The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-11-17

TIE NEGRO POLITICIAN.
Tho Place He Occupies In South
ern Politics.
Scenes Of the First EleOtaon After the
Close OF the war-A1ways Against tho
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Of IN Old
Time Southerner.
IcoYyRrGTr, 1892.


To write of the negro on election day
and not have the paper political is al
most impossible, for the negro is moth
ing if not political, and election day, Of
all days in the year, Is that on which
his politics become concentrated. AL
the rest of the time he bears or may
bear different relation to the body,
polite and social He may DO citizen,
a laborer, a servant, a friend, but as
election day approaches he begins to
shed these characters somewhat as a
locust does his shell jacket, and on
election day he emerges-a fu1l-hedged
politician.
This is the chief cause of the trouble
which has existed in the south between
him and the whites, and, however de-
piorable It may be, until different dis
position intervenes on his part, it is apt
to continue cause Of trouble, This is
that the negro is republican is an acct
dent He might be democratic and the
Same thing would exist. He began re-
publican naturally-ss naturally as tho
white Of the south began his post bel
tum career democratic. He has remained
. republican because the white has re-
NAMED democratic; and were the
whites 10 suddenly wheel around and
become republican the negro would as
suddenly become the opposite. This is
the key to mnch that has gone misun-
derstood, and when It shall be recog-
nized we shah be in fair way to begin
to rectify mistakes and to solve the
great problem
Ny first recollection q IN election
was the first 1t which the negroes
voted I remember tho poI1 was t.
few miles from my old home at Beaver
Dam depot, In the long. low, brick de-
pot building, which had been built to
stand even fire after Stoneman and
Sheridan In their raids had twice burnt
the wooden building. Once they de-
etroycd along with it three days ra-
items stored thass for Gen. Less army,
which secnned rather o waste Of tho
had tasGo Of oo6co OF sugar in two
yes1a. The ballot box. or perhaps
there weee two, cannot recoileot, YVES
ON bench in tho wide door 1T tho end,
and think We wcre taksa over 20 SEQ
tho speraacae OF tho negroes voting. !
reRaem3,er was struck with the small
ness 81 tho box, about which l had
heard somneh talk. had expected to
Gs,d hras large saaAsUoed box at leost,
81 nDs OF tho big wfsaxs boxes in which
the aeRvazas '-vinAer~ clothes" used to
come fso0 R1khn,ond. Il was not big
ger thaa . tea Ahess and, in foot have
newer En40 . feeling that Is II soms-
how INST quite con,menkaxAbc In dignity
With f1 function Il n big enough,
however, bigger than e looks
I remember The strange men sitting
gfm and inzportant IN their chairs just
beaind tho box and tho group Of negroes
pressing mp and handing In their slips
Of papen sozne with difideooe. some
with amnsemcnt, some With . pompous
pretenso Of knowledge, but all with
certain NERVOUSNESS born OF their desire
10 perform withoW error their new and
strange function They took their or
dezs from ono Of tho strange men and
one after another handed in their bal
lots, while group Of negro women on
one side watched curiously and group
OF disfranchised white men on the other
watched suriily the unwonted spectacle.
it was an oTninous beginning. I Go not
remember what the vote was for. l
do not know that ever knew, and l
doubt it the voters did either. / re-
member Archie Tyler, sort of preacher
and leader, years after Gen. Grants
presidency, testifying that he voted