Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-19
THE CLANS GATHERED
Discussion by Candidates for Republican
Convention.
DR.. Purvis, Mr.. Murray and Col. Car.
son Present Their Vicws-Niixed
Up Affair.

There was an interesting and amusing
gathering of the clans last night at the
Israel Baptist Church on 18th street near
F northeast. A call had been published by
somebody for all tine candidates who want
to be sent as delegates to the next national
republican convention to come out and put
themselves on dress parade and tell the
colored people of the District why they
want to represent them there next summer.
There are now nearly two dozen candidates
all told, in the field, and only two out of the
whole number put in an appearance. r. D.
Ruftin, who is known on Capitol Hill as
the Judge" called the meeting to order
But he had hardly exercised that momen-
tous prerogative before J. W. Crow wanted
to know by what right Ruffin had assumed
to act as chairman of a District meeting,
such as this was intended to be. The aud
renee seemed to agree with Crow that the
Judge had no such authority and Thomas
j. edwards was elected chairman. This
ended the first round.
Mr.. Irby's Remarks.
AS the candidates seemed to be a long
while getting to the meeting, c. P. Irby of
the fourteenth district was asked to adj
dress the brethren. Irby would not say
which one of the candidates was his IA
them. He wanted suffrage for the District
above all things else. When Irby sat down
Richard Laws addressed the boys" Laws
said he was for Offutt. a white candidate.
as one of the delegates, but did not say
who he favored for delegate number two.
1t was whispered around the room that
Laws Is Carson man in disguise, and as
the nineteenth district is a Carson strong
hold, it is believed that Laws was present
to stave off any opposition which should
start up against the old colonel. After
saying he was for Offutt, Mr.. Laws quietly
waited to see what the prospective dele
gates might have to say.
DR.. Purvis Talks.
The only candidates attending the meet
ing were DIR. c. B. Purvis and Mr.. Daniel
Murray. DR.. Purvis did not want to be
regarded as a candidate who was seeking
the Office, and made the audience roar by
dc claring that if elected he did not want
to TX to the Chicago convention, and
tfat those who were anxious to send him
should also be anxious about his expenses.
After telling about the horrors of the whip
ping post, DR.. Purvis said: while am
OF posed to this method of punishment, there
Is one class which should be dashed, and
that class is the colored democrats, es-
pecially the fat ones, who come here from
the wilds of Kansas" After paying a
glowing tribute to Carson, who, he said,
was the first to go forward and have COL
ored men put upon the police force, Dr.
Purvis gave way to Candidate Murray to
say something.
Mr.. Murray's Remarks.
Mr.. Murray declared that there was a
grave duty to be performed He stated that
for many years the colored people had been
sending their representatives to national
conventions, but that they had accom-
plished nothing. He said man with only
ordinary characteristics would be lost in
national convention. He said he bore
message from Mr.. NJ. NJ. Parker. who, he
said, was willing to serve with him as
delegate, and he earnestly appealed to his
hearers to see to 1t that Mr. Parker and
himself were sent as their representatives.
Mr.. Laws Tells Stories.
There being no other candidates to hear
from and no disposition on the part Of the
meeting to take any definite action on any
thing, Mr.. Laws once more addressed the
flock. He convulsed the audience with
laughter by telling some stories. He spoke
for Perry Carson.
Just why the other twenty candidates did
not put in an appearance at las. nights
meeting no one knows, except, perhaps,
Perry Carson.
Col. Carson Appears.
Just as the meeting was about to close
Colonel Carson appeared on the scene,
when there were loud cries for Carson,
Carson. give US a speech After the au-
plause had died away Carson made brief
speech. in which he said:
After hearing all those candidates, who
are themselves intelligent gentlemen,
hardly think you want to hear from a man
SO illiterate as they say l am. But judg
ing from your calls of Carson, Carson it
seems to me that you are more anxious to
hear from me than you were twenty years
ago, and 1 believe you are sincere. We
have had, Mr.. Chairman and gentlemen,
speeches made in this nineteenth district
by men who call themselves candidates to
the national republican convention. Some
of these men tell you they have organized
banks and other business institutions for
your benefit, but if they had not told you
SO you would never have known it. They
say they have always been interested in
the welfare of the race. That, perhaps, is
true, but it has always been for their own
benefit, and If they had not told you you
would not have known that, either. Now,
my friends, 1 do not intend to tell you what
have done for my race, because I think
you know 1t without my saying so. Some
body says 1 am trying to draw the color
line. 1t is not true. and there are plenty
of mulatto men in this District, who, like
myself have never tried to get rid of their
race; who have never tried to play white,
to build up that downtrodden race which
Sumner, Lincoln and Grant brought out
from servitude. But there are some in
this town who want to be white men. who
have advertised for white ladies from f1f
teen years old to seventeen years old who
would act as servants in their houses.
Why did not they advertise for colored
ladies' to do their homework, and" but
the applause at this point became almost
deafening. and the colonel was compelled to
cease talking.
HURRIED AWAY.