The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1900-07-12
(The StateSville Mascot)

lie Mascot)
ment that every white man that was
not in office bought rifles and formed
themselves into military organiza
ton. Ministers of the gospel forgot
for time their message of love and
paced the streets with guns on their
shoulders, while the women and chill
dren slept. At last white man was
shot and the war began. The mes
sage came to our town, For Gods
sake send us 200 men, the race riot is
on | am glad to say that l was in
the crowd of 800 men who went to the
rescue. There was not a white man
in Iredell county who would not have
gone, no matter what his politics are.
But now we want no force, no men,
no guns; we want your ballot, the
freeman's ballot, and all the power
that comes with it. But, whatever
you do, we have sworn by the Eternal
God, not to submit another day to
negro rule.
1.-The Republicans are beginning to
believe that something must be done.
We sent the Republicans to the school
of White Supremacy in '9S In that
year one-third of the Republican State
convention were negroes, and the ne
gro who represents my district in
Congress-I have that honor-made
speech saying that the business of ne
gro office-holding in North Carolina
had just begun, and he was applauded
by white delegates. This year there
were only "a negroes in the State
convention. Holton sent word, Look
a here, you nigger-don't even call
him colored man any longer-if you
don't stay at home and not raise a
fuss this year, the white folks will do
you like they did you in '9S.' But,
my friends, if you think that because
the 'nigger' is not taking any visible
interest in politics this year and that
he isn't going to vote, you will wake
up the 3rd of August and think the
sun is gone into an eclipse again.
''Our Populist friends say they have
a plan. The negro is not to hold
office. He makes mighty good
voter but he will not do for an office
holder. You will have white officers,
but who put them there? The negro,
and it is the negro behind the officer
that constitutes negro rule. No gov
ernment can be better or wiser than
the average of virtue and intelligence
of the party that governs. l am to
be Governor. l am TO govern in ac
cordance with the majority. l will
give you good government because
| represent the virtue and honesty of
the white man. If Spencer Adams is
elected, he will govern in accordance
with his majority. But his ma jority
is composed of negroes and it will be
negro rule. So the Populist plan will
not do.
What do the white men suggest?
They have adopted the Constitutional
amendment as the best way out of the
difficulty. The Anglo-Saxon race is
the all conquering race intended by
God to be the rulers of the world.
Our ancestors 800 years ago in Eng
land rode down to the palace of the
king and demanded that he give them
certain rights. He gave them the
great Magma Charta. 1t declares that
justice shall not be denied or delayed
and this is considered the bulwark of
our liberties, and is written on our
statute books. Who were those men
who obtained this right for us? Were
they scholars, lawyers and profess
sional men? No. There was not one
in the crowd that could read the char
ter he had procured, bat they were
white men, every one of them. Who
were the men who followed Stonewall
Jackson in his valley campaign? Who
were the men that carried the banner
of the Confederacy farthest North at
Gettysburg? Who were the men that
stood in that last, long, wavering
line at Appomattox? Were they
scholars? Aye, many of them, but
the ma jority of them were illiterate,
but they were white men, every one
of them. The amendment recognizing
the superiority of the white man
through Inheritance says that no man
that could vote prior to 1867, or
whose father or grandfather could
vote prior to that time provided he
registers before 1908 should ever be
deprived of that right on account of
not being able to read and write
General Cullom, Republican Sena-
tor, expressed the idea of the Legisla-
ture when he said that the American
idea of universal suffrage presup-
poses fitness for it either by inheri-
tance or education. The negro can't
get it from inheritance, therefore we
say he must get it by education.
LET US see how this amendment
will work. A white man comes up to
register. If he possesses the neces-
sary qualifications as to age and
length of time he has lived in the dis
trict. and can read and write no fur
ther questions are asked. If he can
not read and write. he is asked if he
could vote prior to 1867. He answers
that he was not old enough. He is
then asked if his grandfather could
vote at that time and he answers that
he could. He is told then that he can
vote too. In this way you see no
white man is disfranchised. But a
negro comes up. Ii he has the neces-
sary qualifications as to age and time
lived in the State, and can read and
write, he is allowed to vote But if
he answers that he cannot read and
write, he is asked if his father could
vote prior to 1867. He answers no,
that his father was slave; could his
grandfather? No. His great grand
father? No. ANY body behind him