The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1890-10-25
A TRAVELLING ACQUAINTANCE.

uuO DSNahO eet etu1AHtC4 Win Nt. H. u,
Houston, prominent citizen of Lam
caster, Pa, and once a candidate for
Governor of that State. Out of this
acquaintance has grown an occasional
correspondence. Naturally one of Mr..
Eyerlnan's letters has found its way in
print, in the Lancaster Era. That
journal seems 10 think the closing
paragraph, which it places in italics, as
good campaign matter. 1t is as
follows:
aIf full vote and fair count were
had in the South, at least seven out ol
thirteen States would go Republican,
and in less than a decade they would
be bankrupt and on the direct road to
savagery. No, Mr.. Houston, you
people do not know what you are
talking about when you favor "fairly
counting the black vote. How much
Northern money was invested in the
South in 1875, when Republican rule
was broken up? How many iron
furnaces, rolling mills, cotton mills and
factories ofall kinds would there be in
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisi-
ana, Tennessee and Arkansas, if the
negro vote had been fairly counted
since 1875? None, absolutely none.
| tell you If the whites had been kept
out of power until to-day, the few who
could not leave for lack of means,
wonld be in rags, and many of the
negroes as savage and Ignorant as in
their native land. If this great section
is to prosper it must be allowed to
take care OF itself and not have Federal
Interference
Mr.. Everman returns Mr.. Houston's
compliment of publishing (without
permission) bis letter, and encloses the
following from that irate and error
smitten gentleman:
LANCASTER, Pa, Oct. 9TH, 1890.
Thanks for copy OF N. Y. World. 1
read Mr.. Montgomory's speech, which
l presume is what you intended; but
all the time cannot avoid thinking
to myself, "This man is carrying out
bargain made to betray his race for
being permitted to bold bis seat in that
convention
/ have no objection to white who
seeks to abridge or deny the right of a
black to vote. But for one of their
own color who allows himself to be
cajolcd or bargained with to do the
same, l have the most supreme
contempt.
The whole Mississippi scheme is an
open and avowed attempt to nullify,
by lndirection, the Constitution of the
United States and | think the Gov
ernment owes it to itself to see that II
the new Constitution is adopted, 1t
should be with a full vote and fair count
of all the now legal votes In the State, III
which case | risk the opinion that 1t
would not be adopted.
enclose Fred Douglass views on
subject, in which you will see he Is
much more lenient to Mr.. NJ, than
myself.
This Mississippi Convention business
is making Republican votes up North
very rapidly. | did think at one time
that IL was a very even fight In Penn
splvanIa, as Quay is getting to be very
unpopular with the thinking people
here-but IL is only question Of
majority now, and it won't be q small
one. Imagine ingalls, going through
that conventions proceedings to an
audience of 5000 in Pittsburg, where
tLere were at least 10000 Republicans
lin Allegheny county,, ready to vote
for Pattison. think now he will have
good luck to get 1000 Of them. Get
your people to quit talking race
problems. Yours,
r. J. HOUSTON.
What a fortunate State Is Pennsyl-
vania, whose people have SO few griey-
ances of their own that they can afford
to hinge their elections on Mississippi
domestic aflairsl 1t will be noted that
Mr.. Houston Is in line on tho question
of submission with our anti-conven-
ton brethren.
Mr.. Houston's view of the negros
political duty is that of the old carpet
bagger. lie must be blind follower
and tool of the Republican party re-
oardless of interests or issues. When no
departs from this guide, attempts to
affiliate with the white people OF bis
own section, he is denounced as a
venal wretch, an object Of supreme
Contempt Unable to appreciate
delegate Montgomcry's profoundly
thoughtful reflections and the moral
courage of their avowal, this man
ioins tho venomous reptile FREQ
Douglas in defaming him. 1t viii DO
seen in the letter of the old quadroon
that he has conceived great apprehenF
sion of Montgomery's speech. If the
negroes we're TO adopt the council II
co,nmeuds 1t would indeed be a
aweapon Of destruction to the negro
political advcuturers, of whom Fred
Douglas is the chief Here is an
extract from Douglass letters
Frederick Douglas, in q letter which
he has written to the United States
African News Company, comments
mon the address delivered in the Mis-
sissippi Constitutional Convention by
the negro orator, Isaiah 1. Mon'gom-
cry. as follows:
nOccupied as | am with necessary
for my departure from
Washington to my post in Hayti, !
have no time 10 give you such q de-
liyera,,ce W concerning the address of Mr..
Montgomery as l could wish, and
which the solemn Importance OF tho
subject " Il discusses demands. or one
thing all must agree. Mr.. Montgom--
erv E an able man, and in this respect
,s-.~,,. vaat credit TO the much