San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-12-19
ghe Daily Eight.
A Negro and a Gentleman.

A Negro and Gentleman.
From the Remarks of Senator Vest Upon
the Election Bill.
Mr.Vest. Speaking of the negroes,
who are peculiarly interested, saw
the other day q statement by the
most intelligent negro whom l have
met In years, q gentleman who owns
q plantation in the State of M!ssis-
sippi, VINO is the owner of large
amount OF personal property, who ap-
peared during the last session of Con-
gress before our Committee on Com :
merce and read an argument prepar-
ed by himself-which / took the pains
10 ascertain. for / was curious to know
as 10 the authorship of it-an argu-
ment prepared by himself, which
struck me and every member or that
committee and every auditor in that
committee room. 1t was full of in
tellipent statements of fact and phil
osophical deduction. / say l saw q
statement the other day from that
gentleman in which he declared that
the passage of this force bill would be
tho greatest calamity that could hap
pen to his race in the Southern States.
He said that of all the evils that
could come upon the blacks OF the
south the greatest would be the pass
age of O coercive measure like this.
Mr.. Blair. May ask the Senator a
question.
Mr.. Vest. Certainly.
Mr.. Was this very intelligent ne
gro 3 full blooded negro?
Mr.. Frye. Isaiah Montgomery.
Mr.. Gibson. He is as black as the
Senator's coat.
Mr.. Blair. 1 did not know: want
ed that question settled, whether a
pure negro knew anything or not.
Mr.. Vest. Oh, Mr.. President, we
can discuss that question when it be-
comes legitimate issue at the prop
er time. / am speaking now as to
the point of a public sentiment, even
among the negroes, in favor of the
passage of this bill, and L bring for
ward represen tative negro, MEM
Der of the Constitutional Convention
Of Mississippi, q leader amongst the
negroes in the South, who declares
that this bill. if passed into law
will be the greatest calamity that
could happen to his race.
was proceeding, when interrupt
ed by the Senator from New Hamp-
shire, to notice one statement made
by him, which, knowing the South as
do, reared among the negroes as 1
have been, acquainted with their
pecuIiarities and the social conditions
which surround them as well as can
be acquainted with anything, struck
me with great force. This Mr.. Mont
gomery-for that is the name of this
gentleman-a planter, said that If
this bill was passed 1t would be inn.
possible to find respectable officials
in the Southern States to operate it,
and he said the result would be that
none but the most ignorant and de-
graded and unfit persons in those
States could be found to execute
this law. He said, and it goes with
out saying, that under that condition
of things there could be only race
animosity, collision, disturbance and
outrage. and the result would be that
instead of q cotton crop which to-day is
the hope financially of the people of
the United States, we should have no
such crop in the next or in many
succeeding years; and the financial
outlook to-day, darker than it has
been since 1878, would be made still
darker by this pretended attempt to
help the black people of the South.