The People's vindicator., 1881-02-26
Cool Com IOrt.

The delegation of African Americans
which called on General Garfield at
Mentor recently for the purpose Of
pressing upon the attention of the Pres.
dent-elect the claims of the negro Re-
publicans to representation in the new
Cabinet got rather cool comfort. That
oleaginous orator and odoriferous poll.
tician, Il. B. Elliott, Of South Carolina,
was spokesman for the delegation. In
reply to his singularly sweet and Sc.
ductive remarks General Garfield said,
in substance, that he thought the col.
ored brethren must first be educated
before they could expect to cope with
their white fellow-citizens in political
management, and that the reason why
the majority of the citizens in some
portions of the South arc oppressed by
the minority, as alleged by Elliott, is
that "a trained man is two or three
men in one in comparison with an un.
trained man. This is undoubtedly
true, but it does not cover the whole
ground, and General Garfield knowsveE :
we'll that it does not. 1t is not intelll'
gence alone that enables min0rltles to
control majoritics. Is it the superior
wit of the factory boss that enables HIM
to control the votes of the operatives!
Is it "book larnin'" that clothes the
rich manufacturer with power to marshal
his unwilling workman to the polls 70
vote the ticket he places in their hands,
Not by any means. 1t is the contr@
which money gives alike to the lntelll,
gent and the ignorant employer ahu
the more ignorant the employer the
more eager will he be to assert q brutal
sway over the rights of his employees.
When General Garfield BETRAYED MS
own ignorance of well known literary
fact by attributing the rhyme OF Nes
Merillies to "some Scotch poet VINO
said or put it in the mouth OF some
prophet to say, that the time Woalo
corie when Bertram's right and beE'
trans might shall meet on hllanso'
wan height he simply sought 10 eA'
press the idea that right in order TO es'
tablish itself must be sustained by aue-
quate force. But that adequate force or
cannot be altogether intellectual. line
proper cultivation of the mind IS uh'
doubtedly an agent in its prod'lct',on'
but the tenlNe of land, the ownership
of capital and above all and better thal
ali, a brave and Independent spirit arc
not always the outcome of 4 Liberal euu 1
cation. On the other hand poverty anu
dependence for a livelihood on tne
favor of the rich aud powerful are 1fe'
quently the lot of those who deVote
their time to the requirement OF know, Il,
edge Though General Carried 9r1,,e,: doe,
not seem to have heard of Sir WalleI
Scott, he may know that another po0'
said:
"A little learning is dangerous tninS
Drink dcen or taste not the Picrian spring
According to this philosophy y Genera.
Garfield s idea of the union OF the risn'
and might of present ignorant MAJOR.
ties is not like Iy to be realized tor se'. ;s
eral centuries, But the poet was l'l. .ho
taken. Under free government 'he he
man who can read and write, be no
never 80 poor and humble, has the sa, .ad
vantage of his wholly uneduca1e11 ~
neighbor. The learning to be ootaln.I e1.
by attendance at the common schoo'o "o
is unquestionably of great lmpor1a.tto .to
in the formation of character anu p,,t u"t
development of intellectual force. eue eso
at present the Government OF 'n'
United States is controlled by oms ,I!on
eyed aristocracy which carries e!ee'iGns on
bv corrupting the ballot-box ana a ',i'I 's"Id
dating the voters. General 'aTny,o CIV
himself, as the next President oi .ho .,o
United States. is the prodnc1 ol .:on [n'
power of this plutocracy. hduca''yt", tts
it seems, has thus far failed to UNI. '';n IN
might and the right of the ma)oi''y .n. =.
successful conflict with the rlcn' %
gressive and INSCRIPTIONS minority
| Harrisburg (Pa.) P1trsoE',