Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1898-08-19

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No one who has studied the politics
conditions of the whole country durin
the past third Of a century can fail t
see that the South has been steadial
prejudice against the North, and tina
every Southern State has voted agains
every political principle favored by tn
majority of the people Of the North
Even Comrade Sessions letter indicate
that his prejudice against the Soutl
has not been wholly obliterated, ant
there is no doubt but that many thous
ands of other Union veterans-possibly
the majority-are similarly prejudiced
What is to be the result of the main
tenance of that prejudice? A contin
ually divided country and continually
injured labor and business throughout
the whole nation.
1t is the duty Of the victorious Union
veterans to be magnanimous, and there
is no better and stronger way to illus
trate the strength of the American peo
pie and government to the world than
by the veteran comrades destroying
the last barrier that can maintain sec
tional prejudice between the North
and the South. The interests of the
people of the two sections are local ,
and there is no other trade and traffic
that can be made SO mutually valua able
and helpfnl as that between the states
of the North and the South, east of the
Rocky mountains, yet the North and
South railroads are so few and the busi-
ness SO restricted that we do not gain
the advantage of the trade with our
nearest neighbors We ought to have
as many North and South railroads as
we have East and West railroads and
when we gain them the peoplesof Iowa
will gain from 25 to SO per cent more
for their products, and there will be
labor and business for all the Amsri-
can citizens who will work when the
voters are not divided on sectional pre-
judices.
Comrade Sessions calls attention to
the fact that the ex-Confedarates at
Philadelphia last week exhibited some
prejudice against a colored &. A. r..
Post marching in the blue and gray
parade. We do not like that prejudice
but how can the Southern prejudice
be oblitcrated aslong as the Union vet
erans maintain prejudice against the
South? The antagonism of races is
the couse of the Southern prejudice
against the colored race. That pre-
judice is stronger than the civil war
differences ever were, it exists in all
section of the country, and we fear
that race prejudice will continue to ex.
list as long as two races inhabit the
earth. History viii decide that the
right triumphed in the maintenance of
the American Union, but race prejudice
will go on forever as long as there are
races to maintain the prejudice. That
is the history of this and all other CIV
ilizations.
If comrade Sessions will examine
the law providing for the ten immune
regiments, he will discover why there
was trouble over otticering the colored
company in this city. The law had to
be obeyed, therefore it was necessary
to elect white captain ofthe company
that law was enacted in the city where
Comrade Sessions is tempfrarily locat-
ed, and we are surprised that he has
not yet discovered that the law was
the cause of the whole trouble. The
immune regiments will be in the SER
vice possibly for the full term of their
enlistment, and it is probable that it
was the thought of the senators and
the representatives that better results
could be secured by the requirement
for white regimental officers and white
crptains in those regiments. Illinois
recruited one colored regiment for the
volunteer service that is otficered by
colored men. The press reports prove
that that regiment has had great
deal of trouble at Springfield, but we
have not yet seen any reports of trouble
in tho colored regiments otticered by
white men. The Register believes that
all colored regiments and compa MES
should be otticered by colored men the
laws will permit but the first principle
of good soldiership is to obey the laws
of the Nation.
We was little surprised at the Regis
ter in writing such . reply to Mr.. Ses-
sions' letter. While we as American
citizens, as members of race number
ing more then 100000 of the Ameri-
can population, are wiling to lay aside
all the past differences and troubles,
and enter into the broad road of uni
versal brotherhood of man and the
AIS AVdy u CciAAcECAoi OcVclOpucuta
in every section of America; yet we
are not willing, and think it unwise,
most assuradly ungreatful to your true
friend and brave colored comrade to
ignore or ostracise them; to welcome
your common foe and greatest enemy to
the hospitable hearthstone of the e. A.
Rpost. Our true and loyal friends sshould
always be preferable to our enemy
Then again Mr.. Clarkson says that the
race prejudices will continue to exist SC
long as there are different races. Truly
that is not SO, because the race preju
dice does not exist in any other country
as it does in America, and is kept anew
by such men as the editor who wrote
the above article, why, even in Cuba OF
Hawaii or any European countries there
is but little or no race prajudice on &C