The Washington bee., 1898-06-25
AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESI-
DENT MCKINLEY.
The President of the United States,
Washington, d. c.

ing exaulted positions such IS yours,
| that they can rarely If ever hear the
truth. when those surrounding them
| have reason to believe that such truth
| is unpleasant, or runs counter to their
| wishes. Those who are quick to
bend the pregnant hinges of the
| knee. that thrift may follow fawning"
will applaud your every utterance, ap-
! proye YOUR every motion, and assure
YOU that 1.-The people are with you, )"
when they know that they are false to
themselves and to the people whom
| they pretend TO represent.
| MIR. President, IN your race for the
i.attained goal you had no more sim
cere champion than The BEE. 1t has
| followed YOUR coarse with approval
anu Commendation, earnest and sin
cere hitherto, but now upon one
i phase of your policy, we are hopeless
! iv divided in this, that we cannot go
| to YOU, will you come to us, or shall
| the branch between you and our
| people only now begun, widen to a
| final separation of interests Can you
/ afford it? When your several calls
for men TO enlist and go forth TO fight
| the battles of our common country
4
| secure that with republican admins
tration, the republican amendments to
| the Constitution of the United States
| would be jealousy executed came
! promptly TO the front Few of the
State Governors avalled themselves of
| their offers, but as rule promptly
turned them down. OF those who did
| accept of them, not one, whether dem
| ocrat or republican received them
with any invidious distinction, but ex
| tended to them the same rights and
privileges accorded to any other of
| their citizens.
len regiments of so-called Elm
munes" were placed absolutely at
YOUR personal disposal Mr.. President,
and from you as republican, sworn
to carry out the provisions of the Con-
stitution, placed in nomination for
high Office by black mems votes, and
| by their aid elected, from you came
the ruling discriminating against us
'',n account of race color and pre-
vious condition." that no colored
man should be given position higher
| than lieutenent in the SIX regiments
| set aside for negroes. Possibly cap
| tain or two may have slipped through,
but only as the exception TO prove the
rule. The democratic Governor of
Virginia declared that he would not
violate his oath of office, the Constl-
| tuition of the United States and the
rights of the negro, by departing in one
iota of treatment from that accorded
his white fellow citizens Does not
| the contrast i'll action cause your
| cheeks to blush with shame? We are
told that you positively deny the ex-
istence of such rule, but the War
Department officials just as positively
assert that it exist, and the fact that
such is the unfavorable practice goes
long way ahead of any verbal denial.
You cannot plead ignorance Mr.. Pres
ident, nor can the War Department
plead that no worthy or capable per-
sons applied, certainly not if compared
with many others who have been
appointed.
Now Mr.. President, we are neither
aggressive nor impu dent, we have
respectfully and firmly asked for rec
ognItIon as citizen of a common coun-
try, nothing more. We want it.
You should bear in mind that the
men assigned to the duty of organic
ing these troops are safe In their
places for life. They care no more for
you nor ior your administration than
the wind that blows Some are find
ing rests for themselves and priyates,
others are catering to prejudice with
which they are in full sympathyand you
are getting badly left. Call a halt now
Mr.. President, esta ablish the practice
of your departments upon the fine
basis of equal and exact justice to all
before il is too late or the day must !
come for unavailing regret. Demo-
Catic influential papers throughout the
South are sternly arraigning the prac-
tice of the Administrator in this re-
spect and some democratic governors
setting up object lessons of sharp con- |
trast. They are playing good politics |
of course, and you are furnishing
them with cluo to break your own
back. Do not expect to close our eyes |
or mouths with any amount OF proteS- |
tations that you are doing all you Can
for us and that you are our friend. |
Must we believe that the great Presi- |
dent of this great country has not as |
much control over his subordinates as
has the Governors of single State? |
That while they can treat us with JUS I
tice you cannot, because your subor-
dinateS will not do as you say, but as
they please? 1t is terrible self-ar-
raignment!
Once before one of your predecessors
proclaimed himself the Moses who
was to lead us to the Promised Land, |
but finally told us to Ego tc the peo-
pie" That grand old man Frederick !
Douglass said very, we'll Mr.. Presi-
dent, we will go to the people. Shall |
we go again? Remember that we
only ask simply justice and good faith.
Mr.. President, 1t was said of your
Ohio predecessors that once sold out
the republican party of the South TO
purchase his seat in the Presidential
chair, and the other split the repub-
lican party in the North, and these two
alone made it possible for the first
democratic President to occupy the
White House since the war for the
Union. We all hope from you better
things than the establishment and
recognition of the color line by the
Government of the United States. 1t
is simply horrible. The mistake was
made when a self-constituted COM
mittee without constituency, offered
you the services of nine millions ofne-
groes for the war. Mr.. President, the
of thirty-fIve wears aOo do