Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-01-23

) " II, the DOlltical status o.
- the negro would be 8
~ settlement of the race
~1< question, disclosed
how little he knew
senntor " e ButieF- O its magnitude
1t did not appear why tie prepondcrance OF
Thought should be bestowed upon the de.
sccndant of the African. Il had cost the
Government millions to settle the race gucs-
ton with the Indian, and still il was not set
tied The Chinese branch of the qucS-
ton had been Summarily eEtIcti-Settlcd,
too, in defiance of treaty stipulations, hu-
mainly and justice. The ChinaIIlan had to
go or die. Cupidty brought the African and
the thinaman here: cUpidity drove the Chi
nainan out. The Indian would not be reduced
To slavery and so he was hunted and cprralcd.
The Indian was here before the white man,
the African or the Mon golian. He possessed
characteristics which should make him a
valuable citizen i'll Il free republic; yet he
had been regarded as only lit to live res
ervations to himself under coercion. How
inconsistent and lnGetSnSIbIc had been the
treatment of the race question by the people
OF the United States. Had not the American
people been guided by impulse and passion?
and had they the courage and humanity to
acknowledge and the wisdom to correct and
avoid these mistakes in the future?
Fer tIe sake of argument he wCu!G con-
ccGe that both sections and both political
parties were responsible for this vital issue
the race question. The question was
without further disturbance: Was race
prejudice stronger and more binding in the
South than in the North: There wer" 3d.
Oh negroes in the North. Presumably they
had every advantage OF CduCat on and en-
ightenment ct i'll travelling through these
States you VIII not find negro at work for Il
railroad company CT on a street car,
or occupying any position OF trust
or honor or enulunrnt in the state
government. 1t could not be that the negro
not QUALIFIED for of these DDSlfiGD-.
What then excluded him from his equal
rights To these Callin@s. Ii was Unforgivin%,
un~elcntin@, incurable race prejudice II, in
1863. some prophet had predicted that with
in ten years the proud Caucasian master
would be practiciu.s his profession before Il
negro Judge; that the then Gespised slave
would represent sovereign State in the
Senate, he would have been regarded as
on the verge of insanity. II, in 1870, another
prophet had said that in another decade not
one representative of the negro race would
occupy Il seat in the Senate or ill IL place on
the bench throughout this broad land, he
would have been written down untrust-
worthy SOoth-sayer- Yet both OF these
things had occurred. To-day many would
stand amazed at the prediction that within
fifty years Il genuine, full-blooded negro
could not be found in the present limits of
the United States; yet there were many that
believed that very thing.
AIr. Butler Justified the expenditure pro-
posed in his bill by pointing to the appro-
priations made to aid the Indians in moving
and the money appropriated to exclude the
Chinese. In support of this position, Mr..
Butler quoted some remarks of Mr.. Webster.
The question might be asked: ''Why should
the negro leave the Southern States:' Be
cause wherever the negroes gathered in
mass or III numbers greater than heir white
neiShbOrS, experience showed that they did
not advance i'll the scale of civilization, but
actually refrigerated. Mr.. Butler said he did
not believe in the tai dcpravity of the
negro. He believed there were great
possibilities in store for him; that if the
e. Government would do its duty by him, he
would illuminate the dark continent of his
fathers with the light of liberty regulated by
law
1. was argued that the negro had helped
develop thc South without reward. In an
swcr to this NJ. Butler said that the inStitu-
ton of slavery, he believed, had retarded
the development of the States where it eX-
listed. And the negro had not been without
reward. He had been transformed from the
rude savage of the equator to condition
which made him fit to become Il citizen of
a free republic in the temperate zone.
As to the claim that the South was the ne
grCes' home. Mr.. Butler said that but few
negroes in the South had homes of their
own and that the citizens of any country,
white or black, rarely permitted sentiment
to deter him moving when he thought he
could better his condition.
Mr. Butler quoted from Rev. Edward W.
CASTOR, all colOred. in support of his state
ment that emigration was the only solu-
ton of the problem. lie also
read extracts from the political debates
between Abraham Lincoln and stephen y.
Douglas in 1858, in which both of them ia
vOred the separation OF the white and black
races; also extract from speech of eN-
Postmaster Genera! David NJ. Key, holding
that but little of the spirit of sectiOnalism
remained among the Southern people.
E,rtln SaiI Il
about time, Mr.. President, that the think
ing men of this country-Inen who
have some concern for the future
welfarc of coming generations, as
well as the temporary triumph
of party-should meet upon the common
plane of the general good, and dispose
of this question fairly and humanely: Is
there subject, whether economic, moral,
social or religious, which can be considered
without injecting into the discussion sec
tional and party considerations: Is there
not some topic of public import which we
can make common cause of and adjust 1T
without the burden and binding influence of
party bias? ! should welcome such day
as a new era in our history, from which to
date better hopes for the perpetuity OF a con-
sttutional republic"
nn,r tO Mr. ErtIpr