The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1903-10-03

mere suggestion OF whose disfranchise-'
n:ent would be regarded with indigna-
ton and horror by the same men who
parade the Afro-American's alleged low
standard Of political morality and lack
Of intelligence as conclusive evidence
of his incapacity for self-gOvernment.
= The South Carolina freedman's po-
litical record, questionable as some of
it may be- was fully as good as any one
had a right to expect, and was better
than that OF many white communities
today. It certainly was as good as
that of the white men OF the state dur
ing the same period and was better
than that of the whites since then. The
Afro-American used his political power
to restore South Carolina to the I'm
ion. He annulled bonds issued by the
rebel state government to maintain
the rebellion. He abolished the whip
ping post and other barbarous forms
of punishment which previous white
state governments had established.
He reduced capital felonies from about
twenty to two or three. He amended
and improved the marriage laws with
reference to Afro-Americans passed by
the white legislature in 1865 and 1866.
His amendments legalizing former
slave marriages were wise and import
ant contributions to the development
and maintenance of social order. He
changed or modified laws controlling
juries by opening the jury box to thou
sands of white men as we'll as to Afro
Americans who had been debarred
from it by property qualifications. He
amended laws under which town gov
ernments could borrow money at any
rate of interest the council saw fit to
pay. Some of the towns paid as high
as 20 per cent. He prohibited them
from borrowing at a greater rate OF
interest than per cent. He limited
the control of the state treasurer over
the state funds by passing an act
making specific levies and collections
of taxes for specific appropriations. BY
his acts of financial reform he trans
mitted to the Hampton government in
1877 an Indebtedness which was only
$2,500,O00 greater than the bonded
debt of the state before the Republl-
can party took charge of the state
government in 1868. During the few
years of his active political career he
built schoOl-houses, established char
liable institutions, built and maintain
ed the penitentiary system, provided
for the education of the deaf and
dumb, rebuilt the jails and court
houses, rebuilt the bridges and re-es-
tablished the ferries. The whites had
always regarded the public school sys
tenn of the North with contempt. The
freedman introduced and established
it, and it stands today living testi-
mony to his faith that education is
necessary to social welfare.* AS
legislator he never Disseminated
against either race or class. His legis-
lation, good or bad, applied equally to
every citizen of the state. Whatever
political power he had he shared fair
ly with white men, and there is not
shred of evidence that he ever SER
iously attempted to establish Afro
American supremacy as is so frequent
ly alleged.S
At the close of 1876 Gov. Chamber
lain declared his confidence not only
in the "capacity" of the Afro-Ameri-
can, but in his loyalty Ito the demands
and necessity Of good government in
South Carolina" The Afro-Americans
fully justified that confidence by in
dorsing Gov. Chamberlain's reform
administration, and by nominating and
re-electing him Governor for second
term, Notwithstanding the fierce op-
position of the corrupt wing of the Re-
publican party andath e. brutal and naur
derous campaign methods of the Dem
ocrats.
The downfall of Chamberlain and the
restoration of white supremacy sound
ed the death-knell Of personal and pO-
litical liberty in South Carolina. I'm
der white supremacy the 18th Amend
ment of the constitution of the Unit
ed States has been nullified by dishon-
est and tricky legislation and the Afro
American has been practically dis
franchised, regardless of character or
qualification. No white man today, as
l know from personal experience, can
visit that state and habitually treat
the Afro-American as an ordinarily citi-
zen of the United States without max
ing himself liable to insult and COW
ardly assault. Having vindicated his
right to the suffrage, the Afro-Ameri
can for over thirty years has carried
On an unequal struggle to maintain it
against force and fraud and race preju
dice The outlook at the moment is
dark and discouragirg, but he will
triumph in the end His rapid ad
vance in the development of character
and his acquisition Ct all the qualities
that conduce to good citizenship are a
guarantee of his ultimate success. EX-
elusive white suffrage is doomed. 1t
must fall before the demand for
higher and more humane civilization.
How much lower down it will drag the
state before it is RELOCATED to the list
of political and social iniquities, who
can tell! 1t placed James H. Tillman
in the second Office of the state, from
which he has recently resigned be-
cause he shot to death an unarmed po-
litical opponent in the open street. 1t
has sent to the United States Senate
the political boss of the state, an un-
scrupulous and brutal politician, the
Honorable Benjamin R. Tillman.
One would think the lowest depth
had already been reached
H., Richard p. HalIoweil.
*General Wade Hampton. referring to
the mistakes made by the whites, said
station ratifying the amendment Of the
United States Constitution known as Art
icle 49, (This is the great amendment by
the United StatesD Hampton furthel% ad-
vised that "every man should register and
cast his vote against the convention
Appleton,s Annual american Cyclopaedia,
Hampton became governor in 1876, and
subsequently was United States senator.
of registration, can be found in McPher-
sons History of the Reconstruction, p.
374. Some of them differ from those quot
ed by me in the Herald: I substitute
r vlD ft1nxy Il