The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1907-06-27
BARES
.' ~, -
The Adrrinistra.
tons Scheme
To Capture Southern Dele
cations to the next Re-
publican National p
Convention


the I'd inst. is misleading and does
not convey the true condition as 1t
exists In the South If these are
the views Of M. Wight he is not in
the slightest degree familiar with
the Republican organization in the
south, Notwithstanding the fact he
Is a National Committeeman.
nave some acquaintances with
the republican organization in the
South, having watched it carefully
since 1858, and T protest against this
Idea OF Republican primaries for the
election Of national delegates as
false, malicious and brought forward
TO deceive and mislead the people of
the North and West, and pave the
way for. the National Committee to
seat the Administration -delegates,
who will be the contestants spoken
or by MIR. Wight. 1 doubt seriously
II Roosevelt could carry a singled
Southern delegation for himself, and
l know that it will be absolutely i'm
possible to pull them, or any one Of
them, into line for his man Taft,
For every Republican In the South
who Is favorable to Roosevelt or his
dlctat1on | can show you twenty Re-
publ1cans who are favorable to that
intrepid soldier, that eminent law
yer, that astute, courageous and un-
daunted statesman, Joseph Benson
Foraker, of Ohio. The. Republicans
of this section believe it would be
far better for the grand old party"
to be defeated at the polls than to
submit to the dictation of Roosevelt
or the nomination Of Taft. The ,ridh
shall not be arrayed against the poor,
the blacks" against the "whites,"
nor capital against labor, but the die
tation of Roosevelt, the domination
of the "basses," the manipulation Of
the machinery by the Federal Office
holders and their henchmen In the
South, against the rank and Ale Of
the party and the great mass of the
people.
This talk by Mr.. Wight is all bun
combe. No reasonable man believes
that the elimination Of the Negro
from politics or his disfranchise-
ment, or even his crucifixion, would
result in the upbuilding of strong
Republican party in the South
such party as would be able to car
ry the South for the Republican tick
et. The Negroes constitute nine
tenths of the party, and without them
Wight, Capers, Evans, Brownlow
and such leaders would have no fol-
lowing. The time has come when
all these leaders will sink into in
significance when compared to that
grand old "War horse" of the Repub-
lican party in 1868, the greatest of
the 'Negro' statesmen of the South,
the champion of the rights of his
peoples religions and politics, the
benefactor, protector and adviser of
his race, who has been brought from
his cloister Of ecclesiastical sacred
ness to the political arena after an
absence of more than 80 years, to
fight the great issues which confront
his race and relegates to the past the
so-called leaders Of the Republican
party, who by inactivity have led his
race into the very jaws of bondage
and robbed them Of the right Of suf.
frage and the liberty of citizenship.
This great old man, this tower OF
strength Is Henry M. Turner, Bishop
or the Diocese Of Georgia and Senior
Bishop of the A. M. E. Church.
Under his leadership the masses,
the rank and file will come to the
front like men; will shake off the
yoke Of bondage to the bosses" re-
pudiate the dirty schemes by which
the party affairs and
controlled the conventions. Take,
for example, the Republican State
Convention Of Georgia in 1895, where
four delegates were elected from the
state at large, where a Chairman and !
State Central Committee we're elect
ed; where the Committees on Gre,
dentials and Permanent Organiza-
tion reported--the truth Of the mat
ter Is Of public record, witnessed by
representative Republicans from ev-
cry section of the couDtry--that this
convention was In session not exceed
ing five minutes. No motion was
ever made, no vote ever taken. Yet
all this was successfully accomplish
ed.
Can any honest man approve such
tactics? Liberty and the right OF
suffrage, have been sought at too
great price to quietly submit TO
such fragrant wrongs, such gross in
juctice, such humiliation and dis
grace which has so frequently been
brought upon the Republican party
Of the South by our state, district
and county conventions being con
trolled by the great horde Of Fed
eral Office holders and their hench-
men in the South, enhanced by the
great army Of mercenary emissarie3
employed through Government
pap" which every four years is
turned loose by the National Admin
istration upon the Southern States
to manipulate their political conven-
tions and elect delegates suitable to
their purposes to the national con-
vention. The President himself has
taken hand personally in this mat.
ter In Georgia, where in 1904 ne de-
manded that Harry Stillwell Ed
wards, postmaster at Macon, Ca, and
a Democrat, must be elected a dele,