The Indianapolis leader. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1879-1890, 1880-05-01
The Cincinnati Meeting.
Continued from First Page.

dicti IN OF his bill. He saws that he co
q suited thirty prominent citizens. Ho
r does 1t happen that not one of those thir
: prominent citizens was colorcd? He m
hundreds of his colored fellow citizens
r that time He must have b; en- consultir
{ his white fellow citizens hourly. Y
e strange to say, this matter, so uppermo
e in his mind, the subject of so many co..
I situations, was not mentioned to any OF
of the colored men and women who we,
so vitality interested in it.
, Is it not evident that he meant to carr
through secretly measure which he kne
, was contrary to the interests of the clas
, of his constituents who had the best rigf
to look to him for defense of their rights
/ Mr.. Williams talks of having consulte
the Attorney General and the chairma
, of the judiciary committee, and woul
have us infer that this was done out of
tender regard for the rights OF the colore
people, The truth is, he wanted to b
sure that when his trap was sprung,
should hold securely the victims he had Sc
it for. He processes that the undue hast,
with which he pressed his bill to a pas
sage $50 minutes were consumed In pas
sing it through both Housts). was becaus,
the advancing season rendered 1T necessary
to act promptly. Here, as in all the state
ments of Mr.. Williams. the truth Is found
in direction opposite to where be would
have us believe it is.
| Some years ago the nabobs of Avondale
essayed to close the cemetery in the same
manner as now; but a member OF the
Hamilton County delegation gave us warn
ing and we defeated the measure. Will
liams and his abettors knew that if we
bod h,,< <cyo finn RI r,ro
pare protest, so strongly is justice on our
side, that the Legislature would refuse to
pass the bill. In this session it was con-
with indecent haste.
1t is not true that the meeting was in
the hands OF Mr.. Williams political
enemies. Mr.. Levin Brown, the chairman,
is one of our oldest and most valued citi.
zens. He is no politician, but has many
times fillet. such posts of honor as we have
to bestow. His name is the synonym Of
probity, and he was never an enemy to
any true man, white or black.
Mr.. Benjamin Graves, the principal
speaker, has probably spent more money,
and, with one exception, lent more active
aid to Williams than any other man in
Cincinnati. He did not criticise Williams
because he boarded at the Gibson, but be-
cause he said, II am representing white
men, and not Negroes"
For once he spoke the truth. He had
come to consult his AvOndale employees
as to the sufficiency of the bill which he
prepared for their benefit, and to the detri.
ment of his colored cons ituents.
When he sneaked through the city in
the early hours Of Friday morning, which
preceded the adjourn neht of the Legisla-
lure, seeking to avoid every eye of the out
ragged cplored people, fastening to Wash
ington to hide there for few days until
the storm should blow over, he was met
by Mr.. Graves, to whom he confessed his
fault, and said, Ny only chance Of getting
out OF the scrape was to get up personal
controversy with some one, and | chose
YOU" OF course he will deny this, but in
this community, where both men are
known, Mr.. Graves word stands unim-
peachable evidence of his devotion to the
literary and political interests OF Williams.
He was one Of the committee VIII, remon.
strated against the removal of Williams
from the ticket-a thing that surely would
have been done, if there had not been
firm protest against it.
The mate untruthfulnessi is shown, when
he calls meeting managed by such per-
sons-a meeting of his political enemies
AS for myself, | have always seconded
Williams since have known him. At the
feeling against him in the breasts of MANY |
colored persons A call was in circulation
for a meeting demanding that he be taken |
from the ticket. At this point came for
ward, worked night and day to allav the |
the feeling, called and addressed meetings |
n his behalf, and throughout the campaign |
and upon the platform, worked Loyalty for |
him.
Mr. Bell also stood by him as he did by |
he whole Republican ticket, Of the |
speakers there remains but Mr.. VIM. Alex |
.nder, who, while he had many serious
objections, did not oppose him when his |
was in jeopardy, and when |
very slight effort would have pushed him
rom the ticket.
You will wonder how man 80 unpopu-
ar came to he elected. Two things will
explain it:
The Republicans, with an eye to the
United States Senatorship, stood by the leg
slative ticket with great unanimity. Be-
,idesthis, many Democrats voted for him.
because, as they phrased it, they wanted
% put bad niger upon the Republic
ans" Notwithstanding this, he ran
nearly 1000 behind his ticket.
Why you drag the Gaines High
school into the matter, l can not under
stand. That school exists for the same
reason that the Colored American Gene
cry exists : because the prejudices Of the
whites in this locality will not permit the
of the races upon terms of equali.
y either in the school or the graveyard.
No man here or elsewhere is more out
spoken in his opposition to separate
schools than the "fellows' who are en-
pIoyed in Gaines High School. II George |
tells the truth about his age,
which is doubtful, one OF those "fel- |
ows" did veteran service for the cause of |
equality in every walk of Amer IAN life |
before he was born, and age has not chang |
I'd him hairs breadth in that respect.
Finally, Mr.. Williams comes to the front |
with his oft repeated story of his many and |
yrievous wounds. But his wounds, il he |
be really wounded, are no excuse for wrong
1oing.
The wound which Benedict Arnold re-
ceived at Ticonderoga did not excuse his |
treason at West Point He boasts of his
wonderful services to the Republican
party. / do not undertake to say of how
much value he has been to the party, but
this do say-he has done it all in less
than four years; for just before his nomi-
nation by the Republicans in 1877. he de-
clared, in a communication to the Com
mercial that he had never made Repub-
lican speech nor cast Republican ballot
How this TALES with the fact that he had
held clerkship in tn Treasury Depart
ment, at Washington, under the Republi