The Portland daily press., 1892-11-29
FREEDMAN'S AID.


Continued from Filth rage.
pie of the South, the great mass OF
whom are plunged into illiteracy and
even degradation. In his opinion the
Methodist church had great work to do
among them. Speaking of common
school education he said that the South
had no system of public school instruc-
ton before the war. The so-called car
pet bag governments. whatever else may
be said of them, in constitutional and
legislative enactments gave the South a
common school system. But this sys-
tenn is hampered in it's operation by the
attitude of the wealthy and governing
classes in the South. 'We will not con-
sent to be taxed to educate these poor
whites" say the wealthy men. The re-
suit is that school houses are ten or fif-
teen miles apart, and the poor white
child even then has only about two
months of school year. The poor
whites of the South are too illiterate to
be able to enforce their right to school
privileges. Illinois gives III million dol
lars yearly to schools, or $2.95 per capita
of population. Georgia gives 1857, 900
or 50 cents per capita, while South Caro-
lima gives $460,000, or 40 cents per capita.
hcf. LII. NJ w. ID. hdoOA VI 41oloiAIUs
the colored orator, had been put on the
programme to speak on an Independent
Methodist church; but as he had already
spoken on that in the forenoon, he was
requested to take new subject,
The Negro as Citizen.
The speaker said that the ballot had been
given the negro as the result of a great
war. 1t may honestly be doubted
whether some other plan might not have
been adopted with better results, espec-
ially when it is remembered that those
who formerly counted the negro as
chattel, have taken his citizenship from
him. and made it the basis of an en-
larged representation for themselves IN
Congress.
But the question was one of great per
plexity to the statesmen of the day. 1t
was at the close of the great civil war, a
war in which the negroes had furnished
100000 soldiers.
Among those who had fought against
the Union was an immense body of men,
ignorant as the negro, but already invest
ed with the franchise They were bitter
lv hostile to the North, and would carry
that hostility into their voting. So what
could the statesmen of that day do but
enfranchise that other body of men, no
more ignorant than the first, and loyal to
the Union? So the negroes were enfran-
chised.
AS to the carpetbag governments,
which had already been referred to, DIR.
Mason said that they were not so bad as
they were painted, especially when COM
pared with the governments that had
followed them. During the days OF the
carpet-ba governments in Louisiana the
state treasurer was negro named Beau
clerc When the change of government
came, Beauclerc stepped forward and
paid over to the incoming state treasurer
every cent of money which he held for
the State of Louisiana. Then the new
state government came on, and the new
state treasurer, at the end of eight years,
was found to be owing just 81, 900,
which he skipped off to Central America
without paving over. Take the State of
Mississippi. Her state treasurer is in
the penitentiary now. Laughter.
A voice-Is the man white or black
man?
DR.. Mason-Oh, the Democrats elect
no black men to Office down there. |
am not making this party matter.
am only trying to show to you that while
a negro sometimes steals saddle, some
other fellow is quite liable to get the
horse. Let us go little farther, The
state treasurer of Arkansas was recent
ly found to be defaulter; SO was the
treasurer of Tennessee, a relative OF
President Polk; SO of the treasurers OF
West Virginia, of Maryland and of South
Carolina. might go farther; but will
not. 1t only goes to show that stealing
down there is not done by any one class
of people.
But we will leave that. The negro is a
citizen. He is bearing ALL the burdens
of citizenship. Now,what are his claims
on you? In the first place his ignorance
was enforced upon him. The nation
made it crime for him to be caught
with spelling book. And what seems
queerest to me, the very people who
said that the negro couldn't learn, made
very sure to pass laws that he shouldn't
have the chance to learn. Now the ma
ton owes it to itself that this poor col
ored voter is educated, in order that he
may participate Alright in the solution OF
the great questions that are pressing up
on us. They tell you that the negro is
sure to follow the worst precepts. Now,
in the recent city election in Atlanta. on
that was the precinct where our colored
university is located. Remember this
and cite it when they tell you that the
negro is always on the wrong side.
In the second place the colored man
has always been loyal. stood in Bos-
ton common the other day with head
barred before the monument erected to
that colored man, Crispus Attacks, who
was the first patriot to give his blood in
the Revolution. There has been but one
war of this nation in which the negro
has not served-that was the war of 1915,
with Mexico, the object of which was
the getting of more territory in which to
enslave him.
Dr. Mason dwelt upon the necessity of
getting the poor whites and blacks of
the South educated SO that they might
be able to get upon the right side of the
great questions which the tide of foreign
immigration is bringing to the North.
He said he did not intend to be bigoted
in religious matters, but it seemed to
him that the public school system of the
nation was menaced. 1t seems to me.
he said, that if there was ever time for
the Protestant churches of America to
wake up and see that these masses of
the South are ranged Alright, it is now.
Now on tho other hand T want TO saw a.