Omaha daily bee., 1883-12-01
FRED DOUGLAS.
His Views on the Political Situation.
lie Wants a Change Of Public
Policy,
lie Proposes John sherman as the
Coming Mau-His Talk With
Johnson on Civil Rights.
rorcsrcndenCc OF 1.-THE Cleveland Loader.

N''N'NN''HNhNN ~ WV NANNNNNNh fNAN
WASHINGTON, November 90. - This
weeks harper's has an excellent picture
of Fred Douglass-as good n one rs has
ever been published. Mr.. Douglass is one
of the most striking looking mon in pub
lie life. He has coarse hair, as white rs
.newly.washed wool, which stands out in
a wiry bush from his big head. He has
an open, solemn face full of character,
black eyes shooting out from heavy over.
hanging eyebrows, and n firm, decisive
mouth. In talking he uses as good Ian.
guage as any man in Washington, and his
words are 80 connected that they would
bear printing rs they come from his lips.
MIR. Douglass was sitting in his office in
the building where --the star route
trial was held when | called to see him
yesterday, and he began at once to talk
of the late elections and the civil rights
bill.
Said he: al have Just been reading
your interview with Senator Sherman, i'll
which he makes such n noble stand on
the late decision of the supreme court
He sounds in it the platform of the com
ing presidential campaign, and those
Nolub siibNlu ii'thC lllll Viz thllOiNhlb luT
the republican party. The times demand
u man. The people are tired of putty
men-of dilettanti walking clothes frames
and patent digesters. We want a man
who is able to SEQ the right and who ia
not afraid to do it. Sherman is n states
man, courageous, far-seeing, and of i'm
placable honesty. If he were elected
he would SOC that the laws were enforced
both North and South, and that equal
rights under the law were given to all
people, whatever their politics or color. P"
A CHANGE OF POLICY DEMANDED.
"The late elections show that a far diff
ferent state exists now, said |.
"lea," replied Mr.. Douglass, 81 am
sorry that it is so, but the fact that it is
should make the republican party see that
they must have a change of policy. They
have experimental long enough. The
people demand that they stop and enforce
the law. Let the world see that in this
American republic we really have equal
rights for all people. We are tired of
reform that does not reform. The admin
istration policy of the past eight years
has failed. Hayes made a failure of his
Southern policy, Garfield, poor fellow,
was on the road to failure when he died,
and Arthur is going the same way. We
want a change in this direction. We must
let the people know that God omnipotent
reigneth, and that the United States is
the governor of the American people, and
not the individual states This was the
ground of the late war, and by releasing
it as is practically done by the late deci.
sion of the supreme court, W. lose all we
fought for"
DOUGLASS.
Speaking of the civil rights bill, "Mr,
| Douglass" said l, "You had much to d.
with getting for your race the privileges
they now possess" EYES," continued
this white haired man Of color, 81 romem
Der well the history of our many struggle
a decade or 30 ago. 1t was in 1866 tina
the idea of universal suffrage was frs
brought before the people. Andrey
johnson was vitality opposed to it., anc
would not hear of it for a long time.
was a member of a delegation of %coloreo
men who called upon him at the Whit,
House in the spring of that year, anc
mentioned the idea of a universal suffrage
and a perfect equality under the law
He would hardly let us say a word, ant
answered us in a long-cut and driet
speech, in which he scornfully declared
that what he had always meant by max
ing the negro free was the making hin
free to labor, and that the giving of civi
equality to the blacks would initiate
war of the races. He spoke for perhaps
fifteen minutes, and when he had closet
he dismissed us without givingus n chance
to make a reply. After we left We talked
the matter over, and knowing that tn
president would have his speech publish
ed, we prepared a reply as given by me
aid sent it over the country by the Asso
ciated Press. This speech first calle'
the attention of the people to thi
view of the case, and the ultimate resHl
was the passage of the fifteenth amend
ment."