The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-02-24
THE BRUCE LECTURE.
The Eminent colored Orator DIs-
courses on The Race Problem.

The Eminent C0lored Orator Dis
> courses on The Race Problem.
There we're but very few vacant seal
in the Opera House last evening whe
the time arrived for the lecturer to begi
I his discourse. The fact that Hon. b. K
b Bruce, ex-senator and ex-Register q
the Treasury, was 10 give his famous lee
!. ture entitled "The Race Problem, !" wa
! enough TO draw good audience, nor wer
the listeners disappointed in the speaker
That gentleman could never be mistaken
3 for a Caucasian, though he is rather light
; He possesses the unmistakable features
! OF the African, and has bis rich, mellow
{ voice. He is fluent, elegant speaker
J and seem to be born orator. lie mix
es humor with his weightier discourse
in such a manner as TO maintain Interest
and good humor throughout the audi.
ence, His listeners paid him the closest
attention. and his allusions we're fire.,
quently received with applause.
/ Prof. Soaring introduced the speaker
| by request. He had seen Mr.. Bruce in
his seat IN the Senate during the famous
Belknap trial in 1876. He had known
his history-how he had been born a
slave, had run away when nineteen
years of age, had educated hlmsek at
Oberlin College, and had risen to the
highest positions in the land-and felt
deep interest in him. II was therefore
with peculiar pleasure that he intro
duced him to the audience.
Mr.. Bruce opened his remarks by re-
ferring to the richness and power OF the
United States. He spoke of the various
nations which had contributed to the
population of the country, and their diff
terent ideas and religions. The best
! qualities of each was preserved in the
American Republic, which seemed to
possess the qualifications of perpetual
youth.
In 1920 the black race was introduced,
afterwards the Monaghan race. The In
dian was already found. In one nation
the world. The Caucasian ro rseos y
the Indian was dependent, the yellow
an alien, while the black was considered
common property. The course pursued
in regard to the last three races was one
of supreme selfshness. The red race
was pushed Westward, and was being
eXterminated; the yellow race was de-
MED citizenship and the right of immi-
grafton; while the black race was made
a race of slaves among strangers But
now the "thing" has become free man.
[Great applause.] What of their future
and fortunes? 1t was alleged before the
war that the black race was incompetent
to stand alone, and could not Improve
when il ceased to be dependent, Its i'm
provement at all being due TO contact
with superiors. Grave doubt was ex-
pressed at the time of the emancipation
whether the blacks could be self-sustain-
ing, industrially. These gloomy forbod-
ings proved groundless. AS slaves they
upheld the industries of a whole section;
as freemen they showed mightier results
than ever before. They are going into
every path of life, and improving them
selves in every way. You saw the 4,OOO,-
600 slaves made free without single dis
turbance; they went forth in rags; look
at them now., 1t was a magnificent
showing. Russia had done much more
for her serfs than this country had for
her slaves. The confederate slave-hold-
ers returned from the war and cruelty
sent the negro away for siding with their
enemy; they afterwards found out their
mistake and called him back. The
black can do more work than the white,
and will be indispensable for years to
come to the South.
Taking up the granting of suffrage to
the negroes he stated that there had
been no choice but to do it-they had
richly won it; 200, 900 had fought in the
Union armies; none were disloyal to
the stars and stripes; they had divided
their little with the escaped Northern
prisoners. How could the North deny
them voice in the government under
were ignorant. Many had been in
places to teach them how to act. Still
they were under the greatest disadvan-
tages. The principle of their suffrage
was right; there is no room in this coun-
try for dlsfranchised class. Applause.
1t could only learn the duties of citizen
ship by practice.
The great need of the blacks is educa-
ton. Their defects are owing to litter
acy. No grander missionary work was
ever done than by the teachers of the
freedmen's schools. The various church
es had done a vast amount of good.
Notwithstanding all that has been done
it seems as though the work had hardly
begun. The speaker showed the amount
of illiteracy in the North and South,
showing the deplorable condition of the
latter. This could be matter of but lit
tie interest if the negroes were yet
slaves, but with freedmen it is thing of
great importance if free institutions are
not to perish. The white trash" were
also to be educated. Mr.. Bruce held
that the national government should aid
N no nH1aotinn in ho
1t was his opinion that this was Just the
way to dispose oftthe surplus, instead of
taking the tax off of tobacco and liquors
and paying bonus to the Louisiana su-
gar planters. An incidental reference
to abolishing whisky drinking was greet
ed with prolonged applause. He wasn't
very confident that the Blair bill would
pass the House. No people we're more
anxious to become educated than the
black race. He referred pleasantly to
superstition among the blacks, but
doubted whether they had corner"
on it. He gave various examples of su-
perstition among both blacks and whites.
A reference to the horseshoe supersti-
ton brought rounds of applause. But
superstition was passing away before the
march of the schoolmaster.
The black race was moral, religious
pSOplcs 1nSJ arc COuSCl6IUlOu6, JUST
and scrupulous. Their domestic life was
irreproachable; no scandals ever attach
ed to the greatest of them. When freed
! they took no advantage of the circum-
stances, but legalized their marital rela-
ton and children. But we make mis-
take when we compare the Anglo-Saxon
and black races in morality. The latter
are just emerging from system which
was aiming at intellectual paralysis.
There is chance for an exercise of
Christian charity IN this regard. The
race furnishes but few criminals or luna
tics.
The race is making hopeful progress in
every direction. They are organizing
societies of all kinds. They had wrought
magnificent change in the last few
wears. In every department of life and
in every profession they are distinguish
ing themselves. Whether more has
been done for them than they have
done for themselves is question. The
/ peaker tn ought that there is no danger
of race war IN the South, if proper ed
ucatlonal facilities be furnished. The
proposition to set apart several ter
rltories for the exclusive use of negroes
was impractical, as was also the
proposition to send them to Africa. The
black man is here and here to stay--here
to help develop the country-here to
exercise the prerogatives of citizenship.
The blacks and whites must agree and
will agree if she former are educated.
The black has mission to perform in
i Africa and the islands of the sea to