Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-06-29
BLACK MAN, STAND ASIDE.

heart for the black man. He may f1atter | him on the stump or in public places.
 he may hypocritically pretend to cham
 pion his rights against the wicked dem-
 ocrats who deny his equality and brother
 hood; but when it comes to give practi- | cal demonstration of his regard for the colored brother Benjamin Harrison pre-
 fers to be excused. When at the inaug-
 uration colored republicans desired to "whoop 'er up" as all true and loyal re- publicans should, when they wished to
 join in the festivities of the inaugural
 ball, they were told with brutal frank ness that their good will would be pre- ferable to their company, that they would be in the way and that the presi- dent and the managers of the ceremonies did not wish to be hampered by their presence. And now comes another proof of Harrison's antipathy to the black man.
 A delegation of southern protection democrats called at the white house a few weeks ago to protest against the appointment of colored men to promi- nent local offices in the south, claiming that the prejudices of color were too deep-seated to admit of successful office holding by black men. President liar rison is quoted by one of the delegates
 as expressing himself in hearty sympa- thy with the feelings of the gentlemen, and declared that if he were in
 their places he would feel exactly
 as they did. Personal contact with an
 alien race in social, political and profes- sional life he declared would not be agreeable to him. He would not like to
 see negroes representing the power and authority of the United States ill fiscal or administrative capacity at his o~n home, nor would it be agreeable to him to practice his profession before colored federal judge or to meet a negro at the fed eral bar as sUnited States attorney It would l of course, although he did not say so, be | entirely agreeable to him to receive the negro vote of every state ill the Union. Nevertheless, President Harrison de- | clared, with all his natural antipathy to
 the black man, he was desirous that jus
 tice be done to him, and dlsavowed any
 desire to ignore him entirely in the dis
 tribution of official pap. But I be-
 lieve," he said, "that all their just ex- pectations can be satisfied without plac-
 ing::them in positions where race instinct
 is sure to brew personal bitterness and
 social discord. There are places enough
 in the public service, embracing as it
 does thousands of department clerkships
 and nearly as many comparatively iso- lated functions. like those of the railway
 mail service and a multitude of remote
 special agencies and inspectorships, in
 which colored persons can perform use
 full and honorable service without in-
 volving that personal contact with, and
 official authority over, white citizens in
 their own homes which you and your
 people find offensive"
 From the treatment that colored aspi-
 rants for office, north and south, have so far met with, this may be accepted as representing with substantial accuracy the position and the views of the presi- dent. They are not to be excluded en- tirely from taste of the spells, but they
 are only to be allowed to have such as will not excite the envy or the
 hatred of white men. They , may be allowed to clean the spittoons ill
 the government buildings, to weigh the l mails or to carry the mail bags to and ; from the depots, but they are not to have any of the better offices which as men of self-respect and conscious of
 their deserts they might be expected to
 aspire to. Is this the treatment to which , their numbers and influence ill etfecting l the republican victory entitle the ne
 groes? Is this tho treatment or are these
 the sentiments that would be declared
 in his regard previous to presidential election? We think not And yet the black
 men will go on just the same support } ing candidate and party by whom they are regarded as fit only to be hewers of , wood and drawers of water. They will line themselves solidly with the republi- , cans even though they have abundant proof, as they have had the past four
 months, that there is nothing for them , to expect from the administration but kicks and cuffs and contumelious treat ment. Nor can we look with any great expectancy for change of conduct until the leaders among them counsel their people to assert their political indepen- , dence.
 l As the republican party persists in its command to the black man to stand from under the shower of official favors we may look to the growth of indigna- 5 tion and manly resentment that will re- ) suit in breaking his political letters. } Not until he breaks his bonds will he get his rights from the republicans.
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