Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1900-08-15
POLITICAL IISFITS.
coioRED DEMOCRATS PRESENT
A CURIOUS ANOMALY.
They support S-yan and Stevenson
al the Same Time Protesting Against
All Democratic Efforts to Disfran-
chise Afro American Voters.

That there should be such y thing as
colored Democrat is one of the curl
GUS anomalies of politics something of
the nature of white blackbild. But
it is fact. There are some American
citizens of African descent who vote
the Democratic ticket. There is an
organization calling itself the United
Colored Democracy of Greater New
York, and this organization held Il
meeting and ratified the Kansas City
nominations. Among the resolutions
adopted at this meeting of the United
Colored Democracy of Greater New
York is one which protests against 1.-The
open or covert efforts to disfranchse
our race coming from any source what
soever.'
If intended as joke, this resolution
will meet with cordial acceptance and
create much merriment in certain parts
of the country parts where there is no
pretense of concealng the efforts TO
disfranchise our race parts where the
eolored vote has hcen wiped out of ex-
istence; parts where electoral votes for
Bryan and Stevenson are to come from
with such absolute certainty that they
are reckoted as already east. In those
: parts the Acknowledgement resolution
of the United Colored Democracy of
Greater New York will be regarded as
distinctly humorous and deliciously
funny.
Curiously coincident with the date on
which the United Colored Democracy
of Greater New York met and ratified
and passed resolutions comes story
from \, braska which bears directly
upon the question of the measure of
support of the national Democratic
ticket naturally to be expected from
colored voters Il. \. jenkins, of Thay-
er County, man of undisputed verac-
ity, asserts that during the Civil War,
1S61'65, Adlai Z. Stevenson, Demo
cratic nominee for Vice President, was
1t the head Of an organization in Hi
nois that lad for its purpose the pre-
sention of persons of African blood be-
ing brought into the State. Mr.. Jenk-
ms says:
During the war Lieut.. Philip Jenk-
ms, Woodford Ul'.) County man, was
taken i'll and had to be sent home from
the front. He was unable to take care
of himself, and young negro was sent
along to attend him. When he reached
home the so-cillled Copperhead element
made big fuss. They found an old law
on the sta tute books max. ng it a crime
to bring Al negro into the State, and
under its provisions the Union soldier,
fresh from the battlefield, with his
wounds st;ll bleeding from the Confed-
crate bullets, was arrested. Adlai E..
Stevenson then was a young lawyer
practicing in that county, and volun-
teered to prosecute the Union soldier.
The trial came on and the jury dis
agreed. A second time Stevenson had
the case brought up. BY this time
Jenkins had sufficiently recovered to
get back on the firing line, and on the
showing that the defendant was at the
front fighting for the Union the judge
threw the case out of court. ! went to
Lincoln for the purpose of seeing how
the man looked who prosecuted my ia
Their so many years ago. do not know
whether he is as narrow minded now
as in those days but l thought | would
like to take a look at him. even if he is
Bryan's running mate"
Much interest will doubtless be felt
regarding this war Renaissance among
Afro-Al:ericans living in localities
where their votes are received and
counted the same as though they were
the votes of white men. In these To-
calities, however, colored Democratic
organizations are not numerous, and
from them no electoral votes for Bryan
and Stevenson are expected.