The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-02
DR.. H%ENDERSON'S LOGIC
SOUND-MONEY SPEECH FROM a
wELL-POsTED COLORED ORATOR.
The Former Indiana polls Pastor
Makes n Strong and Eloquent Ap-
peal to His Race.

DR.. t. w. Henderson, one of the ablest
colored divines who ever preached in In
dianapolis, attended the Young Mems Club.
at Bethel Church last night, and talked to
the large audience present on the silver
question and the colored mans duty at
the coming election. DR.. Henderson now
resides in Philadelphia and has had the
advantage of extensive travel and study.
He said his duty was to enlighten those
who had not yet studied the financial ques-
ton and who were not familiar with the
proposition which, if put into effect, would
make "all the mills over the country as
quiet as graves and leave no one at the
factories but watchmen."
The hard times of to-day he said, "are
due to the fact that the mill owners of
the country are afraid of the future and
the possibility of Bryan's election. If a
fear of his election causes such times, what
would his installation as President mean?
The colored man has as much power on
election day as the practiced speechmaker
and he should use it to gain for himself
honest wages for his honest toll. The la
boring man above all others should study
the silver question, as he and not the mill
lionaire will bear the evil effects of Bryan's
election and the colored man should not
be an u~nthinking slave to party, but gain
a knowledge of these questions. The igno-
rant man is the greatest danger which
threatens a nation. The silverites say that
the free coinage of silver would benefit
the laboring man. 1t would just about as
much as a law making the grinding of
wheat free when you haven't any wheat to
grind. What good will it do the laborer
ii a silver king gets his silver coined free
of charge when he himself has to pay the
tax to keep the mint going?
f1h fpan nina orc ~ CiIx-nr will onI-A
your hard-earned dollar worth 53 cents and
the gold of the land will become as rare
as angels. 1t means that if a man owes
you 81 you will have to take a coin worth
% cents in payment or else nothing.
1t means that ii a man comes along with
a silver pitcher he can have it coined into
money free of charge and you without a
silver pitcher can swing your hat and hur-
money for the man owning a silver mine,
but we poor people will have to dig and
scrape for our dollars and then find them
has oppressed us in the past, which per-
secutes our brethren in the South now,
sneaks under the guise of free silver and
asks you to support 1t. No man with the
good of his country at heart will vote for
the cause which puts the fire out at the
factory and brings want and misery to The
land. Let us support the cause and the
party which four years ago made for us
the most prosperous nation under the sun.
Some of our colored friends are honest
in believing in the silver party, but until
there is a repentance in that spirit behind
I WHICH OppISSSt3 III IdlI1%IS, Z Us
steer clear of it and let us vote for the
party which did so much to make us free;
which opened the schools to our children
and which is our friend to-day. The silver
party would array us against the owners
of the factory and the holder of the mill,
but we get our work and wages from him,
and don't let us play with matches and de-
Stroy our own interests.
IF free silver were put in operation ev-
cry time you looked at your hard-earned
dollar you would have to look at a false
hood. 1t takes two, people to make a bar
gain and the United States cannot say we
will have free silver regardless of our COM
mercial relations with other nations no
more than a young fellow can get mar
ried if the girl is not willing. The senti-
ment shown in the Chicago platform is
supported by the same class of people who
got our labor free of charge for two hum
dred and forty years~and now they want
to try it again.
The chairman of the committee who has
the silver forces in charge is the same man
who stood on the street corners in Arkan-
sas years ago and said, Let the negro be
hung His class is behind the silver move
ment.
who is pushing the sentiment in South
Carolina? The same one-eyed Tillman VINO
refused to prosecute the murderer in his
State because his victim was a colored
nan. Whenever you see the educated. re-
united and arrayed against the silver
movement, you may know that you are
right and safe in supporting them by your
ballot, and / do no violence to my calling
when L ask you to cast your vote for Nc
Kiniey of Ohio"
LIT. HENDERSON was lOiiOWSu ny WI
Brewer, who made a few remarks to the
young men. He said he did not get angry
when he saw a colored man tavorlng free
silver, for a colored man has as much
right to make a fool of himself as any
one Mr.. Brewer appealed to the voters
to oppose that ticket which would reopen
those sectional questions which. were set
tied in the war, and which would degrade
the laboring man to the position he occu-
pied in the South at that time. Both speak,
ers were applauded for their remarks. and
the old colored women in the audience
shouted amen.