The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-07-12
THE ELECTIONS BILL.

| Inc CEDAR kapluS Iowa Guzttte Is
Republican paper in the main, the
only difference between it and the Re
publican press generally being that il
aims TO be candid and honest in it,
politics. For that reason its edit oI
finds it impossible to agree with hi,
party in regard to the proposed federal
elections bill. The editor has the ad.
ditional advantage over his Repubi-
can contemporaries of being able to
speak Of the situation at the south and
Of the negroes from personal knowl-
edge. after travelling through near
ly every part Of the south" he says,
land paying close attention to the
people, their manners. habits, customs,
treatment Of the cOlOred race, etc, we
have come to the conclusion that the
negro is getting along fully as well as
he would if the same number of color
ed men OF the south were to be thrown
among the same number Of northern
white people as are in the south. Some
people seem to forget that there are
tlcrent classes Of colorcd people the
that some are good and some are bad
Many Of the negroes seemed TO imag-
Inc that when given liberty they were
given ownership Of the earth, that it
was for them to make the laws of the
country. fiji the offices and to tell the
white people what to do. The negroes
wanted Office the first thing, They
wanted to control the cities and the
states. Imagine the legislature Of
states in control of ignorant cOlored
men, just out Of bondage. What
would the people of Iowa say to turn
ing over their legislature to such a
class? The mistake was made in Civ
ing the ballot to all the negroes at
once, regardless of their ignorance.
"There may be some cases where the
elections are not as they should be in
the south, but there is very little in
timdatiOn. Those days are gone.
There is some trickery, but it is prov
ing less and less, and the hope of the
country S that in due time the great
question will solve itself. Order is
being brought out Of chaos. The
white people are fast finding out that
the darkey is needed factor to their
greater success, and they are settling
down as fast as possible to the inevita-
Bile.
The negroes of the south as rule
are doing well. They will do better
They are progressing slowly but sure
ly. They have schools and churches.
The white people pay the taxes that
educate them, and they contribute the
funds very largely that build their
churches. Then, again, many of the
negroes commit crimes. They steal,
and pillage, and plumber, and rape
white girls. The south is filling up
with northern people. AS soon as a
white man locates south and finds out
the true condition, he sheds no more
tears over the negro, for he under
stands that the darkey is all right, and
begins training his temper. The white
people of the south will get along with
the colored people all right if they are
let alone. They know it is to their in
terest TO get along peaceably. But we
predict renewal of hOstilities and re-
tarded progress If the carpet Dagger is
nut in charge of elections again even
in any degree. If the negroes
were more intelligent they would be
better able to assist in solving this
question, for they could make the work
easier # they would"
A little plain, common sense talk
like this makes the subject very plain
to common sense comprehension. 1t
is only as presented by the scheming
that it seems muddled.
|
The eastern press is putting up so
strong demand in which the western
press is beginning to unite, that Z. M.