
white person and pers IN of negro
descent to tibet bird generation inclu-
sive, are hereby forever prohibited.
It will be seen from these amend
ments, therefore, that the Convention.
controlled as it was by Democrats,
placed itself squarely upon the color
i line, and declared in unmistakable
| terms that the two races must be kept
separate and distinct. Was this right
or was it wrong? Ought the law to
permit white children and negro child
rem to sit side by side at school, upoa
terms of perfect social equality :?
Ought marriages between white and
blacks to be permitted by the law If
so. let the Candy Constitution remain
as it is. If, however, these things be
shocking to the sentiment and feeling
of the white race, let the amendments
be ratified.
There is no hope for any efficient
educational system in North Carolina
any public educational system, we
mean, that will be in reach of the
great mass of the white children
in the State-so long as under the
organic law of the State it is pos
sible to force white children and
black children to associate together
upon terms of equality. White men
will not send their boys TO school with
negro boys. AS to sending their daugh-
with blood before they will do 1t.
They cannot be forced to do so even
at the point of the bayonet. White
men everywhere, certainly South
ern white men, regard them>
selves as belonging to race
different from, and superior to, the
negro race, and so believing they nat
u1ally find themselves in the ranks Of
the Democratic party. The Demo
cratic party is the white mans party,
end rightly SO too, for while 1t seeks
to do no injury to the negro, it is
almost entirely composed of white
men. On the other hand, the Radical
party is composed in almost equal de-
gree of negroes. birds of feather
will flock together 1t is but natural
for white men to go together, and it is
natural for negroes to do SO, and those
with the negroes.
The few white men in the Radical
party are obliged to yield to demands
for whatever equality their more nu-
merous negro allies may make upon
them. The Convention that framed
tile Candy Constitution passed an ordi
nance under which white man named
Thornton and a negro woman are to
day man ard wife. Radical Governor
Holden made negro, named Hood, AS
sistant Superintendent Of Public In
struction. The last Radical Congress-
ional Convention but one, in this district
by formal resolutions declared itself IN
favor of sending children to school
without regard to race or color The
white delegates to that Convention ate
at the same table at the same time and
from the Same dishes with the negro
delegates. In Jones county under
Radical rule we have the revolving
spectacle of public auctions at which
negroes bid off white people. In
BERTHE county we also fnd white
people made slaves under negro mas
tiers. In Wilkes and in New Hanover
we find white orphans made wards of
negro masters. The negro O'Hara is
to day a Radical candidate for Elector
and every white man who wishes
Hayes and Wheeler elected must vote
for negro if be would help them.
Negro magistrates and negro consta-
bles. negro1egislators, and even negro
Congressman, are no rare sights among
negro constituencies.
But it needs no argument to prove
the practices and the precepts, the ten
denotes and the teachings of the Rad
ical party on this question. The.e is
not Radical newspaper, there will not
be Radical candidate or Radical
speaker in North Carolina who will
, dare say that negro men and negro
| women are inferior to white men and
white women save in the matter oil
educational temporary inferiority be.
Z cause of white mastership, and onf
! that may be overcome by few years
f study at school. They will none
them dare assert that the negro is not
the equal of the white man in any
3 respect save in such matters as grow
out of education. The reason of al