The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1878-10-19
mo Color Lime inn Politics .,

- Se' Aanury, the Poster, publish
under the auspices of the Republican Pari,
! executive committee" The article in ouesti
~ erlt'cism OF short article that appear
Al recent number of our good democrat
ne'ghoor' the Washington Neecs. That artc
- Is IN these words: "Plautatious are infect.
with independent democrats and blatant r.
pnbllcans, always travelling together. motif
."s iaoorers OF club meetings, regstratic
u"ys' e1c'; forbearance may reach a certai
point and go no further. Some of these pol
uclans may find GLIB meeting which NAV II,
be very agreeable to them"
The Poster asks. "Why should not iudepcn,
ents and republicans organize colored clul
!, ana notify c"lored voters to register9 Is
J, intended again to draw the color line 2"
There is no reason why Independents an
Republicans should not organize colorcd club
and notify colored voters to register" excep
that the organization of such clubs by tn
leaders of the Returning Board party is don
with the mschlevous and corrupt purpose O
plunglng this unhappy State again into th
, horrors and miseries that were brought nm,
1t by the corrupt rule of that party uude
"armoth and Kellogg. But there is in tn,
oplnlon OF the owners of plantations, good rea
son why their private premises should not bs
trespassed upon, and their farming interests
iuterfered with
There are public places where these thinos
could be done without injury to private rights
NO man has right to enter the premises OF
another without his permission, unless it be in
the performance of official duty, under sane
ton OF judicial authority. 1t is an off;euse to
do so,-an otfense defined and punishable by
law, aud we have no doubt that it was this
view that the Washington Ne,cs took of the
matter when it indited the article over which
the Roster IS trying to get up a fuss.
AS to drawing the color line, the complers
OF the Poster know we'll that that policy origi-
mated with Radical leaders throughout the
South. 1t has been the policy of the leaders
OF the party i'll st. Landry ever since the days
OF Emerson Bentley, Vidal, Durand and 9TH
ers. 1t is their policy to-day; and the strong
est appeal that is made by them to the colored
man is that the Republican party is the only
party i'll which there is safety for hiu-that it
Is par excellence the colored mau $ party. There
is scarcely day that passes, for mont hs prior
to an election, that this appeal is not made to
the colored man III private conversations, in
newspaper articles and in addresses at their
club meetings. There is scarcely d day that
passes that they are not reminded of the fact
that the white men Of the South, who prnci-
pally make up the Democratic party in that
section of the Union, were formerly slave
holders-their masters, and are told that they
are now lnlmieaI to them; strongly opposed
to their enjoyment OF freedom or of any of the
rights and privileges of citizenship; and that
II the Democratic party should succeed in OBJ
tanning possession of the State and General
governments, it will reduce the blacks of the
South again t0 a state of slavery.
This color line is the line upon which white /
Radicals IN the South are always to be found i
They have succeeded for many years upon ,
this line, III the greater portion of this State |
and i'll s0uIe other southern states. The issue |
made by them has sometimes, eliminated in |
bloody riots, in which the deuded black man !
was invariably the aggressor and the greatest
sufferer. The only white men in the south
who are responsible for these unfortunate col
llslOns are the leaders and wire workers of
the Radical party. They are the only men
who have protited BY the estrangement be-
tween the white and colored races consequent
upon the drawing of this color line.
In most of the southern states, the blacks
have discovered how little dependence is to be
put i'll these white Radical demagogues, and
their coworkers of the black race they have
found out how hollow and insincere were all
their professions of attachment to and inter
est in the welfare of the colored race; how
mischievous and delusive were all their teach
ngs; how intensely selfish and ignoble were
The motives that lay at the bottom of their
conduct and they have abandoned them and
gone i'll large numbers over to the support of
,he Democratic party and the cause of justice
md good government. This has been the case !
llso in some Of the parishes Of this State; but ,
lere i'll st. Landry, though there are many ill.,
lividual cases of this abandonment of these t
we are sorry to that the i
mass OF the col0red people still have some con- ,
idenee in them and are disposed still to be i,
nisled and deceived by them.
1t is surprising that they will permit them L
elves to be humbngged and led astray by r
hese prating politicians, after SD many exam =
Hes of the faisity of their statements concern
ng the Democratic party has been given them.
This absurd charge that the Democratic
'arty was opposed to the colored man and to
he enjoyment of his rights under the law, and
ntent upon reducing him to IA state Of slavery,
ve have heard repeated, as it now is, at every III
lection that was held in this State since the
var. Ihe Democrats have had possession of
he State government for two years. and the d
olored mans rights are to-day better secured o
nd protected, he is in far better relation Q
nth the whites OF the country than he ever e
'as since the war. ii
This color line business, of which white and Fl
lack Radical demagogues are SO fond, has not
lways resulted SO very pleasantly and sue
esstully for those who indulge in it. Bentley, e'
'urand and others drew the line here in 1868, C
nd they drew it too tight, too hard many -,
Dt hurt Blunt and other Inischievous dema-
Dgues of Natchtoches have recently drawn U
le line there, but it has failed them; they ID
ave been met by the whites upon their own
round, and they have betaken themselves to -
ght and to lies, to try aud create Il sensation '"
ld revive the practice of intimidating Demo- u
attic voters by Federal interference. The Ca
sy, however, has passed and we Think for 81
'er, when United States soldiers will invade u-
e soil of sovereign State with the unconsti- III
tional and tyrannical purpose of suppressing
iblic sentiment and overaweng free white AT
lnerican citizens in the exercise of their elect !,
9 franchise. The cause of the Radical dem os
rogue. OF Radical corruption and peculation Pc
u no longer be supported by Federal bayo- oc
us. The people have risen up everywhere,
the purpose of putting down forever this 81
use ana ail those who have supported it, and no
ey mean to do it. 1t is we'll enough for these r"
aGaht leaders, orators and candilatessof the Ia
adleai party to take cegnizance of this be- Bf
re they go too far in their nIschieyous work So
arfaying the colored man on the color line ~
am. ihe Democratic party has for wears IN
81 attempted to prevent the establishing of Re
IS line put II these persons persist in estab.
ming It, democrats have no fears of il. They w
4 not fear it when Federal soldiers were In
esent on the soil of eur State ready TO do So
Didding OF the managers of the Republi- I,
9 party. Much less do they fear it now. Id
That the Democratic party is opposed to !
ase race issues; is strongly in favor of ami Il
Die relations between the two races ID de- Ia
mined that the government shall be admin r
ared in the interest of all oanfl aud I,r, ~;