The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1891-01-03
THE CELEBRATION.
Emancipation Day Grandly Celebrated
tor the People of st. Paul,

tor the People Of st. Paul,
Under the Auspices ofAfro-AmericanL Leg
que No. 1, of st. Paul-The Armory the
Scene of q Great and Glorious Oc-
casion-EntertainingE Exercises
The celebration of Emancipation Day
by the people of st. Paul under the au.
spices of Afro American League No. l,
of St. Paul was the event of Thursday
January l, in the SANITY City," At the
appointed hour rhe Armory contained a
fair representation of the most intelligent
portion of,the Colored citizens ofSt. Paul
and small sprinkling of the right sort
OF white ones who had gathered to show
their appreciation of Gods work in free
ing 100000 slaves and by their presence
and words attesting thereto.
Among those who were seated on the
platform were: Archbishop Ireland, s..
E.. Hardy Rev. s. q. Smith, F. L. Nc
Ghee, Father Harrison, J. H. Hickman,
Judge L. W. Kelly, Rev. D. P. Brown,
J. K. Hilyard, R. c. Beal, N. Russell,
D. Hardin, R.. E.@Anderson and J. @.
Adams. The exercises began, with an
overture by the Second Regiment band
followed by the call to order by the presi-
dent Of the League S. E. Hardy who
stated the object of the celebration in q
neat speech. The audience then, lead
by J. H. Hickman. joined in singing
my Country tbs ofThee." 10. Adams
secretary of the committee of arrange
ments then read letters of regret from
Governor Merriam, D. R. Noyes, Field
ing Combs and others, after which F. L..
McGhee, Esq, made the welcome adj
dress. He made rousing and patriotic
speech, in which he referred to the con-
dition of the Colored men twenty-eight
years ago and their present state. He
claimed that the Colored people of the
y United States had not yet attained to
their full freedom, but that the day was
fast approaching when they would be
equal to their white brethren.
"The sun of our perfect freedom" said
he, sis rising in this Northwest. Educa
ton on the question is flowing from here
and we are creating sentiment which
will spread throughout the country"
He discussed the race problem and stated
that the enlightenment of the Colored
people had begun in the West, and
would spread throughout the land. He
made happy reference to the stand
taken by Archbishop Ireland, Rev. S. G.
Smith, and Ignatius Donnelly as leaders
in encouraging the Colored people to
greater progress and privileges.
j. H. Hickman read the emancipation
proclamation in a clear and distinct
voice. Then came music by the orches-
ira.
Archbishop Ireland the orator of the
day was then introduced. He COM
menced by alluding to the occasion as
being one of which to be proud, as it
, was the twenty-seventh anniversary of
the day when the chains of slavery fell
from over three millions of slaves. He
regretted that history had to record that
slavery ever existed in this country, as
he thought it was sad commentary on
the plan and principles of the govern
ment of the United States, the whole
theory of which was opposed to enslav-
ing man by his own kind. Said he:
"Slavery was not introduced by the
republic It was brought to the colony
of Virginia by the English in 1920"
The trouble was in that the virus had
been inoculated into the body polite by
foreign theory. The Archbishop allud-
Led to the statement having been made
that slavery, in the abstract, was but
life contract for labor, and asserted that
in the concrete it was founded on prin-
\ ciple of ownership of the body and soul
,,eof the slave Thr highest gift of man
was the privilege to know and to act; but
slavery took away the freedom of the
will. Emancipation began with Christ,
and the slavery of the blacks was against
the theory of the Christian religion.
The emancipation of the blacks did not
stop at freeing the body, but it is being
extended to-day in social way. He re-
ferred to the ostracism from hotels and
cars, and entered protest against it.
He continued:
''Slavery was wrong, and we should
do all in our power to cause it to be for
gotten, because it was disgrace. Color
is the merest accident. The color of the
face is made up of various standings in
the races of man. Why select one color
and place bar upon it? It is baseless
prejudice" Some whites were inferior
in intellect to some blacks, and he advo-
Gated intelligence and social graces as the
basis of equality" ..r Z -:--@-.:.
"Give them their opportunity, and if
they are inferior the white people will
profit by it; if they are superior, give
them place. It is simply impossible to
build up a wall Of separation in this
y country between the whites and the
blacks. I say admit the blacks on tile
,same principle that you admit the white
brother. Let marriage be question of
taste. The law is not in not right when
it absolutely prohibits the intermarriage
of the racers. I would make the equal
socially. would say let all people in
America be equal socially and politically"
Rev. S. G. Smith, the next speaker,
also spoke for half-hour. He began by
referring to the absence Of Ignatius Don
nelly, who was to have been present. and