The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1912-05-02
HAS ONLY HEADQUARTERS IN
WASHINGTON GIVING
WORK TO NEGROES.
Colored and White
Work in Perfect Harmony and Pres
ence Of the Former Is not With
out Effect in States Where the
Race can EXPRESSES its Preference.

"HJ Wiz Will "dhe lHe tIOuDle 10 ana
we the vote in the recent primaries
cast in Illinois, Pennsylvania, West
Virginia and other states where there
is very large percentage of colored
voters, it will at once be seen that Mr..
Taft's cOlored adherents are fast de-
serting him in, this pre-convention
movement. There must exist some
good reason for this departure, as
Col. Roosevelt, UP to the present time,
has made no special effort to secure
colored voters in the primaries.
The only reason that can be assign
ed for this apparent slump in the
casting Of the regular colored vote in
the primaries IS the fact that Presi-
dent Taft in his opening inaugural
address when elected to the Presi-
dency as some Of the colored voters
believe, attempted to draw the color
line on Republican officeholders, which
is the view now taken by large num-
ber of the colored Republicans in all
parts of the country.
Then, again, when Mr.. Taft first
opened his pre-convention campaign,
1t is asserted, little or nothing was
done to keep the colored vote in line,
the managers taking 1t for granted
that very little missionary work was
needed to be done to influence that
class of Republican voters.
A visit to the, several political heal
quarters here In Washington demon
Stfates the startling fact that only at
the Roosevelt headquarters can be seen
colored persons daily engaged along
with the Other workers in the regular
documents and the like. A number
of bright and intelligent colored young
men and women are employed there
as stenographers, typewriter-opera-
tors, clerks, messengers and folders
of documents, all working in perfect
harmony alongside of their white CO.
workers. This used to be the case in
other campaigns here in the capital
city, and it is we'll known to all
that in previous po-
litical contests one could always find,
especially at the Republican political
bureau, the always obliging colored
man as messenger whose duty it was
to make the visitors feel fully at ease
upon entering the headquarters. Just
why there should be any change at
this particular time it is hard to COM
prehend. And why there should be
any ignoring Of colored PERSONS at the
various political bureaus the managers
alone can possibly explain.
All Of the political managers who
are in charge of the various political
headquarters are doing their level
best to persuade the colored voters to
line up with their particular candi-
date In the primaries. This -is-true
both Of the Democratic and the Re-
publican managers, and it is said that
even the Champ Clark managers are
making a special move in that diree-
get that this slight to the colored citi-
zens Of Washington will have bad
effect upon the colored voters in the
States, and will undoubtedly revert 20
their political disadvantage in the
primaries. A visitor at the Roosevelt
headquarters said yesterday that
wherever Roosevelt headquarters has
been opened colored persons have been
employed in some capacity, and fur
ther stated to the Roosevelt manage 8
that:
at the very threshold of your bu-
reau | find colored man on duty.
find here, and only here, q living evil
dence of Col. Roosevelt's now famous
declaration Of good cheer to the colored
people, that the Door Of Hope should
never be closed agains' the man ac-
count Of color or previous condition
Of servitude.
II find" continued this visitor, "at
your very door the usual genial, bus
inpss-like and courteous cOlOred mes
senger, in the person Of Mr.. George
l.. Lee Of New York City, who is the
right hand man of Senator Dixon, and
who IS on duty all Of the time, day
! and evening, A man who enjoys the
confidence Of all connected with the
| Roosevelt headquarters. He is wei