Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-08-16
To the COl0red Voters of Knox
County.

of whom cannot be reached by any
other means. hope my brief eirca-
lar will not be lacking in good coun-
sci and will serve to interest men of
my lace in their own welfare and |
must beg you to remember that what
shall say is said from the best mo-
tives, inasmuch as l have no axe to
grind aud am asking nothing of you
IN return but that you take more in
terest in yourselves, as it will be my
reward to see my race bettered.
You well know that we are free
citizens of the greatest liberty loving
country on the globe. We have been
calling ourselves freemen for twenty
years, and for fifteen years we have
been allowed the privileges Of vot-
ing. I have no time or space. to res
count the wrongs of my race in other
sections of the Union since they
were freed, and shall confne myself
chiefly to Knox County and to such
matters as you are well acquainted
with, Our Republican brother is
the man to whom l would especially
call attention, and Of whom |
will speak at length First, I want
it understood that [ believe in the
colored man settling all of his dues
as he goes, letit be with what party
1t may let it be his private or polit-
ical dues. 6
The Republican approaches the col
ored man tosday, as he has not ceased
to do for fifteen years, and says to
him, Il freed you and you must vote
for me and my party" Scarcely
without exception during that long
time has a maj ority of colored vo-
ters ceased to cast the straight Re-
publican ticket. Colored men have
been satisfied that such las the right
course to pursue and they have sell
dom stopped to consider for whom
they were voting and for what meas
ures they were voting, except that
they We're voting for the men who
claimed to have delivered them from
bondage Now, my brethren, there
is reason in all things, as in this
If you ever owed this debt-which
at some time can show you never
have owed to the Republican party,
but to the Union army, full of good
Democrats, and to yourselves, many
of whom fought for their own free
dom-I say if you ever did owe this
debt solely to the Republican party,
have We not about paid it? Now,
let us look at it this way. A man
who is not allowed to think as he
pleases and to act upon his own con,
victioDs is the worst sort of slave.
He is such a slaye as should not be
found n the great land Of political
and religious liberty" such as is
claimed for the United States. How
has that man bettered your moral
and social standing If III throwing
off the old shackles ofyphysical Ia.
Dor he still holds in bondage your
mind and all your social right guar
anteed you only through your votes
at the ballot-box? If he commands
your vote he commands not only
your mind fbut your body, and
wherein are you better off serE-
ing this man than serving those Of
old? Il is degrading, and the time
has arrived when we should prove
whom our friends are by demanding
| of them some material recognition.
Now cannot say how well color
ed men have been satisfied with the
offices they have received in other
sections, but I do say that in Knox
County they have never received
anything for which they need thank
the Republican party. When we go
into a convention we are given some
little temporary office for the hour,
III which there is neither profit,
power nor money. This is done
to fatter US, that we may not de-
mind anything in the election.
When we lave succeeded III getting d
nomination, what has it amounted to?
We have been beaten at the polls by
some independents candidate. The
good Republican absolutely refuses
to allow us to come into office. He
may make pretext OF regarding our
interests, but when he has fair OPP
portunity of making good his word
he "goes back on us. As an in
stance / cite you to the case of Man
son and John Reeder in race for
constable. Manson, a colored man,
got the nomination, but the Repubh-
cans ali voted for Reeder at the polls,
and dropped Manson, after agreeing
to support him.
We not only want to be nominal
ed, but we want some assurance that
those who help nominate US are SIM
cere and intend voting for us at the
polls. We will not suffer that trick
any longer. There are enough OF
colored voiers in Knox County to
demand one or two good county
Offices every year if the Republican
parry wo I'D but give us what our
numbers entitle us to. Let us look
at the matter this way: In round
numbers there are 5000 voters In
the county; $500 are said to be Re-
publican, and of this Republican
vote LOO at least are colored men
who have faithfully voted for Repub
licans for fifteen years. Thus you
VIII see that one fourth of the Re-
publican vote is of colored men.
This should entitle us to hold ones
fourth of the offices of the party al
the time. That is, we should get
one.fourth of the amount paid tc
these officers in salaries. We arr
willing toilet back salaries go if We
can only begin now to hold office anl
get our dues.
The sheriff, it is said, makes Sc,
900 every year He employs lou
deputies, who make $1,000 each. In
ofice is thus worth $4,000. Tn
Criminal Court Clerk makes S2,OOO
1 70. IN Il H.