Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-05-25
CoLoRED MEMS APPEAL.
A Circular Letter Addressed to the Col
ored Cttlz ems Of the South by Colored
Citizens Of Ohio.

FELLOW CITIZENs:-AR Roman once
said: 81 am man, therefore nothing
that concerns man can be foreign to
me-" We can, with propriety, appro-
pirate this fine sentiment. But there
isa closer relation existing between us.
We are bound together by ties of
consanguinity. A common blood
flows through our veins, and we all
feel the great throb of joy or sor-
row.
But, what other course could the
President have pursued, under the
circumstances? The Republican
Governors of South Carolina and
Louisiana confessed, in official docu-
ments to the Executive, that their
Gubernatorial chairs were totteling;
and that without the Intervention of
the bayonet they would certainly fall.
A voice, loud and peremptory, came
both from North and South, protest
ing against Federal interference, and
praying for local self.government.
The President obeyed that voice.
Butnot without first exactlng the most
binding pledges from HamE ton and
Nichols that they would respect the
amendments to the Constitution,
and give the widest federation to all
political opinions, and protect both
races in the exercises of the elective
franchise. President Hayes has
committed himself to the support
and enforcement eff the constitutional
amendment in hearing OF his country
men, and the Nation will not soon
forget his solemn pledge.
But what are the intentions of the
President in allowing these two
States to 60 to the Democracy? His
intentions are not reasonable but
patriotic. He saw that to support
these two States Governments by an
army would entail bloodshed, and
give rise to endless confusion and
sectional strife. There was but one
way out of a most terrible compli-
Gated difficulty-that way was
through the golden gate OF peace.
He held the olive branch in one hand
and the sword in the other. If the
olive branch was accepted, well and
good; but if not then the sword is to
be applied by heavy hand. We,
colored men of Ohio, have ample
reason to believe that the moment
that the South violates its pledges of
peace and good will toward all men,
that moment President Hayes
will resort to measures adequate to
accomplish what has not been reach
ed through merits of pacification.
He is welded to his policy only as
long as there is reasonable hope of
success. All we ask, without discus
sing in detail the measure or demer-
its of his policy, is that the colored
voters of the South stand still and
behold the results of his policy.
Place no obstacle in its way; give
vent to no disapproval, and spare an
honest man the pain your prejudg-
ment would occasion.
We have come to an epoch in
our history when we must exercise
faith; for, if we reason too much
about this Southern policy, we shall
find ourselves running counter to our
dearest hopes and most cherished
plans. The celebrated sentence of
Thomas Paine, penned during the
dark hours of the revolution, may be
reproduced: "There are times that
try mems souls" But an unfalter-
ing trust in God, and an unwavering
confidence in the honored Chief
Executive of the Nation, will give
abundant opportunity for the testing
OF policy which at present many are
wont to regard with dlsfavor. If we
had the slightest reason to doubt the
honesty or political integrity of Pres
ident Hayes, we would not encpur-
age you to aid his Southern meas
ures, either by sympathy or act,
Please believe us your true friends,
your brothers in the flesh, and in the
faith Of the grandest Republic since
the days of Caesar.
GEORGE w. WILLIAMS.
ALFRED J. ANDERSON.