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

isement of both the ex-Confederat,
and the negro.
/ Remember to that
Humanity moves onward.
/ Where to-day, the martyr stand:
/ On the morrow crouches Judas Will
the silver in his hands.
! And the hoOting mob of yesterday
In silent awe returns
| To gather up the ashes
Into history's golden urn
So that. | speak not so much for the
hour as | do for the eternal principle.
OF justice. which. as God liveth. will
prevail in the end.
l appeal to the future. Why should
not the negro be enfranchised: In a
republic, everyman who is a tax payer
however small his iscontribution. should
be voter. As in peril. he must beal
on his shoulders his rifle and be the
hope. the faith and the life of the
nation. so any man. good enough
to fight for his country. no
matter whether an Indian or an
African sun has bronZed his brow.
is good enough to vote in il. But you
say. the negro is ignorant. So he is.
but | hope public school instruction
of which [ see we have entirely toe
little in Missouri. not even a public
school district in this pretty little
town. will as it should. in separate
public schools for the benefit of the
negro boy and girl. remedy that de-
feet of ignorance in the negro race in
one generation.
Hear me EX-COnfederates for the
negro. When we were graphing in
our late death struggle and you fought
Us as only Americans can fight
heroically-where were your mothers,
your wives. your sisters and your
sweethearts? Who titled your fields.
peacefully. while you fought for a
Government whose very corner stone
was negro slavery. Your former
slaves did it. They. bound to you by
precious family ties. cared for those
dear to you while you fought further
to enslave them. All your household
Gods We're safe in their keeping.
| appeal to you. men. gener-
Ous men as you are.-that you owe a
deathless debt of gratitude to the
negro. | shall not long appeal to you
in vain. The time will come when you
will say: We were wrong: slavery
was wrong. but the negro was ever
kind and faithful to us under unpre-
cedented circumstances. Because he
was. so should we reward him: so
should we build him up and help him
and help his children by educa-
ton. by moral and material assistance
and by giving him a ballot so he can
politically help himself. That result
will all come by your help and your
children will be proud of it. 1t will
soften the asperitIes of this hour: it
will make us forget the war with all
its horrors: it will bind us in tender
ties of devoted Americanism. We can
not delay the enfranchisement of the
negro until present ignorant members
of his race who are Of voting age are
educated. because it is unjust to you
and unjust to us that We do SO. The
negro was loyal to us both,
Remember that he was loyal to you
because he loved his old master. his
old mistress and their children and
your home and his old home: so loyal
to you that never by rapine or dis
obedience. did he fail to obey and to
care for your loved ones at home.
when. had he been inherently mean,
the torch and the sword. in his hands
would have devastated the South.
While he was loyal to you. so he was
loyal to us. To you he gave his toll
and to yours his care. But when our
dag. in the low lands or on the high
lands of the South. greeted his gaze.
his eye grew tender. his heart beat
faster: with bedewed checks and on
bended knees he greeted it. for he in
stinctively knew that flag meant for
him. and for all men thirsting for
freedom. as all men ever have and
ever will do.-that it meant for him,
and for the oppressed of all climes.
races. conditions and times. liberty
liberty the last. best Gift of God to
man. And so the negro was loyal to
Us both. Fidelity is the rarest and
nobleSt virtue in all human existence.
II should be rewarded first and priced
the most. In-gratitude is the foulest
and filthiest crime man can commit
a against his brother man who has help
ed him. Then. E,x-COnfederates and
Republicans We must enfranchise the
negro because We are his debt0r-be-
cause We owe him. weak and helpless
as he is. debt ofEgratitude. You are
ungrateful. Weare forced
to be just and generous to and are
to give the negro ballot
because of the gratitude we both owe
him. for his loyalty to us both. para
doxical as that may seem. Listen to
this story: