The Washington bee. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1884-1922, 1889-11-09

an0 TO the congress OF Cno united
States before and we cannot see
that we are protected from any
source. Our friends seem power
less and high crime is still rampant
Occasionally there is an investlga-
tion or long debate, but our lives
and property are still insecure and
outrageous laws are still being
made against US.
We do not appeal to you nor to
Congress as partisans, yet, as the
long, lifetime allies of the senti-
ment your party expresses and by
which you hold power to-day, we
do hereby request that our wrongs
be righted. We make the follow
ing indictment against many sec
tions of the lower South. Let it be
remembered that we do not speak
of every section of the South, for
many sections are quiet and peaca-
BILE.
The Indictment.
We charge: l. That we are
murdered without cause. 2. That
We are not given justice before
the law. 3. That we are driven
from our homes and onr property
destroyed by fire. 4. That we are
denied the right to vote, or if al
lowed to vote, our vote is Destroy
ed by fraud. 5. That when elec~
ted we are elected from office by
revolutionary proceedings. 6.
That we are kept in constant
dread by the parade of arms and
denunciatory threats through eve
ry campaign. 7. That our church.
es are burned and our meetings
disbanded. 8. That the opposing
press can say what it pleases while
our press is muzzled. 9 That our
progress is checked in every way,
living under such unhappy and
miserable circumstances
Now, since these things are so,
we have come to ask you to lay
before Congress these resolutions
and this memorial, praying that
$5O,000,O00 more or less, be ap-
propriated to aid those who are
thus situated to leave the South
and settle on western lands 1t is
no fault of ours that we are out
ragged and murdered. We would
gladly have our people stay in the
land where we were born, for we
all love the South. Indeed, we
love its people and would gladly
live in peace with them.
We are not anarchists, commun-
lists nor socialists, but true Amer
leans who love their country. If the
pilgrim fathers could come across
the waters for peace and safety,
why should we not 60 west among
a friendly people? 1t is useless to
hope for a change of sentiment III
these sections of the South.
"Hope deferred maketh the heart
sick"
Nearly generation has passed
since The war and this state OF at
fairs still continues. If it be ar
gued that the United States can
do nothing for US it would seem
that we are not citizens of the
United States, but citizens of the
states in which we live.
If this be so it is apparant that
we have no redress within the
state, and the only remedy then
would be to leave unfriendly
states and 90 to friendly ones
The colored people are poor, made
so and are kept so. Some may
dispute the propriety of this ap-
peal, but the best vindication of
our Effort herein will be to give
these people a chance to leave
these sections.
The exodus of the Isrealites
from Egypt will be a small sized
excursion compared to the move
there will be in the South. The
Committee representing 1,962,273
commandments who are your pc
titioners, do not bear any malice
nor ill-will to the people of the
South, nor do our constituents.
We are sure the news papers will
daily corroborate our Indictment in
some form or other. Trusting
we may have your good will In
this matter and no desire to be
unfair to the quiet and peaceful
sections of the South, but only to
speak of sections known to cover
the descriptions mentioned. We
are respectfully yours, VIM. j..
Summons, 9, II. Parish, w. B,
Johnson, j. A. Taylor, II. W.