The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-01-04

TroxiS' AddreS-A salute by the
Artillery in Honor of the Day.
Five thousand colored people were pres
ont al the celebration of emancipation
dav at the Park extensPn yesterday. The
dav is one regarded highly by colored peo-
nile throughout the cou4ry, and the cele-
bration in Savannah abdlt noon was prob
ably similar TO those in many other cities.
The parade formed al 1880 o'clock, at
Liberty and East Broad streets, and was
one of the main featurts of the day. 1t
consisted of the military, among which
was the First BattalioE under command
of Mai. w. H. Royall Lieut.. Sol c. john
son and Lieut.. c. c. Sanders, members of
the Grand Army of he Republic and
other civic organizations. The First
Battalion was headei by Middletons
hand and was competed of Company F,
Capt J. H. Carter; Company c, Capt.
Nelson Law; Company D, Capt H.
n Lawton; Company B, Capt.
w. j. Pinckng; Company A,
Capt. Joseph L. Mirault, and
Co. E, Capt. L. A Washington. There
were PA men in tie battalion, which was
followed in the !sade by the G. A. R.
forces, the Georgia Artillery, under Capt.
j. c. Simmons, aid the Savannah Hussars,
under Lieut.. Henry Williams. Next came
the Union Cornd band, followed by mem
bers of the Emancipation association in
carriages, headed by Capt. L. NJ. Pleasant,
chief marshal Of the parade, with J. E.
Whiteman, w. H. Logan, P. NJ. Cohen.
J. C. Ross, ]. c. Atkin and C. b. Whaley
as assistants. The day was exceptionally
pleasant, and the parade made creditable
display along the line of march, which en-
braced all the principal streets.
At the park large assemblage of coIored
people gathered, and the programme ar
ranged under the auspices of the Emanci-
patton Association, was carried out, and
witnessed with much interest. Rev. Alex
ander Harris was in charge of ceremonies
and first announced a song, in concert by
the gathering. Prayer was offered by Rev
T N. NJ. Smith. after which the emanci-
patton proclamation, the document sacred
to the race, was read by Justin Brown.
Following this came the introduction of
the speaker Of the day, Rev. P. H. Travis,
who delivered an address on the day and
appropriate thoughts in connection with
it, Among other things the speaker said:
The Hebrews observe their Passover;
the Irish their st. Patrcks day; the Ro-
mans, the English and the French their
days; in short, all races which have risen
in the scale of civilization, have a day
by which they mark some important
event in their history. 1t is with pleasure
that l rejoice with you in the celebration
OF this day, which l may say gave birth
to a nation.
God put it into Abraham Lincoln thirty
-FOUR years ago and he wrote the procla-
nation which took the yoke off 100000
OF slaves and made them free. Prior
10 the emancipation the negro was held
as property, and for 245 years he served
his master faithfully and well. Beginning
with the early settlement of America he
was the prime factor in clearing the for
est dltching the swamps and cuItivating
the son. He has dropped his sweat on
every hill and in every valley. God never
maue an inferior race for a superior one
ana there is nothing to substantiate any
such doctrine. For God hath made out of
one blood all nations of men to dwell upon
the face of the earth
In the civil war the negro was a va
Aant soldier. The records of the war de-
partment show there We're 1859 colored
men regularly enlisted as soldiers in the
union army, who, in their good conduct
established commendabe record for eff
cent service in camp, fortress and field.
AFTER four years of bloodshed and war.
the negro was set free. Prof. Bowen saws:
Wnen the famous edict of freedom went
torth, on Jan. l, 1863, the negro, instead
vi DelhS born into a state of liberty and
freedom, was damned into it, For well
hlgh eight generate ne had been work.
eu' Al the close Of the war the negro was
an that any race could be who had been
IN slavery. His progress since has been
remarkable. We have reduced our litter
acy more than 40 per cent in thirty-three
years. We are paying taxes in this state
on more than $35, 600 900 worth of property.
we have 1900 school teachers. 1000 ply
slclans and LOGO lawyers, all of whom we
nave graduated from some of the best
SCHOOLS in this and other countries. We
nave 3,O6S,S22 members of the church scat
tered among the various denomina lions.
lhese are led by thousands of able and
Well'educated ministers, including Is or 30
bishops About 100000 of our
people can read. l am forced
10 consider these achievements
something worthy when it Is known they
We're all accomplished in one generation.
But the time will come, and now Is
when We must put a price on our virtue.
II the white man is willing to die in the
defense of his wife and children, the ne
sro must be willing to die in the defense
of his.
If we expect to hold our place on the
stage of life among other men and make
ourselves felt among other races, we must
PRIZE the value of our votes above gold
ana silver. The man that sells his vote
sells himself He is a traitor to the gov
eminent, a disgrace to his people and is
unworthy of public trust. l would have
you understand that the immigrants from
the north and west have already started
south, and unless we get our own homes,
we viii have a harder time in the future
IMAM now. We must plant ourselves in
me soil. We must get out of the cities
ana out of rented houses and go into the
country, where we can buy land for dol
lar an acre, settle there, cultivate it and
make for ourselves and our families an
honest independent living. No man is in
dependent until he can carry the key of
ms own smoke house. We are here and
we are here to stay. There are being born
IN this country every "a hours 900
negro children. The negro race
ls the only race that can look
the blue-eyed white man in the face
ana live. l am looking forward
70 the day when the people of
me south shall respect law and
order and lynching shall cease. When
tne number of peODle who cannot read