The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1886-05-20
and son in law of ex Minister Langston,
writes as follows:

has not made any change in their feeling
to the general government.
Those who have come into offices which
they have so long coveted, appear, of
course, more patriotic and interested IN
the welfare Of the Government than here
tofore Aside from these and their i'm
mediate friends the satisfaction with the
| Cleveland Administration is no more com
| plctc than it was with the preceding Adj
ministration. Wherever Democrat has
| failed to obtain such recognition as he
| thought he deserved, he Is dissatisfied,
| and is as loud in his denunciatIon Of the
present as he ever was OF a previous Ad-
! ministration. Another election Will, there
| fore find many who have heretofore voted
| for the Democracy voting in the opposite,
either out of disappointment or out of a
mere Indifference as to which party may
| be in the aScendcncy The extreme dull
ness of the times and the almost utter
prostration of business, following the ad
vent of "a Democratic Administration, will
| also serve to drive many hitherto faithful
Democrats to seek another change of Ad-
| mlnIStratlOn.
AS to the political sentiment of the ne
| gro there is no reason thus far to suppose
| that 1T has undergone, or, if left untram
| eled, will undergo any radical change.
| There are a few cOlored men in this State
| who, since the success of the Democracy,
| have declared themselves independents;
but these are few. Wherever a man of
any intelligence or standing as a leader
| takes such position the masses of the
| colored people Immediately begin to dis
trust him and look upon him as inimical
| to their best interests. Any assertions by
| such men are Immediately taken notice of
by Il large majority of the colored people,
discussed, weighed and remembered with
| the greatest minuteness. And when oc
casiOn requires they never fail to make the
author Of such feel the force of their opin-
| ion. The masses of the negroes are ard
always have been naturally and inherently
| Republicans, and the mere success of the
Democratic party or the defeat of the Re
publican party has in no wise changed
them. The idea, that as soon as they
found out by actual experience that Dem
ocratic ascendency did not mean re-en-
slavement and a curtailment of the newly
acquired rights, the negroes would leave
the Republican party and go in large
numbers to the Democratic party is an
| erroneous one. The negro has never be-
| lieved since his emancipation, that the
| Democratic party would or could re -enslave
! him. He does not now apprehend nor
has he ever apprehended the loss or with
! draWal of any of the rights or privileges
he en- Joys by any change Of Administration
in the Government. He understands full
well that ''refOrmatiOnS never go back
ward, F." and that his citlzenShipis is based on
a rock that will stand as long as our Gov
ernment lasts; and his faith III the onward
march of the works of Providence has be
come an essential part of his nature. 50
that all that has been said and written
about his being terrorizcd into voting en-
maSSe for the Republican party Is tala-
| cious and groundless. The negro, like all
other classes of people, is deslrouS of OBJ
tanning by his ballot for himself and for
his country the best results possible; and
in order to do this he casts his fortunes
with that party which, according to the
best of his judgment and knowledge of
the attitude of the two political parties
toward him, and his progress in the past
| and and at the present time gives these
results If, therefore, he is allowed to
exercise his own judgment and preferen
ces he will always prove as true to Repub-
lcan principles as the needle to the pole.
| Politically the Administration of Mr..
Cleveland has affected him only SO far as
it has deprived nearly every member of
the race of whatever he held in the shape
of an office in this State. And these have
been invariably reflled by the appoint
ment of white men to succeed negroes.
|
lieans under Republican Administration
expected to be displaced upon the incom-
ing of the present Administration, but
since there were few Democratic negroes
hereabOuts it was reasonably expected
that some, at least, of these would be the
recipients of the favors Heretofore enjoy
ed by Republican negroes. But to this
date not single negro holds Office in this
State by appointment of Democrat, At
one swoop the newly appointed Collector
of Internal Revenue for this district re-
moved ten or twelve negroes all who
were in the service-and whose record
was far above the average. Many white
Republicans are still left in the service,
but the order of the going of the negroes
was rapid in the extreme. This showed
that it was not the negro's politics alone
that were objected to but also that there
was an objection more deep than
mere partisan politics. The negro thor
oughly understands from what source all
the advantages which he enjoys come and
until there is reason to look for other and
larger ones from other sources Mr. Cleve-
lands Administration will in no wise, af-
feet his political affiliations.
Socially there is no intercourse whatever
in this State between the whites and col
ored people. Though occupying the same
territory they are far removed from one
another in this regard as the setting is
from the rising of the sun. Nor does the
negro court any intermingling in this re-
gard any more than the whites. But he
does demand that he be not deprived of
any of his civil rights by the effort of the
white man to be too exclusive in his social
privileges.
In all the large communities where the
negroes enjoy educational facilities and
the means of earning an adequate and an
honest livelihood, they are rapidly build
ing up and organizing among themselves
a status of society which, but for the pre-
judice against their color might well sat
isfy the tastes of the most refined and
cultured whites of the South. There is an
evident purpose among these people to at
tain a high degree of moral and intellect
ual culture and they give a large proper
tion of their time to the study of the arts
and sciences-most especially to music OF
high order and painting But they arc
attended with great disadvantages. If q
specialist establish himself in a commu
; nifty he cannot teach a negro without losing
all his white patronage In all places OF
public entertainment or amusement the
negro is either allowed no accommodation:
or such only as no self-respecting person
can accept His money, good behavior
and cleanliness do not secure decent treat
ment for him. 1t is to be regretted tha
these determinations, though always gall
ing and burdensome, have grown worse
in tb;o community durinp the mast two