The Washington bee., 1903-02-07

The iaet three amendments TO the
CONSTITUTION Of the United States guar
antees freedom, civil rights ana I'ah
chise to the Negro. .,or.e
that: Neither slavery nor lnVoiun'ariY r-Y
( servitude, except as punlSn
crime, whereof the party snah nay
be en- duly convicted, shall exist within .
the United States, or any place suD'eo
to their jurisdiction. =
The Fourteenth Amendmen! oe-
lclares that: "No State shall make OF
enforce any law which shall aDildge
the privileges or immunltleS OF cltlzehs
of the United States, nor snail any
State depfive any person OF lie, hOer-
Itv or property without due process Oh
Law. nor deny to any person within Inc
jurisdiction the equal protection oil the
laws"
Tne Fifteenth Amendment: declares
that: "The right of citizens OF the Oni,
ted States to vote shall not be denied
or abridged by the u al ed States or by
anv State ON account Of race, color or
Drevious condition of servitude, ana
vet while Congress has enacted laws 10
carry out these constitutional pro
visions, they have never been PRAGUE,
aIy enforced, but are to day trampled
and spit upon by the local laws OF NJ
lteen States of this nation. Even ule
Uaited States cannot or WILL not pro-
tect its own officers in the States that
rebelled against its authority, as IS to-
day seen by the persecution OF POST
master Wick, of North Carolina, and
Postmistress Cox, of IndianOla, Miss.
lIf President Roosevelt has the courage
TO enforce the United States laws TOR
the protection of the black man III the
South. he will be the first man IN the
Executive Chair who dared 10 do rlghI
and execute the laws at all hazards
Grant. Hays, Garfield, Arthur, Harris
on. Cleveland and Mckinley were un-
willing oT-refuSed 10 enforce the cons
tutional amendments and laws adopted
. and enacted for tne freedom, franchise
land protection of the Negro, and now
lover a third of this Nation the rights
of citizens are abridged-S' ate rights
triumphant and national rights defeat
ed.
Oh, shade ofthc mighty Lincoln look
down upon the trimming, vacilaCing
: politicians of to-day, who. for dimes
. and dollars. pounds and power have
eliminated the essence OF the DeclaTa-
: ton of independence, the virtue oi
your Emancipation Proclamation and
2 the force of the Constitutional Amend
7 ments, adopted for the freedom and
] franchise of the bondsmen. Rather
than submit to the deportation OF the
I black citizens of the United States,
b, would prefer to a general ''round up
n of the ten millions; and in this so-calleo
n I hristian era let the ruling, robblng
n white man dri. c the whole Negro race
d into the Gulf of Mexico, to be lOsI
e in the hoSpitable embrace of the ole
: Iocean, for more friendly and Just thar
J. the lash, knife and bullet of the cor
{ morant Caucasian. While ignorance
d and poverty may not be statutory
n crimes, can tell yOI my brothers thai
E a man without knowledge and cash Is
# more helpless than a man without
c arms. and the government courts and
3 Cabinets of the world to-day, pay trib
:. ute 10 the millionairts wealth ana gilt
j tering gold, instead of protecting thC
S human rig hts and the liberty of The
: people.
! "For gold jury cle-rs a thief
1 And grants to crime quick relief
0 For gold the judge upon the bench
2 Will free villain or a WenCh,
; While justice still is bought and sold
5 Around this world with shining
Y gold"
Put land under thy feet, gold in thy
, purse and knowledge IN thy heAd, and
/ the cunning, crawling politicians of TO-
6 day, in ana out Of Congress will ponder
at the shrine Of thy prosperity.
. There is no royal road to knowledge
: and no color line Ill the dark-bTu.a
= vale of ignorance Poetry, music
painting, sculpture aud science lure us
on by their glowing torch TO the noun
: tain top of wisdom and prosperity
: tn owing living light over the brie }
highway of life and casing a mystic
radiance over the gloom OF the grave.
If the Congress of the United States
will pass law granting sixty acres oi
land and $500 in gold to any male
n citizen, twenty-one years of age, "a hiLe
4 or black, who migrateS voluntarily to
, its new possessions, then | will join
S hands with the illustrlOuS Senator and
his comperS, and no d,ubt many of nv
: race will be glad TO get rid OfsirdOnic
e society that now tolerate or torture Us
I on account of our color which was
= forced upon us by the Creator, and
= not an acs OF our own volltion.
We were not consulted as to the col
5 or bedaubed upon this so-called image
a of God. We had no choice in our dec
! Grafton or brain power. Why should
= we leave the homes of our ancestors
/, and become exileS al the diCtation o.
c our late slave masters, and who have
e lived off our sweat and labor for nearly
three bundled yearS2
5 We are native TO the manor born
v And labor day and night and morn
! And for this nation lost our blood
# Upon battlelelds and raging flood
And here we mean to live and stay
n Until our latest dying day.
h Unlike the Indian race who preferred
r death to slavery, admirable traits, We
;. are naturally a mild, peaceful auC
5 hOme-lOving people, cutting The for.
/. ests, tilling the fields and fishing the
rivers and oceans for food, and the
f very corn and cotton that fill the BODY
% and cover the baCss ofmankind TO-DAY
Is the product of our poorly paid tot
and inCesSsant struggles for life going
: to the fields at the earliest rays OF the
h1un and only rEctjus tsyha, E.a