The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-04-19
THIS is STRANGE.
Apparently Sentiment Against
Negroes in Office.
Almost Impossible for Black
Man to Land.
MANY APPLICANTS.
Mayor Davis Names Three Out of
the Lot.
Well known Members of Race
Discuss Situation.
APPLICANTS.

Mayor Davis, in his last consignment
of appointments, squared himself with
the colored people of the city by ap-
pointing three members of that race to
Office Rufus Frazier was given $50
Job, B. W. Williams received one worth
SIS, and Robert DeFrantz, late candi-
date for clerk of the city court, landed
a place worth $50.
But the colored people are still grum-
bling about the two places they didn't
get, police court prosecutor. a $S5 job,
and member of the board of health,
which is worth a fee of So for each
meeting. The colored constituency
seemed to have set its heart on these
/ two places.
] The great scramble for places under
/ the present city administration has
baen almost unparalleled. There were for
example, over 100 applications for
/ places on the sanitary force, where
only three appointments were made.
And one feature of the scramble this
year was the large number of colored
people who wanted something. It
seems that the colored people have
come to the conclusion that their best
show for recognition in politics is
/ through the appointfve power, instead
of by election.
Every year it seems to be more diff
4 cult for a negro to get an elective Office,
not only in Topeka, but in Shawnee
/ county and in the state at large.
/ Here in Topeka, the colOred people
t have fresh in their minds the defeat of
/ P. Roundtree and E Ridley for Repub-
! lican nomination for councilman from
] the Fifth ward, thus depriving the col
\ ored people of representation in the
/ council; the defeat of 0. a. Taylor for
! the Republican nomination for coroner:
! the defeat of Robert DeF'rantz for Re
publican nomination for clerk of the
! city court: the defeat of LambertsOn
and Jackson for marshal of the city
I court
A few years ago the negroes had in
McCabe as state auditor, Brown as
/ county clerk, ROundtree as councilman
/ from the Fifth ward, and numerous
minor places in state, county and city
politics.
Now there is not a single negro. hold
1 ing an elective position in the state
1 house, the court house or the city hall.
What is the caused
/ A prominent colored man admitted
/ the other day that there is a strong
/ sentiment of hostility against the ne
groes growing up not only in Topeka,
/ but throughout the state.
1T is to be deplored," he said, that
/ the state OF John Brown should turn
/ against the negro, but the sentiment is
! growing, and we who know the reason
/ for the growing hostility are powerless.'
The Republican party is getting the
credit for turning down the negro,
according to the statement of several
/ well known cOlOred men of Topeka. It
/ is at the Republican primaries that
/ many negro aSpirants for Office have
of late met their defeat.
There seems to be two reasons for
the difficulty which negroes are hav-
/ ing in getting elective offices:
The first is the general attitude of
unwiIlingness to help a negro run for
Office on the part of the white poll
] ticians.
The second is the sentiment of op-
/ position to negro candidates which is
growing up among the rank and file
4 of the voters.
/ certain practical. politician" of the
Republican party who knows a good
/ deal about the inside working of a pO-
/ litical campaign, said:
Those of US who get right down
and do the work in the city elections
know why negro can't get an office.
/ The reason is because the white poll
ticians won't help him. We have to
buy the negro voters at every election,
1 or at least a great portion of them.
! We feel that having bought them, we
are under no further obligations to
4 help them in political way. Any
body who is not right down at the
! bottom of things has no idea of the
amount of money which is spent in
! carrying on city campaign in To-
peka. From so cents to SIS is the cur
rent price for negro voters, and you
would be surprised at the large num-
| Der who expect to be bought at every
| election
That's the way the ward politician
| looks at it. But the attitude of the
/ public which does not know much
about practical politics, is founded on
a different basis.
The public sentiment is directed
/ against the negro race because the
1 general reputation of the race is being
1 dragged down by the disreputable and
/ unreliable element which forms such
a large portion of the race. Many
| cOlored people have a peculiar and
exaggerated idea of their dignity: they
assume that it is degrading to do Ger
tain kinds of work. FOR example,
/ Topeka woman says:
within the past few years the color
ed women who work out seem to have
formed a sort of a combine against
ing to take a mop and mop the floor,
but it is very hard to find any of them
| who will consent to get down on their
/ hands and knees in the old fashioned
| way and scrub the floors. I have found
that if I want my floors scrubbed I
| have to do it myself. And 7 very often
do scrub the floor on my hands and
! knees, simply because I can't get
negro woman who viii do it."
z. Ridley. a colOred teacher in the
Fifth ward. and one of the most intel
ligent men Of his race in the city, said
| in speaking of the natter
There is no doubt that the negroes
=