The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-08-15
RErUpIIcAxs AND NEGRO suT-

Is
The Republican Party conferred the
right Of suffrage upon the negro un
der the Influence Of two impulses, one
wholly sentimental and the other
wholly selfish. That 10 to say some
OF the Republicans driving that way
were sentimentalists and the rest were
on the lookout for votes that should
maintain the Party indefinitely In pow
er. These last had begun to see some
signs Of revolt at the North. and they
wished to entrench themselves while
they could. -
The Fourteenth Amendment was pro
claimed. July 2sth, isss; the Fifteenth
Amendment on March soth, 1870. The
riotous consequences OF these amend.
ments came later with the effort to
enforce and enjoy them. The first
Republican National Convention afte,
their adoption. was held in Philadel.
phia In 1879. It declared the two
amendments should be cordially sus'
tanned because they are right, moi
merely tolerated because they are Ian
and appropriate legislation to give eff
feet to them was promised.
Under the overshadowins clouds OF
1875. when the ridden reform movement,
was sweeping over the country, the
Party's convention at Cincinnati re.
Cured to tie subjeet. but va guely as
serted in behaifas Of sv$fy., American
citizen complete liberty and exact
equality in the exercise Of all civil
political and public rights. In 1851
at Chicago they were content t.
charge upon the Democratic Party d
deliberate obstruction Of all efforts to
promote the purity and to conserv,
the freedom Of the suffrage. In Chicago
In 1884 they denounced as dangerous
to the preservation of free institutions
the fraud and violence they alleged
were practiced by the Democracy In
the Southern States. In 1883, at Chi
cago. effective legislation was demand
ed to secure the integrity and purity
Of elections. This determination was
hotiy emphasized at Minneapolis in
1892. At st. Louis. in 1895, they do
rnanded one free ana unrestricted bal.
lot for every citizen. this ballot to be
counted and returned as cast. In 1900
at Philadelphia, in view of Southern
Constitutional amendments. the Re.
publicans returned definitely to the Fis
teenth Amendment and condemned
without any Affirmative promises I,
destroy, the devices Of state govern .
ments that work discrimination in the
suffrage on account of race or color.
In 1904. quitting the ground Of the FIJI
teenth Amendment. they go back to
the Fourteenth Amendment and propose
to reopen the whole question by cut
ting down Southern representation In
proportion to the number Of voters, disc
franchised.
This brief rehearsal of the Party's
declarations in various years shows a
steadily diminishing interest in the
whole question. until the present year.
Just what the inspiration for this las.
manifesto Is, no one seems to know.
II. has aroused strong indignation at
the South. and has been received,
we are glad to see, with no sort OF Ell
thusiasm at the North. The Southern
people ought to make 1t plain to their
Northern friends, merchants and cor
respondents everywhere in that Sec
ton, that this new agitation bodies no
good whatever to the negro, to the
white man. to the South or the North.
We feel quite sure much sound mis- .
sionary work can be accomplished by
word of mouth and by correspondence.
And doubtless much work of this sort
has already been done, but more ought
to be done. sEgE.,