The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-07-04

Editor of the Kansas City Sun:
This is an appeal to all Negroes
through your paper to give the COM
ing Franchise election an unbiased
and practical consideration. AS you
are no doubt aware the Kansas City
Star is urging better campaign
against this franchise and many of us
will no doubt let The Star think for
us and be influenced by it. There is
in my humble opinion no politics in
this franchise or should not be at
least, but instead is just a business
matter between a corporation and
each individual citizen; each citizen
should be his own Judge in this mat
ter l am not going to ask anyone to
vote as l am, for I've told no one how
1 shall vote, but before voting or
rather before reaching conclusion l
would like to present to you for con-
sideration few facts. AS race of
people, it matters little what kind of
a franchise is accepted, since our so
cial status remains the same. At
present, the enemies of the Metropol-
itan are using the future as club to
fight with, and if we could feel assured
of a mans consideration in the affairs
of the future, instead of a Negroes
consideration, there is not better
ground for opposition to this fran
chise than that thirty years added to
the present unexpired term is too
long onh r111Iah Of q burden nv1n
children's shoulders. But as matters
now stand, should see no reason for
dissatisfaction in the present condi-
tion of affairs so far as regards our
street car system. Nowhere in the
country can we get more liberal trans
fers (stopovers) than we get in Kan
sas City, or ride farther for nickel,
no matter who runs the cars, it means
to us a nickel a ride. But my strong
est reason for being in favor of the
franchise lies in the fact that the very
strongest enemies of this franchise
are also the enemies of the Negro.
Read the Star for the list of those op-
posed to it and you will see very few
who are large employers of Negroes; :;
those who are strongest in favor of
municipal ownership, would be the
first ones to dispose of all Negro help
and put Mexicans or Greeks exclusive
ly in the places. AS matters now
stand, the Metropolitan hires hundreds
of Negroes in various capacities,
three of them live in the block in
which live. What does this mean to
us as race of people? It means in
my opinion a reduction in the number
of idle Negroes, reduction in the
number of distressed and otherwise
suffering Negroes; so per cent of the
men now employed on the streets by
the Metropolitan are fit for no other
kind of work. During the past winter
many of them would no doubt have
been on the mercies of the people and
charitable institutions but for the fact
that the Metropolitan gave them work
and l think, that to the able bodied,
the giving of employment is the best
form of charity. So in view of the
fact that they have proven their
friendship for US by giving numbers
of our race work and we cannot swear
that any other corporation would. Let
us protect a certainty by expressing
our approval of this franchise, since
anyone who helps one Negro, no mat
ter how slight, helps all the Negroes,
Now. Mr.. Editor. please don't brand
me as a Met. hireling or henchman or
any other ugly name for be 1t far
q. 7 a..uk III N
nickel payer as you and can prove be
yond a doubt that l have suffered as
much as any and more than whole
lot, as result of poor street car ser
vice, 2-S OF the time walk from 25th
and Vine to 18th and Vine waiting fol
Vine street car to take me to work
Hundreds of times I stand and wait
at 25th and Vine while friends Of mine
race me down down town. The walk
to Troost or Brooklyn and they beat
me every time, but am willing tc
tolerate all this, provided they do nc
worse, as long as they employ hun
dreds of my race, because If / dom
care to wait for car. walking is still
in order. Another thing is this: The
poor white man is never friend t6
the Negro. | don't mean to say the
Met. loves us more than It does any
other body of men, but do mean Il
say that as a rule the very element