Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1900-08-15
POLITICAL MISFITS.
COLORED DEMOCRATS PRESENT
A CURIOUS ANOMALY.

COLORED DEMOCRATS PRESENT
A CURIOUS ANOMALY.
They Support Bryan and Stevenson
at the Same Time Protesting Against
All Democratic Efforts to Disfran-
chise Afro American Voters.
That there should be such thing as
q colored Democrat is one Of the Curl
Gus anomalies Of politicS-Something Of
the nature of white blackbird. But
1t is a 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
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 ''the
open or covert efforts to disfranchise
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 nc
pretense of coIcealing the efforts to
disfranchise our race" parts where the
colOred vote has been wiped out of eX
iStence; parts where electoral votes fOI
Bryan and Stevenson are to come from
with such absolute certainty that they
are reckoned as already cast. 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 Oh
which the United Colored Democracy
Of Greater New York met and ratified
and passed resolutions comes a story
from Nebraska which bears directly
upon the question of the measure OF
support Of the national Democratic
ticket naturally to be expected from
colored voters. e. n. Jenkins, of Thay
er County, a man of undisputed verac'
ity, asserts that during the Civil War
| 1S61-'65, Adlai Z. Stevenson, Demo.
cratic nominee for Vice President, was
at the head of an organization in Hi
nois that had for its purpose the pre-.
vention of persons of African blood be.
ing brought into the State. Mr.. Jenk.
ms says:
During the war Lieut.. Philip Jenk.
ms, a Woodford Qll.) 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 sem
along to attend him. When he reached
home the so-called Copperhead element
made big fuss. They found an old law
on the statute books making it crime
to bring a negro into the State, anG
under it's provisions the Union soldier
| fresh from the battlefield, with his
wounds still bleeding from the Confed
crate bullets, was arrested. Adlai e
| Stevenson then was Il young lawyer
| practicing in that county, and volun.
teered to prosecute the Union soldier.
1.-The trial came on and the jury dis,
| ~
the case brought up By this time
Jenkins had sufficiently recovered tC
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. l do not know
whether he is as narrOwminded now
as in those days, but 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-Americans 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
organization are not numerous, and
from them no electoral votes for Bryan
and Stevenson are expected.