The Washington bee., 1886-12-04


THE GREAT QUESTION WAS sOLVEI
BY THE HISTORIAN. HE rs GREET
ED WITH A LARGE AUDIENCE.
Week by week this literary socie
ty is growing into popular nationa
favor. Although last Thursday
evening was cold and windy, Col
Geo. w. Williams, the coloreG
historian was greeted with a large
and enthusiastic audience. The
meeting having been called to or
der by the president, Mr.. Chase
a piece was sung by the society
under the direction of Mr.. Max
field, atterwhich Mr.. ID. f. Bats
offered prayer. The minutes oi
the previous meeting were read by
Miss Lizzie Mason, secretary, fol
lowing which was the introduction
of Col. Williams, who was greeted
with tremendous applause. He
said:
1t is a high compliment to the
fine temper and good sense of the
American people that an institu-
tion like the slave power has been
overthrown by the shock of en-
battled arms, and the results ac>
guessed within the briet space of
two decades.
There is no longer occasion for
alarm about the enemies of the
Negro, since the current literature
of this problem proves them sim
cere In their doubts and honest in
their convictions. But notwith-
standing the many signs of the
breaking down of the almost i'm
pregnable lines of race antipathy
many of our countrymen are still
stubbornly entrenched behind alb
soiute pre]ud'ees.
In short both the friends and
foes OF the Negro have reached
common ground, and adopted le-
climate means of inves igation.
The provisional military governs
ment for the south, immediately
at the close of the rebellion, was,
while military in name, patriar-
chial interregnum. The United
States government placed bayo-
nets at the poles, and sought by
vigorous military m asures, the
enforcement of political laws.
But blind political ambition and
public sentiment strangled the
enforcement act, although the re-
publican party was in the ascen-
dency in both houses of Congress.
Paciication and Cancellation ex-
tended the olive branch of peace;
and an ex-confederate general be
came trusted adviser of a repub-
lican president. And although
states were given to the party nus
important to carry them
by an honest vote, there was no
appreciable good accruing to the
Negro. For various reasons not
proper to discuss in this paper,
the white men in the Republican
party In sections of the country
where the Negro resides in great
numbers have seeded until, with
in few years, the republican
party at the south has become q
black mans party. There has
been an attempt in Virginia to
deride the
WHITES AND BLACKS
nearly equally, hoping thereby to
wipe out race feeling and secure an
honest vote and a fair count. But
eScu IulS UldfO mON6meuG mas
found an inhospitable grave, much
earlier than its friends dreamed.
We have supposed that the mere
giving of official positions to Ne
groes would solve the problem.
100 Negroes holding positions at a
salary of $4,000 per annum each,
would have no effect whatever upon
5he struggling masses of Negroes
IN the rice and cotton fields of the
CarOlinas and Virginias; except,
iOrsooth, they contributed one sixth |
Of their salary each year to employ |
to defend the rights of |
those laborers, But Negroes are
republicans; and they are likely to |
remain with the grand old party |
even though it should reduce to |
nothing more than a memory.
assume the responsibility of ad-
Tising and urging him to go out of
\ k,1.