St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-07-01
I was frightened myself and left him IN

L have SeoIl lHc pIosISSo Which hao OOCA
made in the legislation relating to
your race, and the progress that
the race itself has made since that
day. When 1 GENE to Indiana
to reside. the unfriendly black
code was in force. My memory goes
back to the time when cOlored witnesses
were first allowed to appear in court IN
this state to testify in cases where white
men were parties. Prior to that time.
as you know, you had been excluded
from the right to tell in court, under
oath,
YOUR SIDE OF THE STORY
in any legal controversy with white
men. The laws permitted your coming
here. In every way you were at dis
advantage, even in the free states.
have lived to see this unfriendly legisla-
ton removed from our statute books
and the unfriendly sections of our state
constitution repealed. [ have lived not
only to see that. but to see the
race emancipated and slavery extinct.
Nothing gives me more pleasure among
the great results of the war than this.
History will give a prominent place in
the story of this great war to the fact
that it resulted in making all men free
and gave to you equal civil rights. The
Imagination and art of the poet, the
tongue of the orator, the skill of the
artist will be brought under contribu-
tion to tell this story of the emancipa-
tion of
THE SOULS OF MEN.
Nothing gives me so much qualification
as a Republican as to feel that in all the
steps that led to this great result, the
Republican party sympathlZed with
you, pioneered for you i'll legislation, and
was the architecto of those great measures
l,n fo1
your condition. / know nowhere in
this country of monument that l be-
hold with so much interest, that touches
so deeply my heart as that monument
at Washington representing the procla-
alton of emancipation by President
Lincoln, the kneeling black man at the
feet of the martyred president
with the shackles falling from his
limbs. | remember yeur faithfulDess
during the time of the war. | remem-
Der your faithful services to the army
as we were advancing through an
unknown country. We could always
depend upon the faithfulness of the
black man. He might be mistaken, but
HE WAS NEVER FALSE.
Many time in the darkness of night
have those faithful men crept to our
lines and given us information of the
approach of the enemy. l shall never
forget scene that l saw when Sher-
mans army marched through por-
tion of North Carolina, between
Raleigh and Richmond, where our
troops had never before been.
The colored people had not seen our flag
since the banner of treason had been set
up in its stead. AS we were passing
through village the colored people
fiOcked out to see once more the
STARRY BANNER OF FREEDOM,
the emblem of promise and security of
their emancipation. | remember
an aged woman over whom nearly
a century of slavery must haye
passed, pressed forward to
see this welcome banner that told her
that her soul would go over into the
presence of her God. | remember her
exaltation of spirit as she danced in the
dusty road before our moving column,
and like Miriam of old called upon her
soul to rejoice in the deliverance which
God had wrought by the coming of those
who stood for and made secure the proc
lamation Of emancipation. / rejoice
in all that you have accomplished
since you have been free. | recall no
scene more pathetic than that which 1
have often seen about our camp fires.
An aged man, a fugitive from slavery,
had found freedom in our camp. After
udy Oh ntru WOIh, WHICH, ldpS ndu
sounded and the lights in the tents
were out, 1 have seen him, with the
spelling book that the chaplain had
given him, lay prone upon the ground,
taxing his old eyes and pointing with
his hardened finger to the letters of the
alphabet as he endeavored to
OPEN TO HIS CLOUDED MIND
the avenues of information and Hight,
| am glad to know that that same desire
to increase and enlarge your in
formation possesses the race to-day. 1t
is the open way for the race to that per-
feet emancipation which will remove
remaining prejudices and secure. to you
in all parts of the land an equal
and just participation in the gov
drnment of this country. 1t cannot
much longer be withholden from you.
Again, thank you for your presence
here tonight, and will be. glad to take
by the hand any of you-who may desire
to do So"
Gen. Lew Wallace, author of "Ben
Hur," has undertaken the work of
writing a sketch of Gen. Harrison's
life. The work will be pushed as rap
idly as possible, and will be published
| by Philadelphia house.