The Washington bee., 1912-03-30

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Editor of The Bee:
From the Roosevelt headquarters
at Washington. d c. March I3, 1912,
today gave out a statement prepared
at a conference Of Negro ministers in
Washington, claiming to represent
100000 Negro voters, declaring for
Mr. Roosevelt as the friend of the
Negroes
The statement is signed by Bishop
]. S. Caldwell, of Philadelphia, A J.
Warner, of Tennessee, G. +. Black
we'll OF indianapolis, F. Tyree, of
Nashville, and c. w Clinton, Of
Charlotte, n c.. and by over thirty
Negro ministers from various cities,
The petition is addressed to the
Negro voters. and urges them to do
all they can to aid Colonel RoOse-
velts nomination, and do all they can
10 capture the defeat Of William H.
Taft, who thinks that 100000 Ne
groes should accept his appointment
of an assistant attorney general and
collector of customs as a panacea
for his degrading Southern policy.
If the Negro bishops and ministers
are correct in their signed state
ment that the COlored voters will not
support President Taft if he is nOmi-
mated" said Senator Dixon. in a
statement tonight, 1t means the Ger
tain loss of fifteen electoral votes in
Indiana. 20 in Illinois. Is in Missouri,
; in Delaware, s in West Virginia, "a
in Ohio. 10 in Kansas, and in Mary
land"
With the elimination of these IFS
electoral votes, the nomination of
Mr. Taft would mean political suicide.
so says Senator Dixon.
Yes, for argument sake. I will ad-
nit that Mr Taft's appointment of an
assistant attorney general and < col
lector of customs did not satisfy the
100000 of colorcd Republicans of
this country. But how about Mr.
Roosevelt discharging the colored sol
diers who saved him and his New
York regiment at San Juan Hill, and
what about him discharging them
without giving them trial by the
military law, and where were all Of
these ministers and bishops when Mr..
Roosevelt was President Of this COun-
try. when so many Of their race were
burned at the stake and lynched un-
der his administration, and he, as
chief magistrate of this nation, he,
Roosevelt. never said one word in his
message to Congress or otherwise
about it; and there were more Ne
groeS lynChed and burned under the
Roosevelt administration than were
| under the Mckinley administration
| and Harrison together, and still these
great protecting and alarming min
! Istering angels have the audacity to
ask their cOlored brothers of the
Northwest to help them defeat an
] honorable man as President Taft for
| Mr.. Roosevelt, because he failed to
| appoint a goOdly number of their
| race to office in the South. The
honest Colored voter would rather
| for Taft not to appoint any colored
man IN this country than to be treated
as we were treated under this saint
| and protecting angel these minister,
have so recently discovered While
| | highly respect the ministers of the
gospel. and | believe all of the col
oTed Republicans respect them, ye
| don't believe that the honest col
ored voter will answer their roll cal
in this coming campaign agains
President Taft, for Mr. Roosevelt
because they will keep the Browns
vile, Texas, coincidence in view
whenever the name of Colone
F., Roosevelt is mentioned as a possibl,
candidate for the Presidency, ant
they have that right. Don't you thinl
so, brother ministers?
Yours truly,
R. c. CLAYTON,
73o Clarence St,
Lake Charles, La.