The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1890-05-15
HENDERSON, N. c., THURSDAY, MAY 15 1890
be honest if he would, and I'm glad

be honest if he would, and I'm glad
it's so.
To be honest you must be- indus
trious. The greatest trouble with you
niggers IS you don't work enough.
You see a niger lettering around,
doing nothing, aud the first thing any
body knows, he is raising chickens
before they are half grown, and that
fellow goes through the chain-gang on
his way to hell. If one of you niggers
lie around in idleness a while, you get
hungry and borrow.
To be industrious you must be sober.
Whisky makes honest men steal, and
makes brave men towards. A niger
will 60 to the saloon all the week and
make bill promising to pay on Sat-
urday. He gets his pay on Saturday,
and concludes that he needs the money
worse than the barkeeper, and starts
to pass by on the other side of the
street, when the barkeeper calls him.
He answers and says 81 was jest
comm" and knows he is telling lie.
He pays his bill, gets two more drinks
and goes home, perhaps, with 20 cents
in his pocket. When he gets there his
wife asks him about the meal and meat
and sugar he promised to bring. He
says he didn't promise "any such a
thing" His wife says "yes you did,
didn't you know the preachers
comm tomorrow? "Confound the
preacher" he'll say; and that fellow
is member of the church. A decent
dog wouldn't do that way.
You go to the barkeeper's house and
see all his fnery and ask him how he
got it, You fools made the money and
he got it. More than 1000 of you
have spent enough money tor whiskey
to build you a home. You women
needn't to laugh, you love to drink too.
When your husband comes home you
say, "Tom you fotch any of that good
stuff with you?' You old hogs. Them
niggers are going to hell. When there
is an election on prohibition you can
be tolled around like sheep, with
flask ofwhiskey and when your preach
er says anything about sobriety or
morality, you get mad and talk about
quitting the church, you old quitting
devil.
want to see you niggers and poor
white folks saved. You have a bad
enough time in this world, and its too
bad for you to go to hell.
Politics and whiskey are you ruin.
Your best friends are your white neigh
bors. You say "I'm Republican.
Did the Republicans ever give you any
thing to eat or wear? I'm not talk
ing for the Democrats, but who's post
master here? (Several answered ga
white man.")
Here the preacher told the old ne
groe's dream about Mahone's riding to
Heaven, and that all the politicians
cared for the negroes was to ride them
to the Offices and hitch them outside.
Voices in the audience, "that's SO. ~
What makes you run after them?
Politics won't made for poor folks
nohow. The best thing for you niggers
to do is to look to God and your
neighbors for help. l had rather give
up some of my white neighbors than
some of my colored neighbors, for
when any of my folks get sick, they
will come and wait on them and work
for me. You are good to 60 and see
one another when you get sick, amt
you? Voices, "yes.") Yougo and
stay till all the rations are eat up, and
then leave 'em to die. You ought to
stand up for one another, more.
Talk about social equality. You
niggers dou't want it. Niggers and
whites will mix, but they mix at the
bottom. It's the lowest down of both
races. You let politics and social
equality alone, and 60 to work, you
old fools.
You mothers cannot be too careful
abou your girls one bad girl can ruin
a whole street. Remember what Stuart
said about your women. You will
never be great people as long as you
sell your virtue for spool of thread or
a piece Of ribbon.
You preachers need to be honest
and upright before your people. Preach
sobriety, morality and honesty. Some
negro preachers are the meanest men
in town. They won't pay their debts,
and you are like the old negro preach
er that said there were three parts to
his meeting, the text, the subject mat
ter and the rousement, and as time
was limited proceeded at once to the
rousement." All you care for is the
big ssrousement."
Turning to some of the preachers
he said, no wonder you are sweating.
Don't try to initiate the white folks in
their big balls. Quit trying to un-
dermine your own folks by talking
about them. Be honest, industrious,
sober, and strive to do right, and serve
God. Don't you know that all the
nigroes love whiskey? All of you:.tha
don't love it stand up, now don't lie.
(About twenty-five stood up.) ex-
pect half OF you ought to be knocked
down.
You stick to your churches, to God
and one another. Quit your stealing,
whiskey drinking, gambling land lying
and do right, and after a while you'll Il
get home to Heaven and your old
black skins will peal off and your hail
will straigten right.
Mr.. Jones asked all who were de.
termined to live right in the future to
rise, and nearly all the vast crowd stood
up, and the benediction was pro