The Washington bee., 1893-07-22
ASTWOOD'S
POSITION
He Makes a Strong and
Clear Statement in
Reply to McGee.
| E|s DEFENSE d The !sE''9E1?
| Negro Democrats He Says Have No
! Cause to Fear Unjust
| Treatment.


EDITOR EVENING NEWS: Being in
New York the latter part of last week,
NV attention was not called to Mr.. Nc
G ee $ letter in your issue Of Saturday.
"Scoring tfe League" in answer to my
yindication of the Administration
against his abusive attacks.
I unhesitatingfy say again that Mr..
McGee's letter of Saturday is more un-
reasonable and unnecessarily insolent to
the Administration than his former at
tack. There is no cause for, Tor is there
any we'll founded dissatisfacticn among
negro Democrats, saving those who are
Said to be the secret employees Of astute
Republican politicians to affect the COM
ing elections in Virginia, Ohio and Mas
Sachu etts, where there is large negro
the colored leaders in these states will
not be influenced by such reckless agi-
tators.
Let us investigate impartially what
the Administration las done to merit
these attacks. It must be admitted that
the negro vote has been blindly duped to
oppose the Democratic party ever since
reconstruction, and not until the general
election of 1892 did any reasonable num-
Der of these voters br ak away from Re-
publican rule. Let US contrast the action
of the Harrison Administration with
that of the present Cleveland Admins
tratien.
The Presidential appointments made
! by Pr sidrnt Harrison were as follows:
Lynch, Fourth Auditor, May, 1889;
Townsend. Recorder of the Land Office,
in June, 1889; Douglass, Minister to
Hayti, july, 1889; Bruce, Recorder OF
Deeds, february, 1890; Durham, consul
at San Domingo, where even a vacancy
| existed. April, 1890. This was the record
of radical Republican Administration
| toward it's loyal colored voters who had
blindly followed that party for quarter
of a century.
Mr.. Cleveland, it is true, has made
as yet but one colored appointment
Mr.. III. G. Smith, of Alabama. ap-
pointed in June to Tamatave, Madagas.
car, recently changed to the more de.
sirable place of Santas, Brazil, place
not heretofore held by colored Re.
publican. We find, therefore, that Re.
publican administration, with which
the negro as a whole had been affiliated
ever since reconstruction, did not make
greater haste in recognizing the claims
of negro Republicans than has been
charged against President Cleveland by
Mr.. MCGEE.
ask the question and leave the an
swer to a just and reasonable public
Are we, as negro Democrats, entitled
to the same ratio of representation al
the hands of the Democratic party a.
negro Republicans are entitled to at thu
hands OF the republican party? Ingall.
has answered the question.
DEMOCRATS FOR REVENUE ONLY.
| I plead guilty to the charge unde
| this head that my affiliation with th,
Democratic party dates no further bacl
| than the spring of 1862, when published
in the month of April over my signature
in the New York Age the statemen
| that if Mr.. Harrison defeated MI
Blaine, Judge Gresham and other DOS
sibilities, naming Sherman and Lincoln
| by machine politics in the Minneapoli
convention, [ would burn nv bridge
behind me and support Mr.. Cleveland
who l felt assured would be nominate,
by the Democratic convention to NEE
at Chicago before the state of Ney
\ ork was reached in the roll call O
!, States.
This result was brought about an
true to my public declaration offere
my services to the Democratic Nationa
committee by letter from San Domingo
in August last, came on in September
entered the canvass under the manae
ment of General A. B. Upshaw, repre-
senting the bureau Of colored speaker
under the National committee. VIII
recommended me to the State committe
OF New York, managed by Lieut. Gov
Sheehan. stumped in the CITY an
State OF New York and in the State O
New Jersey, where my speeches wer
commented upon by the press as anon
: the best delivered. Congressman En-
: glish, at Newark. pronounced tina
5 speech as one of the best he had listene,
to during the canvas. Both Genera
, Upshaw and the State committee Wi
say that my services were highly appre
clated and in such demand during tn
latter part of the campaign that coul
not fill all of the calls that were bein
made for L. c. Moore, of Mississippi
and myself. Several had to be filled b
my friend Hon. j. Ross Stewart. l di,
receive at the hands of the Nationa
and State committees my weekly ex
pense during the canvas, if this can b
called Democracy for revenue only.
| 1t can be proved, however, that asid
from the sacrifices I made in comm,
here to enter the canvass, that on M
arrlval in New York a prominent Re
publican. interested in San Doming
enterprises, offered me 81, 500 if l wouI,
return by the same steamer to attend t.
some business there and not take tn
stump against Harrison. I told him
could not do it; that I was bound t,
make the canvass for Mr.. Cleveland. I
it suited his convenience l would q
after the election for half the money. t
did suit bis convenience, and 1 wen
down in January and settled his affair
Il src1