The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1910-01-18

Oklahoma to study the welfare of the
coIored people at large We know be-
lyopd the shadow Of doubt that we
shall become worthy Of recognition
and an honorable place in our state
according as we develop good citizen
ship. We must own property. be-
come morally responsible. and become
good citizens We must earn the re-
spect Of the entire people Of the
state.
Now all these things are obtained
through education. Then we must
educate our children. and give as good
an education as other children have.
Now, my people, are you willing to
bend every energy to do this? We
send our children to school, but what
is it? We have no house, and moth
ing in the house to explain the lesson.
No seats, no maps-in fact, nothing
that makes good school.
We must have good school house
and have 1t equipped with all neces-
sary apparatus at once. How shall
we get it? We have made demands
from the republican party and got
nothing Just the same thing we shall
get in the future. The republican
party has been our friend, so it says,
but what do we get from it. They
say we are entitled to equal civil
right which means education among
other things, but never gives it to us,
or tries. We say the democrats will
not help us, but fights us all the time.
Well, why not look at it in a SEN
sible way We fought the democratic
party all the time. If man does all
he can to injure me, do you think |
Shall go out of my way to favor him?
You know | will not--neither will any
other man. Now the democratic party
is just like that. We colored people
have fought it all our lives and we
are not In position to ask favors of it.
That is our situation, we cannot ask
favors of the democratic party, and
the republican will not grant favor
when it can.
What is the colored voter going to
do about it? We make a business of
fighting the only party that is able to
help us, and give our aid to the party
that fills US up with promises, but
gives us nothing more substantial
than wind
We want education for our children.
We want a fine school house-just as
fine as the one made for the whites,
such as the law contemplates we shall
have. If we had given the support to
the democratic party we have given
the republican party, we should have
had that house long ago.
Now why not do the sensible thing
help the democratic party and see
if they will not help us. For myself,
| am sure we will get our school house
if we only do the square thing by the
party in power. AS for voting the
ticket, white men do not vote to-
gether. A thinking man must dis
agree with another man some time or
other. It is not natural for men to
think according to color. When we
all vote the republican ticket just be-
cause we are all of one color, we
show that we lack the thing that
makes the white man successful-the
power to think for oneself. We will
never be worthy of recognition and
trust until we show that we have in
dividual integrity, and we cannot do |
that by continually showing that we
do not have sense enough to think for
Let's split our vote and I
be thinking men, and let us work for
the good of our people. Let's think
little
Sincerely yours for the good of our
people, ]. A. DAVIS.