The colored American., 1903-04-18

improve the situation. For instance,
if we take France and read its his
tory we can see what terrible trouble
it had to face in 1880, 1S4S, 1898, be-
fore it could be what it is today
l have only seen fragmentary eX-
tracts from Mr.. Pickens' oration and
an editorial from the New York Eve
ming Sun, expressing its surprise that
a Negro should give voice to such
statements, adding that if the views
taken by Mr.. PickenS had been utter
ed by a white man. he would be en-
titled to be called a statesman, leaving
the inference that Mr.. Pickens is
freak. | make it a rule never to be
on the popular side of any question,
unless l am convinced that the pop
ular side is the right side-and SO l
find myself on the other side of this
question, which Mr. Pickens has rails
ed with his Vengable paper on Hayt1.
Hayt1 is an experiment; so was Ger
many, which has been four hundred
years attaining to its present high
state of civilization as 1--WE superior
races use and understand these terms,
so with England whose people began
nearly thousand years ago to grow
and expand and become cultured and
civilized. The early Britans were not
quite cannibals but they lived on the
raw flesh of wild animals and in caves
and were not as far advanced in civ
1llzatIon when their country was as
old as Hayti now is as Haytians now
are. So was America when in it's
earlier history wltchcraft was practic-
ed and believed in and superstition
ran riot. 1t has not quite outgrown
some of these things. Under the thin
veneer of civilization superstition still
| exists in America. The Metropolitan
Journals carry columns of advertise
mentS of VoOdoo doctors spirit med
iums, cOnjurOrS, ,clairvOyantS, test med
lumS, etc., ETC., who play upon the
supersttions of thousands of Ameri-
cans daily and yearly and if they were
| not supported they could not maintain
| he elaborate establishments which
| some OF them conduct in New York
| and other large places.
| Who supports them? 1t won't do for
Americans, black or white, to make
| faces at Hayti, for the Haytians can
| ell them as the IriShman told a friend
| with whom he was taking a smile:
| Here's to you as good as you are,
| And here's to me as bad as | am.
| But as good as you are, and as bad as
l am,
I'm as good as you are as bad as 1
am.
| and so it seems
| The great Able Gregoine in a letter
| TO the citizens of color of the French
West Indies concerning the decree of
the 10Th of May, 1871, sad: In secur-
| ing to you the exercise of your poIit-
zeal rights, We have acquitted our
| selves of debt; not to have paid it
| would have been a crime On our part
| and disgrace to the Constitution.
| The legislators of a free nation could
| not dc less for you than your ancient
| 1espOts have done. 1t is now about a
| AnturY ago that Louis XIV
| Solemnly acknowledged and declared
| YOUR rights; but of this sacred inheri-
tance you have been defrauded by
| bride and avarice, which have gradual
| " increased your burdens and embit-
| tered your existence. The regenera-
ION of the French empire opened
your heart to hope whose cheerful
| influences has alleviated the weight
| OF your miseries; miseries of which
| ne people of Europe had no idea
While the white planters resident
! among us were loud in their com
olalnt against ministerial tyranny
| they took special care to be silent as
g their own. Not a hint was suggest
ed concerning the complaints of the
Il Ia