The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-01-17
BUSY DAY IN CONGRESS.
SENATOR BUTLER SPEAKS ON
MICRO EMIGRATION.

NhG1O E-A1GEbA14ON.
A Problem Of the Grsvest Importance
TO Both Races - Should be Net
Promptly and Unf1lnchingly - The
House Consum es the Day Over the
Worlds Fair-Montana Senators.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16.-In the Senate
this morning the concurrent resolution re-
ported from the committee on finance, re-
uuesting the Secretary Of the Treasury not
TO take any steps toward making a new
lease Of the seal fisheries until after Feb. 20,
was passed.
Among the bills reported from the COM
mittee and placed on the calendar were the
following:
Appropriating $4,000 for statue in
Washington Of James Madison.
For the removal of Indian prisoners in
the east tGsroaimo's band) to Fort SILL In
dian territory.
The Senate then took up the bill intro
duced by Mr.. Butler on Dec 12 to provide
for the emigration Of persons Of color from
the southern states.
NEGRO EMIGRATION.
Mr.. Butler proceeded to address the Sem
ate. He proposed to discuss the subject
The said) entirely outside of party lines, and
to make frank, dispasSionate statement of
facts and experiences. If others took upon
themselves to give the discussion partisan
or sectional coloring, the responsibility
would rest with them. To his mind it was
too grave a subject to be distorted by
party considerations or confined
within the narrow boundaries and
limits Of party lines. 1t
rose above party or cabal and deserved to be
held above sections. Cupidity had brought
the Africans here. Cupidity had inveigled
the Chinamaa here, and cupidity had
driven him out The Indian had been here,
and would not be reduced to slavery, and SO
the Indian was bounded and corralled. He
was bounded and corralled now, but he was
still here aud menace. What was to be
done with the Indiaus Make citizen of
himl Give him the ballot, with full civil
and political rights? Why nota The Indian
was here before the white man, the African
Or the Mongolian.
ENFRANCHIsEMENT OF THE NEGRO.
He spoke Of the granting of suffrage to
the colored men as a craze which had come
on the hem Of battle; but as having been
neither wi g nor judicious. But the act was
DONE and he could not see how it was TO be
undone. He would not discuss the response
btlltJ LOl IL. ll6 WOulu h0tIlU, lCE Iue sake
OF argument, that both sections and both
political parties were responsible. Some
persons who held higa rank III the intel
lectual world held that in the history of the
African race in this country was TO be seen
the hand of God for the accomplishment of
great purpose in another hemisphere.
Events, Mr.. Butler said, appeared to be
shaping themselves in a manner to Justly
such conclusion. The race question raised
ha aI,@ roI 49, s%.x1o Nf 81,
toward each other was burning evidence
that the issue was not confined to any local
lty, section or party.
WHAT rs TO BECOME OF THE NEGRO
What was to become of the 100000 In
dlans in this country, and of the 100, 900
Cinnamon. was difficult problem; but the
most profound inquiry applied directly to
the pending bill, and that was, What was
to be the fate of the G,00a,000, or 100000
negroes in thus country? They were citi-
2ens; they had the ballot; they had all the
civil and political rights which white men
had, and which were denied to the other
coloted races. Would the colored people in
the United States (he asked) be able to
maintain themselves on an equal footing
with the white men, and so as not to jeopar-
die the well being of American institu-
tions. The opinion appeared to be growing
that they could not. An honest effort
should be made TO ascertain why not, and
TO determine what was best to be done.
THE INTEREST OF BOTH RACES.
The interest of both races required that
the problem should be carefully weighed
and fairly dealt with. He confessed that
the problem oppressed him with its gravity
and difficulties. 1t was too serious to he
trifed with, and too urgent to
be ignored or neglected. Mr.. Butler re-
fnr-rod tN ha Of 0io
all high positions in this country, aud saw
in that fact proof of unrelenting, unforgiv-
ing, incurable race prejudice. If anybody,
he said, had predicted before the war that
the southern states would. within few
years, be represented in both Houses of con-
gress by men who were then slaves, he would
have been laughed at, and derided as e
negrophilist And If, after many
negroes were in congress, it had
heen predicted that in ten years not one
negro would be sitting in either House, the
prediction would have had few believers.
And SO, if any one predicted to-day that
within half a century not a ull-blooded,
genuine negro would be found in the United
States he would not be believed; and yet
there were men that expected that very
thing. 1t was unsafe therefore, to enter the
domain of prophecy on the question.
Scenes shifted so rapidly, the un-
followed each other with such unforeseen
precipitation that he became almost dunn
founded by the historic kaleidoscope, and
was impressed with a profound sense of
human inability to shape and control
events.
WHAT THE BILL PROVIDES.
This bill, he said, contemplated gradual,
orderly, voluntary movement Of the col
ored people out of the southern states and
provided government aid to enable them to
90 SO. II he were called upon for authority
whereby congress could properly make
such an appropriation of money,
ne would point to appropriations
made to aid the Indians in moving out of
the northern, middle and southern states,
and to appropriations to exclude Cinnamon.
IL appeared to him that it would be a
proper exercise of the constitutional power
Oh congress to appropriate money for the
latlonal or general welfare. The citizen
snip Of thenegro strengthened his claim over
mat of the Indian for such government
assistance.
NEGROES NOT ADVANCING.
lie might be asked why should the negro
move out OF the southern states. His an
s"el might be that the negro would not do
80 except on his own motion. There was
nolnlag in the bill thai would coerce or
compel him to move. But his answer, how
ever, would be that it would be for the negro's
own good and for the good of his white
iLvisnbors also While negroes remained in