The Appeal., 1899-06-24

tion for, a response but to all sections, and
especially to the South where We know that
we have friends who have been tried in the
who will be faithful in the future, as they
have been in the past, If we shall be true to
ourselves, true to the God who brought us
out OF the Egypt Of slavery into the Judea
But no race has ever risen out of the shad-
oWs into: the sunlight without fierce oppo-
sition. We have been no exception to the
der, where Daniel Webster declared there
was plenty ct room, however long it takes
and time is the most important factor in the
economy OF God in working out the destiny
Of races and nations-we shall encounter
fierce antagonism, but we shall win in the
END END, for we shall have God and justice and
t. In view OF the present condition of affairs
IN which we find ourselves we beg to direct
attention to the following facts:
: 1. Since 1868 there has been a steady and
persistent determination to eliminate us from
the politics of the Southern states. We are
not to be eliminated. Suffrage is federal
or withheld by the states. We are not op-
posed to legitimate restriction of the suffrage
but we insist that restrictions shall apply
alike to all citizens of all states. We are
willing to accept an educational or property
qualification, or both. We insist that neither
OF these was intended or is conserved by the
new constitutions Of Mississippi, South Caro-
lima. or louisiana Their trainers intended
and did disfranchise a majority of their citi-
zenship because of ':race, color, and previous
condition. and we therefore call upon the
congress to reduce the representation o1
those states in the congress. as provided and
made mandatory by section 2 of article XIV
OF the constitution. We call upon Afro-Amer-
leans everywhere to resist by all lawful means
the determination to deprive them of their
suffrage rights. If it is necessary to accom-.
pllsh this vital purpose to divide their vote
In given state we advise that they divide it.
The shibboleth of party must give way tc
the shibboleth of self-preservation.
z The increase of mob and lynch law ir
the republic must be source of regret and
grief to- every law-abiding citizen. It has
become a source of reproach at home and
| abroad. We feel that this cancer on the body
polite is breeding contempt for law
which will spread over. the whole body of the
Of 'GP Il Ge he e. %
shocked and disguised the nation. We regre
that the president OF the United States saw
f1t to treat with silence this vital matter II
his second annual message to congress
Yet we indulge the hope that he will use his
good Offices to settle this matter to the salts
glory of the nation.
8. The separate car laws have grown tt
such provoking proportions, and they are SC
unjust: degrading, and oppressive in their
attention to them here. We urge and advise
in the interest of justice and decency, thai
the graduated passenger rate prevailing in
famous ~.stem now in force in most Of the
other stk:es Of the South. It is a principls
ct common law that a man shall pay for
what he wants and get what he pays for.
Under the prevailing system a contract made
IN New York with a railroad or other COM
mon carrier is not worth the paper It is
written on south of North Carolina Is this
fair or just, or in accordance with common
or statute law practice In the United States.
a contract valid in one state Of the .repuSlis
should be valid in every state-with all othei
citizens than Afro Americans it is
4. In the interest of humanity, we request
that the penal institutions of the South be
reformed. The horrors of them depicted bv
George w. Cable 7ears ago instead OF growing
better, have grown worse. The indiscriminate
herding OF males and females and juveniles
IN the convict camps of the South constitutes
one of the most glaring scandals in the ad-
ministration of justice in the republic Sepa-