The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1903-10-24
y Sc s. ~ - ~. ~ 80. 20
WHEREWE STAND.

by malicious persons to misrepresent
the position Of THE APPEAL and it's
publisher, Cyrus Field Adams, it be-
comes necessary to reiterate the prin-
ciples for which this paper and Mr..
Adams have stood since it's first issue
For twenty years THE APPEALshas
been conducted on a high plane, and
has avoided, as much as possible, all
personal and newspaper controversies.
Here is the platform of THE APP
PEAL and Cyrus Field Adams: .......
1. This is not white mans country
as persistently claimed by the South,
ern press. By right of birth and in
tense loyalty to the flag, the Afro
American claims his share of Ameri-
can citizenship, and the Federal con-
sUtutlon specifically places all Of it's
citizens on equality before the law.
2. The statements of those who
claim that the Caucasian race, which
constitutes but one-fourth of the total
population of the globe, has been es
pecially ordained by God to rule all
other races is akin to blasphemy.
8. The granting of suffrage to the
Afro-American people was NOT a mis-
take and it has NOT proved failure.
We believe in manhood suffrage with
out any educational or property quail
fiCations whatever, and contend that
the law-abiding man of good character,
who does his duty as citizen and
risks his life in defense Of the flag,
should not be deprived of the ballot
because he is poor and cannot read or
write.
4. We have always refused to con-
slider the proposition that we relin-
quish any of the political or civil
rights we now possess. We should
make every effort to retain those we
have and regain those which have
been nullified. Denial of these rights
has worked irresistibly for the denial
or abridgment Of all the related rights
of citizenship, because a voteless man,
of truth, has no right which any one
is bound to respect.
5. We do not believe that the Afro
American should be restricted to any
particular kind Of education, but that
every parent should determine the
kind of education he wishes his chill
dren to receive and that the schools
supported by public taxation should
be open to all regardless of race, col
ucation, industrial education and pro
fessional education.
6. We firmly believe that in a re-
| public there can be but one kind OF
| citizen, hence deny the right of the
general, state or local
to discriminate in any way between
citizens by the enactment of any law
| which specifies that the Afro-Ameri
can must be separated from or treated
differently from the great body of citi
zens. We are unalterably opposed tC
| any class legislation.
7. We dispute the contention that
Southern Caucasians pay the taxes
| necessary to educate the Southern
Afri-American. This is an economic
absurdity which would only be advanc
ed as an argument by persons who
seek to befog the public intelligence
That each man standing in his place
| in every community pays as much tax
es as any other man is an economic
ruism which no reputable master OF
social conditions, from Adam Smith TIC
| the present, has disputed.
8. THE APPEAL believes in the sa
| credness Of pure womanhood, and the
| man of any race who insults, assaults
Or Outrages a woman of any race
should be legally punished in the Sc
verest manner laid down by the law.
9. We know that the race has beer
! naliciously misrepresented in the mat
ter of crime. The efforts of our enc
/ mics to prove that the Afro-Americar
| race is a race of rapists have been re
scented and disproved by statistics
! published in THE APPEAL. We have
| shown that the Caucasian commits
| more crimes against Womanhood than
! he AfrO-American.
TO- We are opposed to mob law and
| believe that mob license is more dan
yeSous to the well-being and perpetui
Y of society than the isolated infrac
tons of the law by individuals.
H. We do not believe the Southern
people are the best friends of the race
md will never consent to allow the
South to be the court of last resort ir
he solution Of the socalled race prob
EN-.
-. We are opposed to the convict
ease system of the South and believe
hat the chain gang, which is but g
:chool Of crime should be wiped out
If existence.
This is the platform of THE APP
PEAL and of Cyrus Field Adams. We
have advocated these principles ever
since the initial number Of the paper
and the files will prove it. We here.
tinue the battle for every right to
which we are justly entitled, as good
citizens loyal to the flag, and come
what may, we will never give up the
contention for absolute justice and alb.
solute equality under the law.
THE APPEAL does not consider
Mr.. Washington the national political
leader of the race. There is no ma
tional political leader, for the race,
as. a body, absolutely refuses to be
led. Frederick Douglas came nearer
to what the ideal race leader should
be than any Afro-American who ever
lived, yet he was assailed by almost
the entire race press of his day. Mr..
Washington is an educator; special
ist in education. He thoroughly be-
lieves in Industrial training which he
has exploited in every possible way.
He has confined himself to his spe-
cialty and Tuskegee tells the story OF
his work along industrial educational
lines.
THE APPEAL thinks for itself.
Our platform was made before we met
Mr.. Washington and it has never
changed. No association with him or
with any other man has affected our
position on the foregoing fundamental
principles.
We stand today where we stood
twenty years ago and malicious per-