Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1902-08-18
THE MAN AND THE DOLLAR.


humanity, which so aroused and quick
ened the public conscience Of the
Northern States Of this Union half
century ago, which successfully fought
out the war for the preservation and
perpetuity of free institutions in
America and gave liberty to race
of men, is passing away before the
spirit of mercantilism which is now
supreme in our midst. 1t is being
displaced by the gospel Of greed.
Everywhere the man is going down
before the dollar. A monetary stand
ard is the test to which all human
conduct is brought, and by which it
is measured.
The pulpit, the press and the people
alike look with entire complacency
upon the lynchings and the burnings-
alive of negroes in the South, and
scarce ripple of protest goes up
against cruelties which would be a
disgrace to Dahomey, and which a few
years ago would have shocked the
common sense of mankind.
With equal apathy falls upon the
public ear the story of the completely
successful disfranchisement Of the
blacks as the result of system Of
legalized fraud never before heard of.
The statesmen OF the war time were
able and conscientious men, and they
supposed they had planted in the Con
stitution such safeguards as would
enable the enfranchised race to take
care Of themselves through the me-
dium Of the ballot box,-the theoretical
king in a republican form of govern
ment.
The Quaker bard put into the mouth
of tie humblest of all men on election
day, these words:
'The proudest now is but my peer,
The highest not more high;
Today, OF all the weary year,
e A king Of men am |.
Today. alike are great and small,
The .nameess and the known;
My palace is the peoples hall,
The ballot-box my throne.
While there's a grief to seek redress
Or balance to adjust,
Where weighs one living manhood less
Than Mammon's vilest DUST
While there's right to need my vote
A wrong to sweep away,
Up! clouted knee and ragged coat!
A mans man today
How these hopes have been fulfilled
and how well the solemn pledges OF
which they were founded have beer
kept, may be seen in the registration
of voters under the new Constitution
Of Alabama, just now completed.
The total registration Is 1912, bu
of this number less than $500 ar,
negroes. This enormous disproportioi
is not because there are few blacl
men in Alabama; there are many, an,
they are all scrupulously counted Il
fixing the basis of representation 70
that State in the lower house of Con
gress For example, Montgomer.
county has n negro population o
b2,207 1t registered only forty-seveI
negroes, or one in III. Dallas, anothe
county in the black belt. registers
67 negroes, out of black population
OF 45,372, while the number Of regis
tered whites was 2,291; in other words
the negroes in that county excec
the whites by five to one, but fo
voting purposes the whites exceed tn
blacks thirty-four to one. Butle
county has 1926 negro population
q HUu ToSiS'Nis phiS oh'' ANuhooio y
other counties register but 2 or
blacks in each. And Booker II. Wasl
ington's county registers just 80,
or the result the most prominer
newspaper In the South says: 9Th
negro will henceforth cut no figul
whatever in Alabama"
Such Is the way with which
solemn constitutional guaranty
treated, less than fifty years after
was enacted as the outcome of a Ion
ana bloody war.
The public mind is not alarmed b
II, nor is the public conscience tro
bled. The rights of man are indes
light IN the balance In mercenai
age. The political party which upc
every consideration OF gratitude {,
long and faithful service by the blaC
man, and OF oft,repeated party pror
ises. stands committed on Its honor
see this wrong righted, refuses, q
though In full power TO do anythiI
except appoint committee whi,
never has met and never will me,