The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-01-10

fights between prominent workers IN
the opposing factions, but nobody was
seriously hurt. The buying Of votes
was without concealment. The Nc
Aullffe men paid off in checks; the
Clark men paid IF in cash right in the
rear Of the voting precinct. Entrance
being from the East side, the negro
would leave by the west side, and be
ing vouched for would be given IS.
One Of the Clark paymasters began
pinning the S. bills on the lapel Of the
coat of, the purchased voter, and
the bought voter went among the
crowd with his paymoney so dlplayed.
Clark men were more public with
money than the McAuhfe men. Two
Clark lIeutenants went among the
crowd telling the negroes tha5 they
had won the election but were still
giving SIS for votes, had the money
ready to pay when the ballos was cast;
wouldn't pay but 81 so a little later
A Clark negro with Ave dollar bills in
his hand went among the negrOes
showing the stuff we give for votes ;
How long the people OF Augusta will
submit to this sort of thing, I DO not
know"
And as for the first Of these three
evils, ths most progressive negroes are
now beginning to realIz9 that opposi
tion 90 negro suffrage is the inevitable
result of the Negroes failure to divide
his vote. Kelly Miller, a negro who
has carefully studied the problem of
negro suffrage and other problems af
fec5ing the welfare Of his race has
jusj written the New York Outlook as
follows:
Thirty years of experience has
shown that the negro cannot profit by
his franchise 30 long as he us9s it to
maintain political organizations CON
posed wholly or mainly of colored
men. When political and race issues
become Identical, iG Is a most unfortu
nate coincidence for the negro. The
two should be kept as far apart as pos.
sible. II the negro would make any
use whatever OF his franchise under
existing conditions, he must choose his
political aft Iations SO that the slgnli.
canoe Of his vote cannot be OWNED
from toe color Of the voter, Solidity
of the blacks invites solidity of the
whites; and there can be no doubt of
the outcome Of such alignment. The
policy would require the abandonment
of lOng-standing political alliances.
There is nothing sacred or hallowed
about political parties. They are only
machines to carry out the wishes of
the people; and when they fail OF this
function, they should be remodeled to
meet existing demands or rejected al
together. There is no psychological
reason why the negro should ~eternally
adhere to any political organization,
unless it a secure TO him the benef
cent ends of good government, local as
well as national. We live in the age
when political Issues are shifting with
almost Kaleidoscope rapidity. So long
as a great party based it's policy upon
those principles which nee the
vital needs of the negro race, it was
but natural that the negro should EN-
brace its tenets. But tariff and trade,
the relative coinage value of the pre-,
cious metals, commercial policy, and
territorial expansion, donot necessarily
demand racial solidIty. The negro has
paid in full whatever debt Of gratitude
he may have owed his old political
trIends. He was the passive eau % Iof
the origin and initial triumph of the
party which gave him freedom, and
for thirty years has been an active and
effective factor in it's continuance in
power. The best way by which the
race can continue to serve this party is
for fully half Of them to leave it,"
LRGISLATHRR