Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-01-10
The Negro Before and After Election.

Inc Negro before anu After ElectlOh.
The Philadelphia Bulletin, a Republic
can organ of the red hot variety, has
the following:
1T is not at all likely that the negro
politicians in Washington, who are ex
pressing, through the medium of the
newspaper correspondents, the opinion
that the negro race will be wronged if
Gen. Garfield does not invite black man
to enter his Cabinet, represent with accu-
racY any considerable number OF the
members of their race. There are Sc
rious reasons for doubling if the great
mass of the Southern negroes, upon
whose services to the Republican party
this claim that black man should have
such a position is founded, really
know what a Cabinet is or what a Cabi-
net officer has to do. The chances are,
therefore. that not many of them have
ever given the matter a moments
thought; and the assertion that their 10y
atty to the party will be in any measure
ieopardized by the refusal of General
Garfield so 10 honor one of their color is,
therefore, simply absurd. As for the in
telligent negroes in the North, most of
them are engaged in business and they
have little fondness for active politics.
''The notion that the negro race, SIM
ply because it contains so many voters
who vote sOlidlY for single party,
must, therefore, and as matter Of course,
be fully represented in the public offices,
is not justified by sound sense. The
destiny of the race is not necessarily to
hold Office. That is not the chief end of
man, nor is it the very highest kind of
felicity. The theory that the blacks will
not have full justice done to them until
they are allotted certain clerkships and
post offices is intrinsically absurd. What
the race wants much more than any
thing else is to improve its intellectual
and material condition. to acquire edu-
cation, and to learn how to conduct
those industrial pursuits which bring
wealth.
If, three months ago, Democratic
paper had ventured to express similar
sentiments, the Bulletin would have
printed them in italics at the head of its
columns as proof positive of Democratic
hostility to the enfranchised blacks. 1t
would have argued that party which
declared, through recognized organ,
that "there are serious reasons for
doubling whether the great mass
of Southern negroes really know
what a Cabinet is or what
Cabinet officer has to do, was unfit to
be trusted with those results of the
war" which are dressed in black. Now,
however, when Southern and Northern
negroes have voted the Republican ticket
and the spoils of Republican victory are
to be distributed, they are told to take
the back seat, and kicked because they
want chance on the front one. 1.-THE
cruel war is over and no negro need ap
ply" The sublime impudence of this
inconsistency will appear more clearly
when we remember that the stalwarts,
for whom the Bulletin speaks, insist that
the South shall be reduced to territorial
condition if necessary because of its dis
like to negro rule. Because Louisiana,
Mississippi, South Carolina and the rest
will not wear the African yoke, they
must be disciplined with bayonets. But
when the Africans intimate that repre-
sentative in the Cabinet would be agree
able to them, they are informed that
"the destiny of the race is not necessarily
to hold off1ce!'
We do not know how many more les
sons of this sort the colored people will
need before they learn that the Republi-
can party has no use for them except to
vote