The Washington bee., 1897-05-08
NEGROES EYES ARE OPENED.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION ON FOOT,
EA-CoNGRESSMAN MURRAY CARRIES
ool THE IDEA ADVOCATED BY
THE BEE.-THE coLoRED VOTER
TO BECOME A FACTOR.
An organization to be known as the
Negro National Protective Association
has been put on foot recently by ex-
congressman George Washington
Murray, OF South Carolina. The plan
is to have working auxiliary commit
tee IN every election district in the
United States, with general head
quarters at Washington City. The
chairman of these several auxiliary
committees, together with the Presl-
dent, Secretary, Treasurer of the Or
ganizatlon, will comprise the advisory |
board, will which control the policy of |
the Territory, and will be represented
by Vlce-PreSident, who shall meet |
with the advisory board for conSulta- |
ton as often as it is thought advisable |
lhe organization was perfected some |
weeks ago IN Washington, and Mr.. |
Murray who was chosen President of
the body, IS now travelling through the
country organizing the auxiliary COM
mlttee. Vice Presidents for the fol-
lowing States have already been Sc
lected, namely:
Alabama, w. F. Crockett; Arkan,,
sas, J.. c. Duke; Colorado, J. H. Stew
art; Delaware, Stansbury Murray
District of Columbia, Perry Carson
Florida, l. L. Purcell Georgia, T. L.
Johnson; Illinois, F. l.. Barnett; Iowa,
T. L. Smith; Kansas, B. w. Town
send; Kentucky, w. A. Gaines;
Maryland, w. Ashble Hawkins Mas
sachusetts. 7. G.. Walker; Michigan,
D. A. Straker; Minnesota. ~ Nor
ris; Mississippi, g. J. Jones; Ne
braska, o. M. Ricketts, New Jersey,
c. w. Robinson; New York, T.
Thomas Fortune ; North Carolina, J.
c. Dancy; Ohio, - Copeland
, Oklahoma, E. P. McCabe. Pennsyl-
: vania, J. L. Goodall; South Carolina,
S. E. Smith Tennessee, w. H. Young;
, Texas, w. L. Smith Virginia, John
. Mitchell, Jr. Washington, c. A. Ride
out; West Virginia, Rev. c. H. Payne.
NOT TO PUT CoLoRED MEN IN OFFICE.
) The organization is to be self-sus-
tanning, and before the end of the pres
: ent year it is expected that ViCe-PreSl-
: dents will have been chosen in every
State and full working committees eS-
, tablished wherever there is a colored
voter in the United States. 1t is held
5 by the projectors of the new organiza-
2 tion that the reason why all similar at
tempts have proved abortive is be-
j cause they were only started to put
i certain colored men in Office, while
r this is solely for the general welfare OF
: the entire colored people in the United
/. States.
e Questions Of lynch law, political
e recognition, education, and the right
:. of suffrage will be fathered by this
organization through the aid ofa strong
central cooperative body located in
Washington city. The scheme is not
!. for the purpose of bringing new leaders
to the front or to discount the efforts
of those coiored r1en who have saCrl.
p feed the best interests of the Colorec
n people for the sake o. holding office
It Its mission is to adjust all those things
t which interfere with the progress Of
: the colored people as citizens, and to
e let the cause produce the leader, Al
:, there is to be one. The organization
e will be self-supporting in order that ii
t can remain perfectly independent and
S untrammeled in its work.
TO CORRECT CIVIL SERVICE ABUSES.
S To show the need of such an organi-
: zation, one of the prime movers resid-
ing in Washington stated that not
= withstahding the fact that the half
e hundred skilled colored women who
were relieved from duty in the Trea-
sury Department at Washington, while
q Cleveland was President, after they
4 had been placed there by the Civil
Service Commission, and known to
e have been removed on the ground OF
: color, there was not political force
: enough in the race to demand their
t reinstatement. This organization is
!, for the purpose of correcting just such
I abuses.
The projectors of the movement pro-
S pose to divide the entire country also
among subdivisions or lodges COM
S posed of both men and women. These
clubs or subordinate divisions, each to
, consist of not less than ten persons,
: will be kept in close touch with the
General Advisory Board, located at
Washington, So that all questions af-
fecting the race can be judiciously and
intelligently dealt with. This great
army of chapters, lodges, and clubs
will contribute the necessary funds
with which the organization will be
conducted.