National Republican., 1888-04-17

subject to- lynch law that he has freedom Of
speech. that the gates of knowledge are open
tn him; tLat he Zoos To- the ballot boN unnO
lcstud that hi, vote i duly counted and given
its proper weight In determining result. !
would tell you that he Is making splendid
wealth, and influence; would tell you that
his bittCrCst Cnrmcs have become his wlrmcst
friends; that the desire TO mako him slave
the Democratic party Is II better friend ~ him
than the Republican mrtN, ana That each
party is competing with the other 20 see
which can do thc musttu make his liberty
II blessing TO himself. and to the country,
and the world. Hut In telling you all this
| should be telling you what u absolutely false,
| and what YOU know 10 be false, and the only
| thing which would save such II story from
| hcing0 lie would be IT. utter inability to de-.
| criyr.
What Is the condition or the negro AT the
south AZ this moment Let ~ look at IL both
~ the light ui facts and In the light oi reason.
| To understand i W. must consult ilaturga'
| well n circumstances. the past as well uS the
| present. Nn fact is moro obvious than the
| tact that there Is perpetual tendency of
| power to CnCruarh upon weakness, and Of the
| crafty TO take advantage Of the simple Fnis
! j. ~ natural as for smoke to ascend or water
tnlun down. The love o., power Is one ., ~,
love of power common 20 the white IHc1. has
| been nurscd and strengthened at the south by
| slavery; accustomed during two hundred
| years tn the unlimited possession and exercise
| Of irresponsible power. the love Of II has be-
| come inurdnatC and clronlc--strlng 10y nj.
| NNlN " liS iifbllt NIIblHtI UN UUili. lON~
| snmc that this feeling uf pride and power has
| died out and disappeared from the south Is to
assume. II miracle. Any man who tells yol
| that Il has died out or has ceased 20 he CYcr.
! clsed and made effective, tells you that which
| Is untrue, and in the nature Of things could
| not be true. Not only Is the love Of power
| there, but II talent for lis exercise has been
| fully developed This talent makes the old
master class of the south not only the masters
Of the negro, hut the mastcrs of Congress.
| and. If not checked. Will make them the
| masters of Tho uutlpn,
II was something more than an empty boast
in the old times when II wa! said that one
| men, Though this did not turn ont to be truc
| ON the battle field, II does seem to he true IN
the councils of the nation IN sight of all the
nation these ambitions men of the south have
| dared to take possession OF the government,
which they, with hroal blades and bloody
hands, sought t!dc,troy in sight of all the ma.
the constitution. md organized parties on
sectional lines; From The rramparts OF the
solid south. with their l53 electoral votes IN
The electoral college, they have dared to defy
the nation TO put u Republican in the prc>i.
dental chair for the next -four years, rs they
once threatened the nation with ciyi war ii IL
elected abraham Lincoln. with this grip on
the presidential chair, with the House O'
Representatives IN their hands, with the Su.
prcmc Court deciding every. question in favor
federal government, denying to the govern
nCnt. the right TO protect the elective fran.
clise.oi its own citizons, they may well feel
| themselves masters, not only of their former
slaves but of the whole situation. with
these facts before us, tell me not that the
negro @ is ,aie y ,le pos.ss1,on ,, Of his liberty
Tell me not that they who dcSpisc the cunStitu-
ton they have sworn TO support viii respect
[he rstS @ Ti 'lG NJ, negro M9om ,hey y MrGpay t
break faith with God will be scrupulous in
keeping faith with the poor, negro lah2rcr Of
the sEgth b Yf Ell me NOT 'nat people who
and thought themselves Christian gentlemen
Willie doing it; will feel themselves bound by
fSieS iS q jse' tT fhsr aSr N Ect nes
of The facts is shameful, shocking. and sickcn-
ing. Yet there are men ut the north who be-
| lirVc all this.
Well may i be said that Americans have no
memories We look over the House of Repre-.
sentntiNcs and see the solid south enthronci
there We listen with calmne;ss TO culoSies of
sonvillo. We lookoyer the Senate md SEE the
senator from south Carolina, and we forget
ot Of Ks seat IN a' congpSss S and forsGt e
Planter, and the service rendered by ihe col.
or,cd troops in the late war for the Union. =.
may do otherwise, but the golored people OF
this country are bound to keep fresh mem.
Ory of the past till Justice shall he done them
in the present. When this shall be done We
shall MS readily rs any other part of our rc.
slcctcd fellow'citi2enS plead for an act of OBJ
We are often confronted Of late in the press
and on the platform with the discouragng
statement that the problem OF tile negro Us q
SS%p S and SfSS e P%t Sns yet Ss en %
bcst hopes OF his friends and fulfilled til,
worst predictions of his enemies, and that h,
hs ShoWm Hi hmISlf bin 1 nnt for ts post2p as
| the nation. 1t is said that physically morally
T socially, and ,rcliglouSly he Is IN q condition
good q master to himself as Ills old master wa.
10 him; that he Is gradually, but surely, sink
ing below the point of industry. good manners
and civilizationto wiiichhc attaincd in stlt,
of slavery; that his industry is ,itiul that hi
ECONOMY, is .wasteful; that his honesty, is dc
"ctful; that his morals are impurc that hi
domestic life + bcastly;. that his religion i
ict"hism, and his worShipis simply emotional
and tat, i word, he is falling into STATE
: such is ii" distressing description Of III,
+. and as i is found reported in the journals OF
,hS south TaMaE,S h@wSySr sH is En Eds'Grp ,
T. forth TO the north. Ii has crossed the ocean
mct With !, in EropG And i i m lms gone gone a;
Gs wng OF thg rS3s nG tine SWEG
the injury inflicted upon tie negro by II. II
coOls our friends, heats Opr enemies. and
md hs sd adwSE Wh " % s SG ana sS S S rGcSn
V at the hands of our fellOw'men.
. But now comes the question, Is tins descrip
\ SwCr to this question must say, Yes aud no
! II Is not true in all Its lines and specification
= and To the full extent Of the ground II cover.
Il hut i certainly + true true IN many Of It's import I'M
ven of which the same would not he equal!
true with the same antcccdentS and the SAINT
l. treatment which the negro is receiving AT tin
hands OF this nation and the old master class
n To which the negro is still a subject.
) admit that the negro: and especially tin
e plantation negro, the tiller of the soil, ln
o made little progress from barbarism to civil
r zation, and that he Is IN deplorabc conii
l. tion since his emancipation That he Is wors
on, in many respects. than when he waSi
# that the fault is not his, but that of his heart
e less uccuscrs lie is the victim of u crmningl!
. devised swinde, one which paralyzes, his en-
I. rrglcs, s,lppresses his ambition and blasts al
: his hopes; and though lie Is nOminally free III
Is l. actually slave. here and now dcnounc
his so'called emancipation as II stupcndou
y world. II was not so meant by Abraham
d Lincoln; 1t was not so meant by the Rcpubli
n can party but whether 50 meant or not, Il !
# to the ear and breaking II to the heart,
| Do,you ask me why the negro of the planta
d ton has made so little pr3gesS, why his cnl
~ his children run naked, and why his wife hide
/ herself behind the hut whena strangeris pass
:, ingr will tell you. II + because he Is syS
N hard earnings. The same class that once eN
T. tortcd his labor under the lash now gets hi
labor by yT mean % %snepking', amd irauIMiel ri,en
~ which never permits him 10 see or to save
If dollar of his hard earnings. He struggles an
), struggles, but like n man In Il mOraSs, tn
" more he struggles the deeper he sinks. III
d highest wages paid him Is 50 a month, and thi
Nc he receives only in orders ON the store, wligl
n In many eases, Is owned by his employer. IN
y scrip has purchasing power ON that one store
IT. | and that one only. a blind man can see tina
'c the laborer is by this arrangement bound han!
4 and foot, and is completely IN the powerof hi
II employer. lie can charge the, poor tclloN
N what he plcaScs and give what Kind OF good
h, he plcases, and he does both, His victim can
n not 20 to another store and buy, and this III
o sturckceper knows, The only security III
[. | MrnIrhnl nnHrn hns mnlnr this nrrnnnnmrMt