The Washington bee., 1888-02-04
THE RESPECTABLE(O ELE-
MENT.

meeting OF the so ca!led Respectable
clement of the colored race IN this
city of magnificent distances, the
ostensible object of which was to
exonerate themselves for the pari
they played, publicly and private
ly, in the recent convention, the
published accounts of which were
SO horritying and disgrac 'ful as
TO bring the blush of shame to the
eb. ny cheeks of these respectable
Negro patriots and the demi-gcds
whom they SO devontly worship
and adore. Negroes are moth
ing if not initiative, and thy
invariably sneeze when their
white examplars take snuff. The
natural enemies of the negro in
this District are as much opp ,sed
to "negro domination" So called, as
the best white citiz ms "f Kemper
County, Mis-, and Hamburg, S. 9
That they should denounce the
recent convention as diSgr, ceful
NIB and distort the facts in their
desperation to defeat the suffrage
movement in this District is but
natural, that they should slander
the negroes of Washington 10y
representing to the correspond 4nls
of the outside press that they are a
set of bawling, drunken ignoram
uses incapable of self government
and unworthy of the right of suf.
frage, is quite in keeping With
their we'll known prejudice against
a class of citizens to whom they
have bequeathed legacy which
consists of ignorance, vice and
crime, small wonder that the re-
fined and cultured white people
of Washington are Disguised and
appalled, when the negroes who
received their political education
at tie feet of these nice nasty
political Gamaliels show their
proficiency and aptitude as expo
nents of parliamentary usages,
when assembled in convention
"compacity.'' But when coored
men and meu whom we know to
have been willing to consort with
"the disgraceful mOb(?)" for the
selfish purpose of serving their
own ends, utter denunciations
against a class which they have
found to be convenient stepping
stones to lift them into power in
years past we can but exclaim-
''Tu quogue Brute !" We are cou-
versant with the history of every
man who was a candidate, pros
pective or otherwise, at the late
convention, and while the meeting
on Thursday night was called tor
the osteusible purpose of identifying
and labeliLg the respectable element
of the colored citizens of Wash
ington to protect their characters
and regulations, the real object
and purpose of that respectable and
immaculate love feast was to feel
the pulse Of the people on the
subject Of another convention and
recommend some distinguished and
respectable cOtored citizen to 60 to
Chicago in the place of the only
legally elected delegates, whose
terms will not expire until after
the adjournment of the National
Republican Convention at Chicago
In June next.
Machiavelianism VIXEN reso. ted
to 10y very respectable gentlemen
who claim to be negroes at con-
venient seasons and who at other
times are wearing out their brains
trying TO prove that they do not
belong 10 the negro race, is sure to
be detected. The negro proper may
be ignorant, and noisy and may
sometime act as disgracefully and
disgustiugly as white men, but it
may be safely recorded in the book
of remembrance of the ambitions
leaders who do not lead that the
iguorant, noisy, disgraoeful and
disgusting negro knows very well
the difference between a horse
chestnut and chestnut horse.
There is one point to which we
desire to invite the attention of
these respectable gentlemen and
that is that self praise is half SCAN
dal." When the electric light of
investigation is turned on it will
be found that many of these adver-
tised respectables will seek a
shady and secluded corner. Re-
speclability without honor, and
without manhood is worse than
religion without Christ to Give If