The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-01-11
THURSDAY. JANUARY II. 1900.
SENATOR: MorGAN.s SPEECH.

Senator Morgan, OF -laldUduia. iidS -
pressed himself as being confident that
vast majority Of the white people III ahe
11n;ted states would vote to: give the
Southern States the right 10 control 1hc1r
.,r.n affairs without negro interference
We have on several occasions expressed
much the same opinion, and have Tune
and again advocated the repeal OF the
fifteenth amendment TO the Federal con
stitution.
1t would be a blessed thing for this
country if The Northern people would
rise up en- -masse and right this eutra-5
reous wrou., w1lici, they inflicted upon
The Southern people soon after the war
Negro suffrage has been the curse oil me
South, and what affects the South lndi-
rectly affects the North in all cando!,
we ask, what good thing has come out
of negro suffrage? 1t has done the negro
no good, but has been. on the contrary,
a source Of endless trouble TO him. A
very few negroes have from time to time
held office, and occasionally. the negro
party has been in power in some of the
States, hut in every such instance there
were frequent clashes between the
races and in all such clashes
the negro got the worst of it.
Negro suffrage is responsible for most of
the friction that has occurred between
the races since the war. The relation
ship between the whites and blacks would
81 33,os,
it is II the ballot had never been put
into The hands of the negro. We assert
without hesitation, therefore, that negro
suffrage has been a, blight rather than a
benefit TO the black man.
No ono would he rash enough to assert
that negro suffrage has been benefit
10 the Southern States at large. 1t has
certainly not helped to promote good gov
e1nment. but has been the direct or indi-
rect occasion Of election frauds and cleo
tion riots. Such thing as election trick
cry was never known In the Southern
States before the war. All this sort of
business came with the Introduction of
negro suffrage.
The rank Republicans of the north had
two objects in view when they conferred.
upon the emancfpated slaves the right to.
vote One of these was to punish the.
whites of the South and the other WAS
to help the Republican party. AS for
the first, the Republicans saw their de-
negro got the worst of it. But the Re
publicans have long since realized that
their party has been eakened rather
than strengthened by their negro allies
So far from whipping the Soutl, into The
Republican column, negro suffrage made
The South selid against Republicanism,
and that viii he The case SO long as the
negro is a factor in Southern politics.,
Even the Republicans Of the North. who
have come down here and cast their lot
with the Southern people have. in almost
every instance, except in The case OF Office.
seekers, voted with the whites and helped
to keep the South solid.
1t requires great courage for individ-i
liaIs. nations or political parties to own
up to an error. But many of the best
and most influential Republicans OF the
North hase hesitatingly confessed. rot
only that negro suffrage was blunder..
but that it was great public outrage.
There is but one honest thing 10 do with
a bi,ndes or with an outrage. and that
4 g. as far as poss bic. to correct it The
Northern Republicans committed this
outrage they own mp 10 1t. and the cor
issistent and honest ding for them 10 do
as no wipe II put