The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-04-11

malefactor.i is declared forfeited to you
Spare him and give me my brother.
AMI the courtiers said: Away. who
gave you leave to break thus abrupt
ly upon the King" But the Kine
said: stand back. you sycophants
and let me hear the man." and to the
old soldier he said: by what rign
do you demand of me the life of youl
criminal brother" Raising his stuml
of an arm. the old soldier shouted
by the former might of my goot
right arm | gave 10 you and to my
country" The courtiers were abash.
ed. The King melted. In a broker
voice, he said: Give to my faithful
old soldier his brother: let him have
his brothers life: let him keep him. :
The story points. as we recall the
loyalty of the negro both to North
and South during the war. to his i'm.
mediate enfranchisement as a reward
for that loyalty. Trust me. IA race
kind and dOcile as is the negro will
not bring woe to us. No man must be
disfranchised because he is ignorant.
Education is a matter of circumstances
and conditions. But for the public
schools of my native little State. |.
the tenth child of my precious mother,
who was the mother of twelve children
and died at the age of thirty-three
years. | the brother of eight more
children by my fathers second mar
riage, that noble father. poor but ever
loving and unselfish. as are all Ameri-
can fathers and mothers in their pur-
pose to give their children a better
start in life than they ever had. would
perhaps never have been able to be,
at twelve, a printers apprentice. nor
had the mental clearness. at fifteen. to
be a Union soldier. SO perhaps, in
different degree it has been with you
all. You are men first. be you learn
ed or unlearned. The same sentiment
that would deny to Il negro the ballot
because he is ignorant. if it has any
foundation in logic. would deny an
ignorant white man Il vote. Would
that be right?
No. Why: Because the poor and
uneducated man needs his ballot more
than the rich or learned who can al
ways protect himself. needs il 10 pro-
tect himself. to eXtOrt respect and
consideration for himself and his
family and to protect his rights. needs
it, above all else. for its educative in
fluence on himself. Who so ca@er to
be informed as the ignorant voter?
To know what is right in politics with
him. is a passion. Hence. he attends
public meetings more and is more
eager to vote than i the educated
man. all to improve his mind. He is
Just as patriotic as is the learned man.
often more so. Unlike the pharisec
of old. he does not think he is better
than other men and unlike so many of
our rich men VINO often refuse he
never refuses to vote. Do not forget
that in a republic the best thing in tine
ballot is its educative influence. 1t
makes every voter think. Because Il
man can not read or write it does not
follow that he is always unwise. as
your own observation OF men will con
cede
Moreover. as sutferage builds up
poor ignorant man. men who are su-
perior to him owe it to their better ma
ture to give him every aid to better
his condition. Greece and Rome were
not destroyed by ignorant but by cor
rupt men who were educated demo-
gogues. If our republic goes down.
it will be through the corruption of its
public men or through the avarice and
greed of its rich men and not from the
vices of the people, be they learned or
They ever mean we'll.
Educate them all to do well. but do
not handicap them by ydepriving any of
them of suffrage at the outset because
they can not read or write. The
American who says the negro should
not vote because he is ignorant ought
to blush with shame He will do so if
he will recall our former national in
Justice to the negro race. an injustice
the South alone Is not responsible for
but the entire nation. Who made the
negro ignorant: The United States.
How: BY maintaining slavery. Why
did We do it? Because at one time or
another We ali upheld slavery We
have now learned better out do not let
Us longer visit upon the negro. by de-
priving him of ballot. the reflex
action of our former error in sustain
ing slavery Ies. the negro is ignOr-
ant, SO should We be. if like him. for
generations we had been slaves. had
been driven to and from his work like
.attle: had been denied ali light and
had not even been per-
nitted to read the Bible and whose
ot year after year had been his-tOil,
oil. toll. unrelieved by books or pic
ures or by the many like blessings
hat have made the Anglo Saxon the