Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1908-04-17
Friday, April IL. 1908.
NEGROES KICKED OUT.

The sad plight of the negro political
ly must appeal to GALL. s1n the South
the Democrats..are accused-and right
-fully-of disfranchisingsh him, but his
former friends, thel Republicans, have
actually driven him out of the party
and from their public assemblies. Not
long ago in Manchester, Va, Repub-
lican convention was. held and the
negro was not permitted inside of the
walls of the building. This was, how
even, a locality which we thought
might be influenced by some particular
thing not generally affecting the negro
as member of that party, and we let
that pass with mere mention, as an
incident different from the days of old.
But we find now that the action of the
Manchester convention was but the
voicing of a sentiment and determine
ton existing throughout the party, and
q little later to be carried into effect by
the Republican State convention. The
State convention of that party met at
Lynchburg last week and the negro
was booted from its hall. Probably a
dozen were inside the hall, but none
were allowed to take any part in the
councils of the party and one who tried
to speak was hooted down. The re-
ports of this convention say:
at was a white mans convention
scarcely more than dozen negro dele
gates being present, and the repeated
declaration of the speakers that the
Republican party in Virginia was a
white mans party aroused enthusiastic
cheers. The negro was completely ig-
nored in the active work of that con-
vention and was denied representation
on the committees, the convention even
refusing to listen to the plea of negro
delegate for recognition"
When we consider that the party in
Virginia numbers three negroes to
every white man, is this not amazing
What is the negro to do, and where is
he to go? The Democrats do not want
him, and the Republicans will not
have him. Truly he is a stranger in q
strange land. There were in the con-
vention-a few old timers-such as
Judge l.. L. Lewis, Col. S. Brown AL
len, Pat Mccall and others. They made
no protest when the loyal colored
brother received this undeserved treat
ment, but they must have gone back
mentally to the days Of Malone when
their earlier lessons in true Republican
ism were learned under him and the
party was militant, and the negro-the
stone the builders have now rejected
had become the head of the corner
Judge Lewis must have contrasted the
scene of last week with onein Stauntor
some years ago, when a Republican
convention met here, and when the
white delegates sat at the same tables
in the Virginia Hotel with the negro
delegates, and when Judge Lewis took
one arm and Gen. William c. Wick.
ham the other, of negro as black as
the ace of spades, and escorted him tc
the chair to preside over that conven
ton, an episode which created the
most intense enthusiasm at the time and
which was applauded to the echo. The
leopard cannot change his spots nor the
Ethiopian his skin. He has not chang
ed his skin, but his white brother has,
he has washed his political hide and
become whittier than snow. The Taft
Republican in Virginia has been wash
ed, the whole party save and except
the negro has been washed, but as the
mixture applied is white-wash, the
negro will see through it, and he will
make trouble unless he be devoid Of
pride, of spirit and of manhood.