The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1900-10-10
LINCOLN AND BRYAN.
The Democratic Leader Makes
n short Address to Color
ed Men.

snort Address 10 COlOr-
ed Men.
Mr.. Bryan visited st. Paul in his
speech making tour and addressed an
audience of 5000 people in the audito-
rum at night. Before proceeding
with his speech Mr.. Bryan was pre-
scented with life of Abraham Lin
coin by F. L. McGhee, colored man,
on behalf of the colored mems league.
Responding to this presentation, Mr..
Bryan said:
II thank you for this life of Lincoln
which you have given, and | appreci-
ate the complimentary words en-
ployed by Mr.. McGhee in presenting
1t. To your race the name of Lincoln
is a sacred one, and you may we'll re-
we're it, But Lincoln was the friend
of man, both white and black. He is
among the immortals, and his name
will be forever linked with the name
of Washington, of jefferson and of
jackson. His philosophy was deep
enough to reach down to the funda-
mental principles of government; his
sympathies we're broad enough to en-
brace all mankind; his vision was clear
enough to look beyond the civil war
and behold reunited country in
which there would be no sectional
lines, and in which all the people
would vie with each other in the eff
fort to add to the greatness and to the
glory of their common inheritance.
slf Lincoln we're alive he would be
the recipient of your devotion; but
you have appouncedyour abandonment
of the Republican party. You have
learned that the negro's position does
not depend upon the friendship of
any particular party, but upon the
intellectual development and moral
worth of the individual. | congrat-
ulate you upon the advancement made
by your people and | am glad to know
that so many of them are determined
to study public questions and vote ac-
cording to their convictions.
"The Republican party has long re-
garded them ss q political chattel, but
certainly you have repaid the present
Republican leaders for all that they
have done for your race. So far as
legislation is concerned you have been
the victims of the same vicious poll
cies which have injured the white man.
More of your race are engaged in the
production of cotton than in any 9th
er industry, and yet the cotton grow
ers are not receiving any benefit from
high tariff when they sell their cot
ton, but suffer from the imposition of
high tariff duties when they buy.
1.-THE colored man as a rule is Meth
er a money lender nor a holder of
fixed investments, and therefore does
not profit by the gold standard. lie
is not stock holder in private mo-
nopolies; but when the trust passes
through the land even the blood of
Lincoln, sprinkled upon the doorposts
of the colored mans humble home,
would not protect him from extortion.
"When Lincoln lived he wanted to
encourage the production of both
gold and silver; now the Republicans
have no use for silver. He signed the
law that created the greenhack, he
affixed his signature to an income tax
bill now the republican party is OPP
posed to the income tax He was a
believer in the citizen soldier; now the
Republican party stands for large
standing army and the imperial poll
cy. Lincoln wanted the declaration
of independence applied to a black
man, while the present leaders of the
Republican party are unwilling to APP
ply it to a brown man in the Philip
pine islands. No one can deny the ex-
istence of race prejudice in this coun-
try, however much he may deplore it..
The race problem is with us, and it
will require the intelligence and patri
otism of all our people, heart and
soul, white and black, to solve. But
| the existence of this very race preju-
dice should be a warning to US not to
bring new race problem even more
d fiicult of solution. 1t should be a
warming to administering carpetbag
government in distant colonies over
people who are TO be denied independ.
ence, and yet excluded from the rights
of citizenship.
Il appreciate the support promised
by your club. 1t hy the suffrage Of
my country IN n become president of
the United States, you may rest as
snrcd that the rights Of the citizens
of this country, regardless of color,
creed or condition, will be protect ed
as far as the executive has pow
err to protect them"
MIR. Bryan's reply to the presenta-
ton was heartily applauded.
Continuing his speech, he said the
Republican party could not force
separation of the allied forces, and
that if they were to be whipped, they
must be whipped together, and
not separately. He said the Re
publicans were hard pressed for issues
in the present campaign, and pre-
dicted that before the campaign was
over they would be forced back upon
the war of the rebellion as an issue,
as they had already been forced from
the financial question to the tariff.
He predicted further that as the cam
paign progressed there would be more
and more of abuse and vituperation,
and that the epithets of traitor and
copierhead would become more and
more common.
He talked of trusts and the Philip,