Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-03-03

and expose their true inwardness' to the
gaze of this audience. Twenty years aso,
when I left the Legislature. there were
five negroes In the Senate and twenty
odd In the House. Where are they now?
Their voice Is heard In these halls no
more. They have gone. like summer
b.t.la and, as friend suggested. they
have gone where the woodbine twineth.'
Why are all the faces OF the opposition
white? Where are your negro alliesY
you know that at heart you do not
wish the negro to hold Office any more
than we do" Mr.. English asserted, point
ing his finger at the opposition, land i
dare you to deny II. for II you dare do
1t / will prove II on you by other evil
dence You know that at heart al the
use you have for the negro to is vote
him as you like. Don't tell us that you
don't want him to hold Office because he
Is ignorant. l know that your great
leader, now dead General Mahone). and
his white allies among you, defeated
Langston for Congress Lansston,
highly-educated negro. went down under
his mighty axe. / know that In Motto
way county the white Republicans de-
feated Nash for the clerkship-Nash, an
educated negro-a respectable negro; and
he was told that If elected II would not
be safe for him 10 qualify. IL the negro,
after nearly thirty years of freedom and
education. not yet fit to hold office. and
yet ut to rule us through you?
CAN NO LONGER USE BRIBERY.
mo; you hate the Walton law be-
cause It has deprived you Of your old
trade Of bribery. browbeating, and bull
doing the negro for your own selfish
ends. We in my county are familiar
with your methods under the old cleo
tion-laws, and now, listen. whilst / re-
mind you Of them:
"You know they are but grown-up
children; you know that they are densely
ignorant, superstitious, and emotional;
you know that they are under the in
fuence of religious fanaticism. Taking
advantage of these weaknesses, your Gus
tom in olden times was to send out your
messengers and runners few days be-
fore election. who would go to the church
meetings and whisper In their ear that
word had come from Washington that
they must all vote the Republican ticket:
that their old masters were going to put
them I'm slavery again. Then, wnen You
had bribed their preachers and filled their
deiuded followers with rage against the
whites inflamed by mean whiskey, till
thay became like raging wild beasts, you
marched them up to the polls In squads
to vote ticket which you had given
them. and of which they knew as much
as they did of the Greek alphabet
INFLUENCE OF THE CHURCH.
"You know that you stationed heelers,
pencil and paper in hand, at the polls TO
note down how all negroes voted and 10
turn out of the Church such as dared dis
obey your commands. All this and more
you did, and yet you dare proclaim your
solicitude for fair ballot.
1.-The first tissue ballot / ever saw was
gotten out whilst your great leader was,
II not chairman, at least very prominent
in the district where they were issued.
think this will do for you and your
pretensions to fairness. ! like the Walton
law because you hate 1t.
Il like il because IL apolishes bribery
and mnimiZes fraud. l like 1t because
on its face 1t is absolutely fair. like
1t because 1t secures secret ballot, or
one as near secret as possible. / like IL
because under 1t. for the first time since
the right of suffrage was given 10 the
negro. he can vote for a Democrat with
impunity II he wishes to do so.
IS A FAIR LAW.
ut is the farest law ever put upon
our statute-books. / have studied 1t and
watched its operation. In my county
now election-day Is like a Sabbath.
Men. white and black. come and vote
quietly and go home. The occupation
of the heeier and bulldozer and ticket
holder is gone. The briber has no
chance-he can't see that his goods are
delivered. Before this. in the black
belt. IL cost any man as much. or more,
than the salary to get the Office. There
was wild confusion ticket-hOlders and
heelers met you quarter OF a mile from
the polls. The briber piled his calling
behind the corner or in some secret head
quarters; the heelers took possession of
the ignorant and armed or dragged them
TO the polls; pandemonium reigned. and
good men shrank from the disgusting
sight. Knowing that all their institu-
lions were in fearful peril, many worthy
gentlemen and able men could not bring
themselves to enter the dirty scramble.
The Walton law has changed this. l
can say that in my own county the cleo
tions under II have been absolutely fair.
In Halifax Republican (Mr. StovalD
has told us to-day that he is here as a
monument to the fairness of the Demo-
Gratis of his county. The Senator from
Powhatan has said that in his county
elections are always fair. what more do
you need? Shall We repeal IL because 1t
is alleged that frauds have been perpe-
trated under It? Suppose it is so! Tell
me what law has been universally OBJ
served? The law says men shall not
steal, and yet men steal. 1t says Thou
shalt do no murder and YET men COM
nit murder. Where is there perfect
purity I'm all the earth?
I'm Philadelphia, Republican city.
election frauds make IL stink in the nos
trils of all men.
A QUALIFIED SUFFRAGE.
above ALL like the Walton law be-
cause II makes the nearest approach pos
sibe to qualified suffrage, and i favor
a qualified suffrage. Not because hate
the negro. never hated him, and never
will. / remember that a negro rocked
the cradle of my infancy. 1 remember
that ! played with them as q boy.
want to protect them. / do not want to
see them made the football Of contend
ing parties any longer. l wanted them
shielded from a fatal conflict with a SUI
perior race.
II tell the opposition now. though. and
tell our Democratic associates that we
In the Southsde Of Virginia will never
go under the yoke of negro DONNA tion
again.
"You Democrats that are tinkering
with this law, how do you suppose we
look upon your efforts? Let me illus
trate: In Holland we are told that the
humble burghers have redeemed their
country from the invasion of the sea
they have erected great bikes as bar
riers, and there In safety their humble
homes are found. There they rest in
slumber, whilst the storm sweeps over
the great deep. There they live and
love and die, whilst the dark waves beat
upon their bikes and roar and rave in
the vain effort to sweep them away. The
king is not there; the nobility are not