Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1876-11-18
THE COLORED VOTER.

LII Gl1lo N1Gy VI hhS JSt
of grace. A. d. 1876, you have bee
told that if the democratic party W;
successful, and if Mr.. Tilden was cleo
ed you would be remanded back I'M
slavery. Well. the democratic part
has been successful, Mr.. Tilden is cleo
ed. and there is not an intelligent co
ored man in Lafayette county who h:
the least fear that his personal liberty
in danger, or that his right before I'll
law, in every way equal to those of
white man, will be in the least impair
ed. What must we infer from this
That your leaders when they made sue
statements to you were resorting
the tricks of the demagogue, and wei
presumlng on your ignorance. Only
short time ago we had a constitution:
convention in the state of Missouri.
state democratic by fifty thousand m:
jority. it consisted of sixty tour demo
Gratis and six republicans, and in tn
bill of rights they inserted this section
That there cannot be in this state either SLAYER
or involuntary servitude except US u punishniel
for crime, whereof the party shall have been DIT
ly convicted"
They could have left that claus
cut of the constitution, they were no
particularly called on to place it there
but they did it to assure your race an
the country that the democratic part
was sincere when it said that it accepte'
the amendments to the constitution il
good faith, and would do nothing t.
overturn them. You have been turtle
told that the democratic party is al
enemy to the public school system. ant
especially to the education Of your chill
dren. The law which sets aside on,
fourth OF the current revenue for schoo.
purposes was passed in 1855. by u dem
ocratic Legislature, before there was any
republican party in existence, and it i:
the law to-day. 1t has stood the vlcisi.
tudes of wal, of rancor and of party rage:
no one has dared attack it, and no one
will. The same constitutional conven'
ton above alluded to says: article Nj,
sec. 1.
A general diffusion of knowledge and intelli-
gence being essential to the preservation of the
rights and liberties Of the people, the genera
assembly shall establish and maintain free pub
lie schools for the gratuitous instruction of all
persons in this state between the ages of six and
twenty years."
Is there any distinction made against
you in this section OF the fundamental
law of the state? 1t says all persons, it
does not say all white persons, and still
was ratified in democratic Missouri
by $4,000 majority. 1t further says:
Separate free public schools shall be estab-
lished for the education of children of Aft lean
Mark it, it does not say may be, but
shall be established, and under the law
you are entitled to your share of the
public school funds. More than that the
school boards generally, we
might say always when you ask it, ap-
colored teachers for your children.
One thing they do not do, and that is to
collect from you a pro rata of. taxes in
proportion to what they pay out for you.
Take all these things into consideration,
do You still think it is fair to say
democrats are not your friends?
There was some talk before the recent
of intimidation of colored voters
n this county by democrats, in order to
prevent them from voting for Hayes nd
Wheeler, but the only cases of intimida-
ion which we heard of. were from color
ID republicans against colored men who
to vote all or part of the demo-
'ratic ticket. 1t is wrong to intimidate
my man in regard to his franchise be
10 black or white, democrat OF republi-
AN. DC 2cg ae,ha ahh'rr Il any. mofehssstigP5tto lie
,-D you, colored voters, is that you do
OF think for yourselves. You let a few
eaders, who have no use for you except
Or your ballot. lead you by the nose,
nd WELD you as a political club with
Inch to accomplish their purposes.
hey inflame your passions by stories of
during the war, as if they
you too, had not INDUCED in deeds
blood in those days. They cry out to
on, ''did these democrats vote for the
but forget to tell you that
ley had DISTINGUISHED the most of us so
lat We could not vote at all. If YOU
'ould be men you should shake off these
lackles OF political bondage. and think
r yourselves. 1t is to your interest
at you should be divided between the
'lltlcal parties, and if you did your
"n thinking you would be. We know
e strong bond of gratitude which
nds you to the republican party. They
III You that it freed you, but that is
lily partly true, for while the admins
alton which guided the war was re-
'%olican, a large number of the fight
G men of the northern army were dem
rats, and without them the war for the
would have been an ignominious
lure. They tell you that the demo-
attic party is the party of slavery.
lat IS not true, because the wings of
e south were as strong pro slavery /,
as the democrats, and the demo- {
OF the north were as strongly your l
as the wings, and these were the
that existed before the war, the ;
publican party only having gained a i
'thold in its incipiency. and not then a
abolition declarations, the war be- t
!, waged for the union, and your lib !
'tlon being one Of its events, and not i
g OF its causes. Look at the south
day. Georgia, largely democratic tor Q
years. and your people prospecting u
: accommodating property. Louisiana n
der Kellogg, and your people impov- S
shed. Sonth Carolina. whnrn tho Il
'cks largely outnumber the whites, !.
If people tired OF republican misrule q
freely and of their own volition, a
intimidation from the republican v
G to deter them, given the state GOV u
'ment into the hands OF a southern -
leral and gentleman, Wade Hampton, b
they will never regret it, for he will O.
ng order out OF chaos. and will CIV u
~ al