Norwich bulletin., 1916-09-26
SHOULD STAND BY REPUBLICANS
colored Speaker Says There Never Was Time When the Race Should be More Loyal to Party Principles Than Present Tme-Says Democratic Party Negro's Avov- ed Enemy Mckinley Avenue Church Crowded at Big Mass Meeting Monday Evening.

There never was time in all our | history when we as a race should be more loyal and steadfast to the prin- ciples Of the republican party than at the present time, said Dr. Williams H. Higgins of Providence in a thrill ing address on racial, and political matters delivered at the mass meet ing held Monday evening, under the auspices of the Norwich Equal Rights League, in the Mckinley Ave. A.. M. E. Zion church. The church was taxed to its seating capacity and during in tervals Prof. and Mrs. Fred $. Jack son rendered musical selections. Will liam A. Fields, president of the league presided.
 In part pr. Higgins said:
 come here tonight to advocate the principles and policy of political par ty which was born out of the eXigen- cies of a disorganized, disrupted and restless society in 1856 and which was destined to become the saviour and benefactor of four million human slaves. I come not as the son of a former slave of the south, to speak to men and women of New England, nor as an advocate of an untried proposi- tion; but I came as an humble citizen of this country to speak to men and woman of convictions, 1 come here to make no merely partisan appeal to our people to support MT. Hughes and the entire national and municipal repub- lican ticket, for if we remember the history of our party and it's relations to the negro during the past fifty years, any argument on our part becomes al- most unnecessary in order to convince intelligent men and women of the du- ties and responsibilities in this pres ent campaign. A mere repetition of some of the achievements and heroic deeds of the republican party during the past half century is permissible when we take into consideration the T1onY7aninp attitude Of tha dan1ncra tic party toward the negro and his ad- Vancement we at once become alarmed
 There never was as time in all of our history when we as race should be more loyal and steadfaSt to the prin- Ciples of the republican party than at present; for let us remember that dur ing the past three and a half years of this present democratic administra- ton we have lost practically every po- litical, social and economical right which took us almost fifty years to acquire. When the present democra- tic administra ton came in power the Afro Americans were drawing annual ly from the national treasury $14,000,- 0e0. Today. after three years of nlal- administration they are drawing less than $2,000,00
 Negroes Uniustly Discharged.
 MT. Wilson and his associates had not been in the White House hardly lWO SCotlS bo1OIC lIiOy DSSo olf ot SSiI- eral housecleaning' not only in Wash ington and it's departments but throu ehout the entire country adja- cent territories and foreign countries where negroes were holding responsi- ble and lucrative positions under the republican administration. As a re- suit Of this action of the president and his advisors every negro holding any kind Of office in the national govern ment was summarily and unjustly discharged. Neither did they stop here but they invaded the civil ser vice ranks and by chicanery. unfair ness and democratic intrigue no less than 1S.000 employees under the civil service law were either demoded or put out of the service to>lnake room spite of the civil service law which was supposed to guard against just such tactics.
 The recent record of the democratic party is that in less than two years after coming into power all responsi- ble offices held by negroes were ma de vacant and the same filled by south ern rabid and hungry democrats. The attitude of MT. Wilson and the entire democratic party in reference 10 the negro holding office was forecasted by an aspirant for the United States sen atorship from Georgia--Mr. Fielder, who spoke the sentiment of the demo- cratic party in a speech in 1912.
 But. my friends, it is not so much the posi- ions lost to the race that we decry. It is the discrimination laws enacted by congress and throughout the entire southern states: the segre- gation in all the departments in Wash ington and not only in Washington but the segregation in many of the cit ies of the south; especially segregat- ing the races in streets and localities is abominable, and the acquiescenee in the lynching and burning of negro men, women and children by mobs throughout the south with not one word of protest from the president of the United States notwithstanding the fact that in nearly every speech the president has made he speaks of his humanity to all mankind. but we are sorry to say that his boasted human ity does not extend to the negro. We regret to say that his humanity has not ceased to make us mourn.
 We ask MT. Wilson in all candor whether his humanity doctrine taliies with his attitude toward the negroes