The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-10-19
BUYING THE CoLoRED VOTE.

grave responsibility resting upon them, one
| that should set them to thinking, even
though the election is past. The il-will
cherished against them by the Democratic
party, never entirely concealed, prompted the
libel upon them that they could be bought"
like so many cattle; that all the Democratic
bosses had to do was to estimate how many
| colored votes were needed, and then to go and
buy them, just as they would any merchan-
disc in the market 1t cannot be truthfully
denied that there are colored men base enough
| to sell their votes. A few have done so and
| are training with the lifelong enemies of their
race. But the number is very limited, we are
glad to say, and the great body Of colored men
| are above such mercenary meanness. But the
fact that these few have been bought to vote
! and work against the welfare of the colored
race has been enough to encourage Democratic
manipulators to believe that they could buy
more and they have not hesitated to say so.
Thus, through the perfdy Of a few.
many. There is but one way to shake
off and rebuke these fellows, and that is to in
stantly and forcibly resent every approach of
| the kind. The man who offers to buy vote
insults the man he approaches, by thus ex-
| pressing the belief that his honor is for sale.
| 1t is but one remove, and narrow one, from
| attempting to hire man to commit theft or
| burglary 1t is an indictable crime on both
| sides. The briber confesses thereby that he
is a rascal and that he believes the one he APP
| proaches to be the same. No man was ever
! approached by briber that was not insulted
in the act The proper thing to do is to have
the fellow arrested and punished according to
law But the altogether natural impulse to
knock him down would be much more GER
| tain of doing prompt justice to the case.
| The danger to colored citizens from this
source is even greater than it is to the whites.
The former are but fairly making entry to the
| field of politics, and it must be confessed that
they have entered at an immense disadvantage.
Barely emerging fro m two centuries of slav-
cry, in which it was the settled policy of their
masters to keep them in enforced ignorance,
| they were suddenly introduced to the free
mans estate, i'll equipped for its duties and
obligations But with every passing year
their condition is improving The Republican
party was not content when it struck the
shackles from their limbs, nor did it stop
when the ballot was placed in their hands
| The schools of the land have been opened to
their children by the Republican party, and
| advanced education is spreading among the
oncoming generation of colored people.
| 1t is the duty of those now voting to
make record that their children shall not
suffer under. If the relcts of barbarous
slavery cannot claim erudition they can at
least maintain their honor as men, and trans
NIT record Of which their children need not
be ashamed. The influence of the colored
man in politics cannot stand still 1t must
increase or decline
| 1t is not meant by this that colored men
should combine as such and vote doggedly
and without the freedom of reason, but that
they should establish a reputation for polit-
ical integrity that would deter any man
from attempting to corrupt them. In this
way can they make themselves felt in politics
for good, and they will occupy an enviable
plane. Let it once be established that the
black man cannot be bought, and it will not
| be long until the colored influence shall be
sought only in honorable ways. The man
who loves his race-and every man should
will ever be careful to honor it, and thus to
rendered the colored people in the late
election should not be forgotten, but
those who so shamelessly proclaimed it should
be taught that they are utterly without in
fuence among colored men, and that the paltry
dollars they would offer for the honor of the
black man will ever be spurned with the con-
tempt that the dishonorable act deserves.
This has been done again and again, and we
speak of the Importance of this matter only
because few of the race have brought the
many within the range of insult from disrep-
utable men. They deserve the contempt of
| their fellows.
THE Journal desires to indorse with both
feet the following, taken from the indie