The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-09-02
THE COLOR LINE BREAKING.
EFFECT OF A CHANGE OF
PARTIES.
SOME DEVELoPMESTS IN THE
SOUTHERN STATES---CHANGE
IN THE POLITICAL ATTI-
TUDE OF THE TWO
RACES.
From the New York Evening Post.

from the New I ork Evening Post
The color line has been the curse of
southern politics ever since the negro was
enfranchised, and the relations of parties
In that region can never be of a normal
character until this line is broken down.
The process must necessarily be a slow
one, and as long as the republican party
renamed in power, scarcely any progress
was made in the right direction. But
within year and half there are devel
opments in more than one southern state
which show that the change of parties is
exerting a most beneficial effect upon the
political attitude of the two races.
Last week state election was held in
Alabama. Hitherto the negroes in that
state have voted the republican ticket
when they voted any, and the democrats
did not expect to receive their ballots.
But this year, for the first time, the black
men IN many localities divided their votes
like the white men. In Elmore county,
for example, the negroes generally sup
ported an independent ticket against the
regular democratic, while in Lowndes
county, in the adjoining congressional
district, the blacks voted the regular
ticket. SIT would have made Hon. Fris-
uiO l1OdI HOWl, says d lOCdl paper, 10
see score after score of cOlored men vot-
ing the straight democratic ticket in Dali
las county on Monday" These are coun
ties in the ''black belt" where the negroes
largely outnumber the whites, and where
in the past every black man has been con-
sidered certain to vote republican ticket
by virtue of the color of his skin. The
Selma Times, one of the leading demo
cratic newspapers of the state, says that
"the time has come before we expected it
when the negro is courted as voter and
has become power" and it declares that
1.-The cue for the democratic party in the
black belt during the next two years is to
make democrats of the negroes"
An election was held in Tennessee last
week, for judges and county officers, and
here, as in Alabama, the significant fea-
ture was the division of the negro vote,
with the effect of increasing the demo-
cratic majority. Nashville, the capital, is
situated in Davidson county, which, in
1880, had 1853 white inhabitants and
81, 1881 black, and in 1884 gave Cleveland
S,165 votes and Blaine Sill, the negroes,
as race, voting for Blaine. Last week
the negroes were found to be no longer
| oOAih lOl lCpupllSdh parry EoIJJ
three colored voters walked early to the
Echo" in the American, "and voted
straight democratic to man." Else
where the same paper says: ga large
number of negroes voted in the various
wards and districts, the Thirteenth dis
trict even included, for democratic candi-
dates" This Thirteenth district has long
been known as "the citadel of the repub-
licans," but in consequence largely of this
change among the negroes, it was carried
by the democrats last week, and in
the whole county the entire dem
ocratic ticket was elected by an
average majority of 1852, aginst only
81 democratic majority two years ago.
Memphis is situate in Shelby county,
which, in 1880, had 34,50S white inhabi-
tants, and 43,9O3 black; and in 1884 gave
Blaine 9,165 votes, and Cleveland, 1926.
very heavy vote was cast last week, but
the democrats swept the country by a
majority of about 1000, and an import
ant element in the result was the fact that
many negroes for the first time voted
with the democrats. In other counties
where the negroes abound the democrats
gained almost without exception. For
example, Upton and Madison each have
almost exactly as many black inhabitants
as whites, and in Upton the democrats
gained 200 and in Madison 400 over 1884.
AS the democrats also gained generally in
counties where there are scarcely any ne
groes, a part of the gain in the "black
belt" is, of course, to be attributed to
changes among the white voters in that
belt; but it still remains true that more
negroes voted the democratic ticket last
week in Tennessee, as in Alabama, than
ever before.
The chief reason for this growing indie
pendence among the blacks is their percep-
| ton of the fact that their rights are as
safe with the democrats in power at Wash
ington as with a republican administra-
ton. This is frankly confessed by
honest republicans at the south. The Du-
val county republican convention met at
Jacksonville, Fla, last weeklto choose del
egates to the congressional convention,
and during the proceedings Rev. j. R.
Scott, one of the delegates, delivered a
notable speech. He urged that the party
should take advanced ground regarding
prohibition, and thus enforced the argu-
ment for championing new issue:
He said that the grand old party" had
performed its mission in freeing the
slaves and giving them their suffrage, but
as the two great parties stood at the pres
emit time, there are no issues between them
on any question, and the cOlored people
we're as free and enjoyed as many pr.vi-
leges under President Cleveland as they
would have done had Mr.. Blaine been
II koka nndQr
Governor Perry as they would have had
under Mr.. Pope. He was tired OF being
led around and voting according to the
dlctation of carpet-baggers, and want
ed no more carpet-baggers IN
his. From this time on he was
free man to vote and do as he pleased,