Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1886-11-13
SOME NEGRO CHARACTERISTICS.

clothed. Men recently favored an
educational qualification which would
cut him off from participating in
government. Why was this discrimi.
nation madr Why is it not now
made by the southern states that
have the power to legislate thus ?
"Aye there's the rub. Such
qualified suffrage would practically
disfranchise fifteen out Of every one
hundred southern white voters who
cannot now write their own names.
White men in the blaze of the 10Th
century-native Americans-belong-
ing to race which has never been
denied the right nor the opportunity
Of mental culture since St. Angus
tine, the African missionary, carried
the torch of wisdom and knowledge
to Britain. If among the men OF
race so favored fifteen per cent in the
south are illiterate, may not some
excuse be tolerated for the illiteracy
of race that has had to contend
with every distance which the in
genuity of man could invent to liber-
ate the mind from the letters of ig-
norance? But the colored youths of
the land are now flocking to the
school houses which dot the hills and
valleys of the south and an army of
six thousand teachers is engaged in
the work of spreading the light of
Christian civilization even to the
darkest corner. BY and by the
cloud will be lifted and all will be
well.
~
1t has been sportively remarked Of
him that the Negro betrays great
moral weakness when confronted by
a voluptuous hen roost that the
chickens instinctivelg roost high in
certain localities frequented after dark
by him. And this inclination for
which he is arraigned before the bar
Of public opinion would be quite
damaging were it not for the plea
entered Of his general trustworthy
character. He has not been entrusted
with the keys of the corn cribs and
smoke houses ever since he has been
SO pressingly invited to live in the
south9 When his master was on the
northern frontier contending on the
plains Of battle for this republic, did
he not guard with the honor and in
tegrity Of a knight Grant the homes
and fresides, the women and the
children, and during all that time
was he ever charged or even sus-
picioned Of violating the confidence
and trust reposed in him as the
guardian of southern honest
As for his bravery and devotion to
his country and flag, go search his
military record and whether in the
war Of the Revolution, the war of
1872, or in the late war between the
states it will be found that his skill,
valor and patriotism have shed luster
on the pages of military history.
Ask concerning the engagements at
Forts Wagner and Pillow. Call up
the saith Massachusetts,, the nth
Rhode Island Battery, or the array
Of colored soldiers and there is not
to be found a traitor, deserter nor
a coward.
They say he is ambitious; that he
thinks there is nothing in the world
too good for him; that he is fond of
distinction and titles of honor; that
he would not decline nomination
to the presidency of the United
States by either party. This may
all be true. 1t is rather creditable
to him that he should aim high;
"a disposition much to be preferred
to the opposite trait of the swine
whose ambition is never exalted
above the domain Of his swill trough.
AS sparks fly upward, SO it is natu-
raj for the mind to aspire to the
realm Of independence and power
and is an enobling trait in whomso.
ever it is found even if he be black,
The Negro has one immense draw
back. He is, as a rule, too free
handed and possessed of nature as
generous as the cline in which he
lives. With what reckless profusion
he scatters his earnings. How he
patronizes the Delmonico's and
Worth's, and railroad kings OF the
world. Verify the dressmakers and
tailors, the cafes and excursion plot
tiers, all the whole range of eating
and drinking and merry-making and /
money squandering places and the
tinsel and show of the world find
too readily liberal patronage in the
Negro. How can he ever become a !
Rothschild or Vanderbilt at such J
rate. Put money in thy purse"
ought to be his watchword for a /
years to conc WaShing-