The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1916-09-30

relations to our political interests. A
mans vote is not his own, to do with
as he pleases without public respon.
sibility. Indeed, in a very strained
sense only is it his at all. It is his
. country's, a sovereign weapon en-.
trusted to him for the protection of
his, his posterity's and his country's
rights. Voting then is more than a
right or privilege, it is a duty. It is
ones duty to send his children to
church and to school and to surround
them with wholesome influences.
This, l repeat is a duty imposed upon
us by the inherent relations between
parent and child and by the demands
of society which wills that the child's
and society's highest interests be
served. It is equally your duty, and
for greater reasons, to keep, cherish
and preserve to your children and your
posterity, their badge of citizenship,
the ballot, and the right to it's use.
Nothing has been more often or more
earnestly sought by a free people
than the right to have a voice in the
making of the laws under which they
political bone of contention in all
ages. It was this the fathers sought
from the powers of England and from
the throne of Geo. III. It was this
that Patrick Henry choose rather to
die for than forfeit. This only can ex-
plain the change of government from
Monarchies to Republics. It is this
that American women seek in their
struggle for suffrage. Can we afford
to hold it in cheap regard? There are
no people who owe allegiance to the
United States or who claim protection
under it's flag that have paid more
dearly for. that allegiance and protec.
ton than the American Negroes
Charge what you will for American
citizenship, the Negro has paid the
price. The $50 years of unrequited
toll, the humiliation from being dis.
franchised, jim-crowed, segregated, op.
pressed and depressed. The blood
shed on the battlefield for an migrate
full country, the blood drawn by the
lash and, oh God! when I think OF
how our. parents hearts must have
bled when they were torn from each
other and from their children to meet
no more until it be at Gods own judg
ment seat! Our fathers paid for oul
citizenship even with their very bodies
and souls. Then dying they left it as
legacy to their and our posterity
It is our duty to keep and enlarge II
for fuller and more useful lives. A
: charge to keep we have. The right tt
the use of the ballot will cease to be
a right unless we exercise it wisely
and constantly. I would not convey
the impression that citizenship ant
the right Of suffrage are Identical. The
ballot is the badge of citizenship
Its exercise is the highest expression
of that citizenship. To vote is thu
first duty of every American citizen
Our votes elect men to Offices These
men enact their principles and con
victions into laws and being par
of the body polite, these laws can
not but affect us and our children
1t concerns us therefore as to what
is to be law. Some one has wisely
said that the highest kind of apprecia
ton that can go back from a bene
| ficiary to his benefactor is the indis
putable proof that the former was
worthy of the latter's benefcence
What source of qualification il
would be, if those who gave their time
their means and their lives, to raise
us to the stature of American citi.
zens could know that that citizenship
was dear to US, and that in the light
God has given us, we were doing our
best to enjoy it to the fullest and pre-.
serve it to their memory and honor
If the Negro entertains the idea that
he can attain a fuller citizenship by
merely desiring the same he is doomed
to a sad awakening. Nothing worth
while is had without contention. No.
body will hand you your rights on a
silver platter, garnished with instruc-
tons how best to use them. Only by
degrees and with great effort and at
great cost can rights once denied be
regained. Fear God and take your
own" is applicable to you also. It
is only thus that you shall be able
to conserve your own best interests
and secure the blessings of life and
liberty to your children.
1t is not unusual to hear Negroes re-
mark in support of their having voted
the Democratic ticket, or their con-
temptation to do so, that they are
privileged to vote as they desire.
This statement sounds logical enough.
But I question any mans right to do
anything against his own best inter
est, and that is what a Negro does
when he votes the Democratic ticket.
The Democratic party, as such, has
ever been opposed to the Negroes en-
joyment of civil and political rights.
The principal issues of many Demo
cratic campaigns in the South have
been the treatment which the canili-
dates promised to accord the Negro.
The Democratic party, as such, stands
for curtailment of federal power and
extension of state rights. The great