The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-06-28
NEGRO VOTERS
MENACE TAFT
Result Of Anti-AdminiStration Feel
ing Over Brownsville Affair.
RALLYING TO FORAKER
Effect of COlored Ballot in Several States
Will Be Something of an Enigma in
the Coming Campaign.


A Washington special says: In ex-
PLANTATION of the failure of the Ken
lucky republican state convention to
endorse Secretary Taft, it is said that
fear of negroes boiling the ticket this
fall has prevented this action. This is
interesting in view of the fact that
Senator Foraker was rallying Ohio
negroes TO his standard at WILDER
force university Thursday with the
Brownsville riot for an issue It is
interesting, too, because the republi-
can state convention of Kentucky was
the first to be held after the am
nouncement that the Taft managers
had started out from Ohio after other
states. They went after Kentucky first
and there is no doubt but they expect
ed an endorsement.
This is the second republican state
convention to be held this summer,
Pennsylvania leading off with an en-
dorsement of the Knox boom. The
only other state organization that has
taken any action whatever so far is
Kansas, where the republican state
committee declared for Taft some
time ago.
The Taft men claim to have Ken
lucky, and the newspaper reports OF
that convention credit them with pass
Ing resolution which declared for
"the selection by the next national
convention for president Of one in full
accord with these (Roosevelt) poll
eies" over the determined opposition
OF anti-Taft men. The latter were able
to secure the insertion of the phrase,
without expressing a preference for
any candidate" where the Taft men
had hoped for specific declaration
in his favor.
Kentucky, unlike most of the south
ern states, has a negro vote. SO have
her border sisters, Maryland and West
Virginia. The negroes of Baltimore
were said in Baltimore dispatch to
have contributed to the recent defeat
Of the republican candidate for mayor
Of Baltimore for whose success At
torney General Bonaparte had made
himself personally responsible Here,
too, it was the Brownsville issue.
Keenly interested politicians are
pricking up their ears and asking how
firmly and how far the BLACK bat
TALON" as Foraker and his negro sup
porters themselves call it, will march
through this campaign A letter writ
ten by Charles Gerrish, a well known
Foraker lieutenant, advising Ohio ne
groes to bolt republican tickets this
fall in localities where the county
committee have declared for Taft has
already been published. The negro
vote in Ohio IS nearly as large as
the normal republican plurality in
that state, and the same thing is true,
or nearly so, in Indiana, while I'LL.
nois, Pennsylvania, New York and
Kansas particularly have a multitude
OF colored citizens. It is now clear
that Foraker bases his strongest hopes
Of compelling the Taft camp to come
TO terms on this club Of the negro
vote. There is no doubt as to the
negroes Of Ohio and the country at
large being with Foraker What effect
this attitude OF the negroes will have
on white voters remains to be seen.
Il is toleraby evident from some
late Developments that the negro re-
volt against President Roosevelt for
his attitude on the Brownsville mat.
ter is going to cut more of figure
in politics than has been expected.