The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-07-19

Edward Atkinson 20 Colored Voters.
Edward Atkinson. having failed to
stir up a revolution In this country to
aid the cause of the hslf-civilized Ia
gals in Luzon, is taking new course
by appeals to the colored population to
rise up enmasse against the President,
and to make a race question Of their
politics, because the white man Is In
capable of dealing with the problem.
Intelligent colored leaders are indica-
ting that they are quite as Disguised
with Mr.. AtIlnson's standard Of patri-
otism and Americanism as are the great
mass Of white citizens. Representa-
lives of them have assured the Presi-
dent of their support, and denounced
the Boston effort as one made to array
the colored race against the admins.
tratlon because of the Philippine policy.
They declare that the colored men Of
the country are willing to trust the Re
publican party to give good government
to the Flllplnos.
Edward Atllnson's appeal to the col
ored men to rally at the polls to rebuke
President Mckinley advises them to or
ganize for that purpose. This bears
out the accusation Of the colored Lead
ers as to the purpose. It Is to help the
Democratic antl-expanslon campaign,
which, II successful, would bring dis
grace on the country. He knows that
the colored vote doesn't amount to
much In certain southern states, where
1t is practically barred. The purpose is
for the colored voters to organize in the
Republican states. The Washington
Star, commenting on Atklnson's APP
peal, constructs 1t to mean that the col
ored voter must express two things:
First. The incapacity of the white
man of the United States to deal Justly
and intelllgently with the question Of
an Inferior race" On this point the
Star says:
The question Of dealing with the negro
race In the United States is still unset
tied. The white man Is busy with II.
He cannot evade 1t. His desire is TO set
tie 1t to the negroes advantage. He
must do that in order to settle It to his
own advantage. The negro, too, must
assist. And yet, while the work Is In
progress, the negro Is advised to plant
himself on the proposition that success
Is impossible. Then what, pray, Is to
become Of the negro?
Second. The President should be re-
buked for refusing to take official cog
nIzance of lynchIngs in the south"
Which the Star pertInently CONSTITUTES
thus:
That Is to say. because the President.
without authority, has not filled Geor-
gIa, South and North Carolina, MissIs-
slppl and Louisiana with soldiers and
established martial law because Of the
lynchlngs Of negroes, the negro voter
elsewhere should Join hands politically
with Governor Chandler, Senator TILL
man. Mayor Waddell, Governor McLau-
rim and Governor Foster, They are all
antI-expansionIsts and the negro well
understands how vigilant they have
been In efforts to suppress lynchings
and apprehend and punish lynchers.
All of which goes to show that Ed
ward Atkinson evidently takes the col
ored voters to be fools. As above
stated, many OF the colored leaders are
totally Indifferent as to what Mr.. At
kinson's conception of their intelligence
is. The Star is right. however, when 1t
holds that, while the leaders seem con-
tent with the appraIsement by Atkin-
son, 1t is unjust to the majority of the
race, who know from history who their
friends are, and are not void of graft
tude and appreciation.