The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1880-04-15
The Negro.

scarcely reach any turtner tnau tne WAT
and the emancipation of the negro, the
negro is a conundrum which we have
failed to fully understand, guess or
solve, excepting those that were wise
enough to place their political afilia>
tiops with the honest, true and upright
white men of the country, to be guided
by their advice, and to look to them tor
support and protection from those who
were base enough to take advantage OF
their ignorance and popular prejudices.
Often hsSe we pitied them, especially
in the years past when they were so iu-
fatuated, SO carried away by those known
as carpet baggers and scalawags, whose
aims were nothing more than plum
der, theft aud Office at the expense ard,
I might say ruin, of both black ape
white, who were supported and elected
to said Offices by the negroes. at the
sitting of nearly every court in the
State during Radical rule, there were
negroes arraigced for trial for the worst
of crimes, the cause Of which, IN almost
every instance when properly traced out,
proved to be that they were led to COM
init these crimes by the advice OF some
Radical "headlight."
There is no denying it-these men
had the negro completely under their
control, and had instilled into him the
beliet that such q course as he was pur-
suing was not only a safeguard to his
right of suffrage, but. to him, the only
poiitical economy that would secure tor
him those other rights which they also
taught him he ought to have, such as
the 40 acres of land and a mule, abso.
lnte and social equality with the white
man. to all rights ard privileges given
him by this government. By taking
this view of the situation, we can un'
3erstand to some extent why the negro
has been so vehemenAy and determine
edly arrayed in opposition to the white 1e
man. ,...,
For long time there was but little
disposition on the part Of the white
people to ostracise the negro on account
Of his politics; and to tell the TRUTH at
heart I believe most of the white people
were inclined to ''look over" and excuse
the course the average negro took 10
~oI;,;oo The NEGROES. having been the
Slaves of the white people, their being
led in opposition to their former owners
was not only quite natural to the H.
stincts of man, but ofsuch easy tendency
that it did not require ''sbarpers" and
trained tricksters merely to take ad-
vantage of the situation and bring about
lust such state of things as now exist.
But the time has come when there is
no ground for any further sympathy or
excuse for the negro being Radical; and
when I say Radical, mean his follow.
ing up and allowing himself be led
BY those he knows nothing about, simply
because they claim to be his friends and
to belong to "de party" As beings
capable of thinking and acting for them
selves, they have seen enough to con.
vince them of their error. Where are
their leaders, the despoilers of our State,
the men they tied to, swore to, such as
Chamberlain, Patterson, Whittemore
and Moses Gone, perhaps, never to
return. When justice was about to
overtake them, and when the chance to
plunder the State, take bribes and get
Office were at an end, they left the ne
gro poor and badly demoralized, with no
political friends, unless they were among
the Democrats, with the bag to hold.
Three years have passed since then,
and the negro has both seen ard felt
the good effects of Democratic rule,
which is as much in his favor and as
much for his prosperity and protection
as for Ms; yet he seems to be changing
to himself" and keeping up his hereto
fore estrangement politically. Only the
casual observer eau see plainly that he
IL, as I beard an old Eegro short time
ago say, "laying in soak to eesas out
ehis fall a worse rampant Radical than
ever at the first toot of the Radical
horn"
All the while the negro has beer
NOR or less pet of the white people
whether for his vote or his labor, We
are not ale to say; at any rate, they
were petted. How often 1 have seen the
negro given the preference to the poor
white man in the renting of land, bring
and buying goods on credit aud they
are petted in that way to some extern
vet; but not so much 30, and it won''
be long before this order of procedure
will have yearly ceased altogether, fol
reasons, some of which l will attempt
to give, and which stand out too plainly
to be contradicted or misunderstood.
To come right to the point, | Say
without some great changes politically
and otherwise, in very few years tn
negro will be showed out from among
nL .o,,, boo. r,;no m he mori