The Washington bee., 1898-06-11
NEGRO ORGANS AND
LEADERS.
From the Daily Post:

Post. 1t is of absolutely no conse-
quence to us whether they approve or
disapprove. Their ridiculous claims
to recognition" are only tireSome.
| Their criticisms and denunciations Of
this paper affect us or intelligent pub
lie opinion about as much as the idle
summer zephyr SWayS the Washington
Monument. All this nonsensical up
roar has arisen over the demands Of
certain negro military organizations to
| be accepted intact, with their officers,
&c and made part of the army with
out question, and the ground upon
which they base the preposterous
assumption is their alleged ability,
training, fitness, patriotism, and all
the rest of it. AS we say, this is too
absurd for argument. The white mil
| itia regiments have not been accepted
on such terms-why the negro regi-
ments? The truth of the matter is
that these noisy complalnantS do not
represent even their own race, except
ing perhaps, the impudent and trouble
some element of II, and are entitled
to no more consideration than we pro-
pose to give them now. The negroes
can enter the army as the whites do
leaving the government to appoint the
officers-or they can stay out of it.
The only people who are drawing the
color line are the negroes themselves.
Whites are contented to be treated as
individuals. / he negro leader insists
that his race must be treated as a
whole. Ii there is color line to-day
they are TO blame Tor it. If the author
tiles decline TO admit their claims it is
because those claims are impudent
and silly. There Is Just one result the
negro organs and leaders can accom-
plish by all I pestiferous uproar,
and that Is pfonvince whites that
they are. racticable and malap-
ropos. w they finally succeed in
implant ns that conviction IN the
nation IA ird they will discover that
this is the white mans country, which
the white man intends to govern in
his own way and for his own behoot.
They can then stay here or go else
where as they prefer. but In neither
event will they affect the destiny OF
the United States or change the fixed
purpose of those who rule 1t.
The above excerpt from the daily
Post convinces us that our esteemed
contemporary is sutf ring from
nervous prostration. The Negro
leaders and journals must be affect
ing the appetite Of the Post, be-
cause its dyspeptic utterances indl-
cate to us that the colored leaders
and editors have touched our con.
temporary in a tender spot. Both
the Post and the Negro have made
the mistake by exposing to the
world their weakness. In the first
place, the Negro asserted when he
was talked of before the war
between the United States and
Spain, that he did not intend
to fight; that thousands of Ne
groes were being butchered IL
the South without cause and
that 1T was about time for the
American government to protect
their citizens at home before she
asks the Negro to fght foreign
foe who has done nothing against
the Negro. Well, at the time the
government was about to act upon
the Negroes suggestion, there came
protest from all over the country
that the Negro is being discrimin-
ated against. Thus, 1.-The tempest
in teapot You can, as the
Post Says, send protests from all
over the country to the effect that
the Negro is not wanted; that he
must have recognition or he will
know the reason why. With what
avail:e
Well, the next public statement
we read is, the government
thinks that the Negro will make a
goJd soldier, and that he is just
the person to send front. Great
Caesar! Why was this ever pub
lished? The natural presumption
is, as the Post says, that the Negro
does not know what he wants. He
is being accepted as a soldier and
that does not satisfy him; the gov
ernment has decided to send him
front and that doesn't seem to sat-
isfy, him. The Post takes excep-
tion because the Negro wants to be
colonel. Our contemporary
should not take exception to this,
because the ,egro is like the Post
-dyspeptic.
1t is true that this is a white
mans government, and a barbar.
Gus one at that. Citizens are
murdered and lynched without
judge or jury, and because we d.