The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-12-08
MR.. HARRISON AND THE COLoRED
PEOPLE.

To say the least Of il, II 10 little re-
markable that President, who, in Or
Ganixing his domestic household at the
White House, promptly discharges the
colored servants who had rendered ac-
ceptable service 10 Cleveland, Demo
Graf, should now bloom out in his first
message as q champion OF the colored
race.
A Southern gentleman, aud even an
old stakeholder, would hesitate long
before subjectipg his servants to pre-
carious search for new homes and the
hazard OF unknown hardships, and yet
Mr.. Harrison condemned the servants oil
the White House without trial for the
DIOR of their skin, and replaced Thorn,
as it was said, ne far as he could, with
the white servants discharged BY Lord
Sickville West when he left Washing
ton. And yet this sanctimonous and
self-righteous President, who Is not
willing to be served at table, or even TO
have his boots blacksd exceptby a eau
casian. 90 swells with indignation over
the imaginary wrongs OF his colored
brother, that his championship OF his
ca Use must be made known in his mes
sage to Congress, and at once teit-
graphed to the uttermost parts oil u @
earth.
Fortunately for the cause OF truth,
the veil which divides profession from
performance ia not an impenetrable
one. and il is clear that with Mr.. Harrl-
son, while the colored man is to be
strictly taboOed for his own domestic
sarvlce. he is to be nursed and coddled
as voter, and is admirable as post
master in an office from which he does
not receive his daily mail.
lie says, in his message, that the ne
gro has already made great progress IN
education and the acquisition of prop
erty. Now, we are somewhat familiar
| with one of the counties of Soutbslde
Virginia. with negro population dou-
BILE the white. and there is not one in
stance in which negro who was not
trained to habits of industry under the
compulsion Of slavery, has acquired
property, and, outside the cities, we be-
lieve that the same state Of things exists
throughout the South. 50 far as our
observation goes, the negroes who have
grown up since 1865 are more destitute
of property than the Bedouins OF the
Desert, and with their shiftless and
uomadic habits, unusual earnings cllng
to them no more than does moss TO
rolling stone.
Their educational advance means
simply a capabilty of reading and
wiring, which often soon becomes an
obscure memory, in the absence of any
desire to read books and newspapers.
Il is possible that Mr.. Harrison can
know the savage condition OF Liberia
and Hayti. and read the report OF a
former United States colored minister
| t. the former. who compares 1t 10
Hades, and yet be 80 inhuman as to de-
sire to subject his countrymen OF the
South 10 such barbarian rule. We
hold, however. that all the devices OF
Republican election machinery will
utterly fail of their object, but we
would warn that party that 1t cannot
increase tho asperities of race rivalry
without subjecting the weaker to pain
full conditions, now unknown and un-
dreamt Of.
When the colored man, through IN
tensity of race feeling and political
conflict, ceases TO be desirable as n
laborer, a tenant, or even domestic
servant, as is already the case with Mr..
Harrison. will the President be his
Joshua, and is there land OF Canaan
to which he will lead him, where
there will not only be an abundance OF
milk and honey, but free ballot and
a fair COUNT