Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-06-12
SPEAKER REED ON THE NEGRO
QUESTION.

Speaker Reed, in recent essay, declares
that the expressed fear of the South OF
negro domination is insincere. For, he
insists, every Southern man knows that
there cannot by any possibility be negro
domination in the United States.
No Federal taxes will ever be imposed by the
negro. No Federal control is within his power
preserve proper local State Government, to
keep the Caucasian supreme in the State, not a
living sould can dare to say that the same
wrong, or any other is necessary for Caucasian
supremacy in the United States. In fact, trans
ferred to the broader arena, the struggle is be-
tween the proud Caucasian and the Caucasian
who is not 30 proud. 1t it be race question,
is there any reason why the white man in the
South should have two votes to my one? is he
alone OF mortals to eat his cake and have it
TOO? Is ne to suppress his negro and have him
also? Among all his remedies, he has never
proposed to surrender the representation which
ne owes to the very negro whose vote he re-
fuses. The negro is human enough to be repre-
sented, put not human enough to have his vote
counted. suppose i were a fact that negro
honest veting In the Southern State elections;
suppose 1t were fact that disregard of law and
complete violation of the rights secured to the
essary 10 preserve the civilization of the South:
what has that to do with Federal elections?
There has not been made any sufficient
or logical answer to the charge that the
Speaker revives, that while suppressing
his vote, the Negroes poll is counted by the
white citizen In the basis of representa-
ton in Congress. Nor can the Speakers
succeeding charge be successfully replied
to, that violation of law is not necessary
to preserve the United States. Upon the
impregnability of this assertion the
Speaker holds:
Then. the question of race supremacy aud of
good government in the South has nothing
whatever to do with that other question which
concerns our whole people, whether the Re.
publican party of the United States shall re-
ceiye and have counted the votes whichkbe-
long to it by virtue of the Constitution OF the
country. If you tell us that these are ignorant
votes and ought not to be counted, we answer
and the answer is conclusiye-that ignorance is
everywhere, and that the Democratic party
never failed TO vote its ignorance to the utter
most verge OF the law. Why should they of all
partisans, claim that only scholars should
vote?
This latter thrust will, of course, call
out some vigorous Democratic replies.
But, for the matter of that, both Demo-
Gratis and Republicans have voted ignor-
ance and will continue to do SO. So long
as no intellectual or educational tests are
required, it is to be expected, nor indeed
can it be consistently decried. Neverthe-
less the point made by the Speaker is
trenchant and forcible. If ignorance is to
be voted among the whites, it does not lie
in the mouth of any one to object to ignor-
ance among the blacks coming to the polls
the law is for either, and it prohibits
neither. When the leaders at the South
therefore plead the repression of the negro
vote is justified by negro ignorance, they
are insincere and illogical, and their plea
is evasive of the true reason.