The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-04-12
THE NEGRO VOTE.

Some curious movements are just now
taking place on the political chess board
in regard TO the vote of the colored people
in the next presidential election, a ma
tonal conference of colored men has been
called 10 meet at Pittsburg in May, with
the manifest object to decide how 70 dis
pose of the colored vote to the best advan-
tage, and hot discussion il already in
progress among the leaders on the subject,
The Rev. +. Thomas Fortune, editor of
the Ne,r York ElDbe, the ablest and indeed
only real organ of the colored people in
the country, is out in circular letter,
strongly urging the colored people 10 send
delegates to Pittsburg who will he in favor
of discovering the negro vote Us body
from the Republican party. He says that
party "has always treated the negroes as
poor relations to be counted and used in
time of need, but TO be ignored in the hour
of prosperity In their dealings with the
race Mr.. Fortune says: Grant was treach
erous, Hayes pertidious hypocrite, Gar,
field merely built higher barriers that shut
out the colored voters from equality with
their white fellow citizens, and Arthur,
when he has not ignored the negro alto
gether, has noticed him only to insult
him" Mr.. Fortune therefore advises the
negroes at the north to vote for whom they
please, and as to the south he says, 1.-The
colored people must make common polit-
zeal cause with the white people of the
south. When they dc that when they
support honest white men for office, and
make the cause of good government and
fair representation the issue, and thus
split the solid phalanx of Bourbonism, they
will be in position to get Justice
While this movement to unrepublicanise
the negro vote is on foot among themsel
YES, the white Republicans of the south
lend it what cannot fail to prove mighty
impetus by organizing themselves into
what they call the white Mems Republi-
can Party" In their manifesto the lead
ers of such movement in Georgia say:
"The white men who are thereal friends
of the negro know already that negroes
cannot lead successfully, and if negroes
really want laws and government that will
do them Justice and secure them in their
rights, they will at once abandon the field
as leaders, and request their white friends
H.. Al, al 10, . hat tInt ,rnt
their lust dues. This is white mans
country, and white men will control it. In
the United States there are, in round num-
bers, ten whites to one colored person. Ne
groes can never CONTROL and every effort
one of them may make in that direction
only places him in worse condition"
There are about 10000 Republican vo-
tiers in Georgia and about 100000 negro
voters. The white Republicans appear to
be willing still TO let the negroes vote with
them but they want no more of their lead
ership and give them notice that in the
business of running the party machine
and gobbling the offices they must take
back seats. If it is true, (Which it unqueS-
tionably isl as Mr. Fortune says, that the
colored people are not indebted TO the Re
publican party for emancipation, for that
was necessity of war" and that its subse-
quent legislation in their favor was little
better than delusion and cheat, we don't
see but his advice to unite their fortunes
with the white Democrats AT the south is
the wisest course that is left them, espec-
tally since the white Republicans there
appear TO be 80 anxious to get rid of them
that they have virtually served upon them
n notice to git"