The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1890-01-30
Tho Race Question.

the dark. which stunned and confused \
even so discerninga statesman as Oliver
P. Morton, of Indiana. The proclama-
ton of freedom was an easy thing to
promulge. Its consequences it was be-
yond the ken of man to foresee. Even /
Mr.. Lincoln, although he had declared
in 1861 that there was an irrepressible
conflict between slavery and freedom,
had not, as late as 1863, contemplated
emancipation He did not grasp and
understand the moral forces which were
beneath the surface, directed by an in
visible and omnipotent hand; but
viewed the question from political
standpoint, affecting immediate inter
ests and shaping immediate policies.
Like Garrison and Phillips, he recog
nized the moral monstrosity of chattel
slavery, and like them he could not fore
tell the future or unfold the methods
by which the end was to be secured.
VIII III Phillips and Garrison preached
abo ition in Boston, the mob threatened
the.r lives. Their followers were
han lfull only They did not catch the
vision of six million of bondsmen, with
their shackles broken and clothed with
the rights and privileges of American
citizenship. 1t was in the presence OF this
phenomenal contamination that the
great mind of Morton stood aghast and
bewiId4red, knowing not what to do.
To clotAe the negro just from the bond7
age of slavery, and enveloped in super
stition and ignorance, with the highest
and most. sacred and most responsible
immunity of American citizenship-the
ballot-was an untried venture, that
staggered him. And yet how could the
slave become a freeman under our polltl-
cal system, without the weapon OF the
ballot to protect his rights, was a prob
lem that Mr.. Morton could not solve to
his satisfaction. As choice of evils, he,
with Others. ventured upon the most
solemn experiment in government that
ever taxed the intellections OF man.
Since then, the problem has increased
in magnitude and become intensified in
interest. Statesmen have shrank from
7
paltizan zealcts and agitators have come
to the fore to grapple with a question to
which the philosophy of politics furnishes
no answer Recently Senator Butler OF
South Carolina. introduced a bill in the
/ body of which he is member, looking
| to emigration of the BLACKS to Africa at
| the government expense. This presup-
poses an ANOMALY in human nature.
4 OF all things the negro is attached to
/ locality. His past condition and rela-
lions did not contribute to his mental
and moral development or Intelligent
appreciation of effort and labor The
/ ambition to govern, or to enter the
struggle for the supremacy OF mind over
1 matter. is not common to the race, nor
is it IL. sonable that it should be, until
there is higher attainments in knowl-
edge and broader view of citizenship.
through the process of education and
association. These conditions would
naturally preclude a desire to venture
into untrodden fields and assume I'M
known responsibilities, depending upon
his own creative genius and business
tact for success There is neither states"
mansllip, charity nor common sense in
Mr. Buffers proposition. And as there
is no power under the constitution and
laws to enforce emigration, it may be
assumed as settled that there can moth
The recent speech of Senator ingalls,
ti,n 4
contained in Mr.. Buffers bill. presented
no solution of the problem. nor did it
throw any new light upon a subject
that is as unfathombale to human ken
as it is unheralded by precedent. Round
ed periods and graceful and enigramatic
sentences, such asalways characterize the
utterances of the distinguished Senator,
do not simplify the matter. nor open up
to human understanding the way to
meet the situation as presented in exist
ing conditions. Indeed, we do not
believe that it is within the range of
mans intellection to foretell what is in
the womb of the future. 1t is easy to
conjure up 'gogons dire and brighten
the timid by eXtrayagant coniectures of
4 what might come out of race conflicts
But what is to be, now that the negro
is clothed with full citizenship is as in
scrutable as were the mysterious agencies
which operated in effecting his freedom
The hand of Providence may be traced
/ ia the African Slave Trade; in the bond
age of the negro; in his association and
! at I, ni,
in the breaking of the shackles that
bound him in slavery; in his present OPP
Rortunities for intellectual and moral
advancement. Bnt what the future
will unfold no man can foretell. Itmay
be to re-people the Dark Continent with
a higher type OF manhood. moved and
inspired by the influences of civilization,
! for the reclamation from ignorance and
superstition of the land of the negro
nativity. We cannot interpret the pur-
poses of Providence; and it is impious
to attempt it. Mr.. Ingalls, speech gave
us no revelation of what is in store for
the colored race. 1t marked out no new
paths to tread. and offered no solution
OF the difficulty, which called out his
attractive rhetoric and finished elocu-
ton. 1t is too intricate and mysterious
a question for either his erudition and
logic or his eloquence to master; and he
left it just where he found it when he
opened his speech.
Neither Senator Butler nor Senator
Ingalls, has added to the knowledge of
the country by their remarks; nor have
they approached SO near the lines that
impress the popular mind as practical
as has the Rev. W. b. Derrick, a eolored
man, who in recent speech in New
York. gave his views as follows
The ininl 9diate solution of the race problem
as far as it can be solved except by years, lies
alone with the Southern colored voter. The
remedy for his existing troubles is at at his very
hand. 1t is this Let him combine where he is
numerous enough to put liberal white men in
oeee. Let him offer his suffrages to respecta-
bic mem oers of the white community in whose I
manliness he has faith, and his troubles are
over. Throw politics to the dogs The Lord
knows we don't make much out of it at the best
The few offices we hold wouldn't support more
than a handful of us. But help to elect good
white men irrespective Of their political creeds.
aud they are bound to grant all the negro asks