Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-09-17

toned ever reached him.
Very truly yours, &C.,
DANIEL S. LAMONT,
Private Secretary.
Mr.. Lndrew J. Butts.
"No bill Of the kind ever reached
him. That is what Governor CLEvE-
LAND himself said through his private
secretary. Mr.. LAMONT is still his
private secretary. No further testi-
mony is needed. That declaration set
ties the question.
But there is more to be said on the
subject. About the time Mr.. BUTTS
wrote to Mr.. CLEVELAND Mr.. WILL
LIAM Y. CRAIG, chairman of the Re-
publican Congressional Committee of
the Augusta district, published the fol-
lowing as law which was made law
by Governor CLEvELAND's signature:
"Section /. The colored schools in
the city Of New York, now existing and
in operation, shall hereafter be classed
and known and be continued as ward
schools, and primaries, with their pre-
sent teachers, unless such teachers are
removed in the manner provided by
law, and such schools shall be under
the control and management of the
school officers Of the respective wards
in which they are located in the same
manner and to the same extent as other
ward schools, and shall be open for the
education Of pupils for whom admis-
sion is sought, without regard to race
or color"
The words of this law itselfprove that
it applied, and was intended to apply,
to none but colored schools. They
show also that that law was designed,
as we argued last fall, only to make a
change in the management of the negro
schools, which were thereafter to be
managed "ds other ward schools"
We presume the new law follows in its
phraseology the old law-the law passed
when those schools were established
and that in the old law the phrase,
"without regard to race or color" is
used to describe negroes just as a SINH
lar phrase is used in the fifteenth
amendment-namely, 1.-THE right Of
citizens to vote shall not be denied
or abridged on &C
count Of race, color, or previous condi-
ton Of servitude." These words were
put into the Constitution to make the
negroes voters, not to make voters Of
white men. So in the Statutes Of the
United States, wherever the phrase
"on account Of race or color is
used, it is used to describe and pro-
tect the negro. We argue, there
fore, that the same phrase used in
the law quoted above was used be-
cause the schools spoken Of are negro
schools, and for no other reason. In
the original act the phrase was no
doubt used for the very purpose OF
showing that those schools were to be
negro schools. Having been establish
ed, they became known as negro
schools. When, therefore, the law wa.
amended they were described as "col
ored Schools" and the phraseology o
the old law was left in the closing par
Of the new law. And those words "oI
account Of race or color" prove onl,
that the schools in question are negr
schools.
But who passed this law? Mr.
CRAIG last year furnished proof tina
II was passed on the 5th day of May
1884. Turn to the Tribune almana
for lss4--named for WIsE's New Yorl
organ, and published in the Tribsa
ofhct-and you will see on page 30 tn
' following figures showing the compost
! ton Of the Legislature that passed tn
aboye-quoted law:
Joint
Sraote. House. Baiioi
Eeroblicans...~-....'... 10 ~ 81
Deiooc'ats." ...-s...''-'' IS 80 90
So this bin was passed by Legisla
ture consisting Of ninety-one Republi
cans and only sixty.nine Democrats
This fact may possibly account for tn,
introduction Of the words "race" ant
"eolor" into the law. We say "may
possibly" because We believe the tru,
explanation is given above. But these
figures will suffice to c'oss all Republi
can mouths.