The Oskaloosa herald., 1900-05-03
WOODSON'S WISDOM.
Muchakinock Sage Talks Plain
ly to the Colored People.

Afro-Americans at Des Moines last
week. In his address he said in part:
'At no time in the history of this
country and in the progress of the
world have we been more closely in
vestigated from the moral. intellect
ual, financial and industrial points of
view. AT no time heretofore has the
world been more anxious and willing
to hear what we had to say along
those lines and to credit to our. ac-
count whatever we had to present by
way of morality, intelligence, finance
and industry.
The call asks us first, "How shall
we as a race get our equal rights?"
| believe that question will be ably
discussed by some one duly appointed
to present it. AS for myself, briefly
speaking,I believe that our advance
ment with the other people of the
world will secure to us all that we
can ask in the natural order of things.
Some of the means that we may use
should come in conventions like this
where we may talk over the different
things that interest US, and from
these gatherings we ought to be able
to cooperate with each other in
every line of race work. A few sug-
gestions at this time may not be al
together out of place. In the line of
industry aur people must get right at
the bottom of things and produce
something out of as near nothing as
+ he natural laws will permit. To this
end, we should own land, and then
we would be able to make use of the
sun light, the air and the water in
producing stock, grain and from it
food and raiment, etc.
AS soon as our people stop swarm
ing to the cities, and swarm out to
take up the broad acres, a turning
point will come in the condition of
the race. By this course we shall
soon be able TO supply to ourselves
and our fellows the first needs of the
family. And with land as basis we
have a place upon which we may
safely stand to battle for the rights
which we have 50 long coveted, and
which have so long been partially
withheld from us. By this course we
would soon have taxes to pay, grain
to grow, stock to raise barns to build
fences to look after when there was
no campaign in sight. The subordin-
ate minds of the race could easily
watch corn and grass grow and re-
ceive more benefit from the lessons
taught them directly by dame nature
than they could ever acquire from
the tongues of our famed and fire
splitting orators. Even our silver
tongued orators are unable to speak
bread and meat into the stomach of
a poverty stricken child or spell bind
poor people with clothes. Our
watch word, yes, our pass word,
should be wherever we meet a negro
brother something like this: "What
are you doing for the good of our
country? What are we doing for the
good of the racer"
If we can learn that litigation is
being discouraged, that farms are
being acquired, taxes being paid,
property accommodating, good sani-
tary homes being established, that
schools are being kept up, that a
part of the children are becom-
ing skilled in the trades, while a
part are Zealously guarding the in
tegrity of our boys, the virtue Of our
girls, and the morality of our race in
being honest with our neighbors and
dutiful to our God, we should be
willing and ready to extend the right
hand of fellowship and part with
words of encouragement and love.
We need not bother anything about
the kind of politics or the kind of re-
ligion that our brother prefers if he
is sound on the confession of faith"
and the practices of economy and
morality that ! have just indicated.
TO the second question, why are
we republicans?" l might be ex-
pected to say a great deal, and at
another time | may be SO inclined.
But here and now | deem it sufficient
to say that most of our people
are republicans because they are
so classified by all people, because
we believe our liberty best guarded
by that party, because it has from
the first taken the advance steps in
securing for us all the equal rights
that we have had in the law of our
land and the constitution of our
country, because we believe strongly
in the principle of protection as that
party has always enforced it, be-
cause we believe that it's principles
generally are best for the interest of
the country in which we live. Being
true Americans, we are anxious for
the country's welfare and general
prosperity. We desire to see our
great nation advance to the first
place in the front rank of nations,
and we believe the republican party
better fitted to carry out that grand
design than any other political or
ganization now in our country. And
being honest in that belief, our rea-
sons for our faith and our affiliaiton
are self apparent. Right here / may
add that we have in our race some
men who believe in the doctrines of
free trade, who are firm on the ques-
ton of state rights, who have ten
dency toward certain sides of capital
labor and socialism, which, by prin-
ciple, makes them democrats, popu-
ulists and a great number of them
prohibitionists. | do not consider
that this difference on political
questions should cause any friction
or distrust among the men of the
race. Ii such a man is doing some
thing for the good of the country and
the welfare of the race we should
give him the right hand of fellowship
with words of encouragement and
love, bid him God-speed and move
on.
Third, we are asked, "How has the
present administration treated the
Afro-Americans, right or wrong?"
Without entering into any great dis
cussion along that line think that
it must be admitted even by those
who are not SO friendly towards the
present administration and by those
who differ greatly with 1t on some
national questions, that it has never
theless been more fair and more lib
eral with the negroes of the country
than any administration since the