The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1916-10-14
NEGRO DEMOCRACY A COMPLETE
FAILURE.


When the blind lead the blind, they
both fall into the ditch. The national
Negro Democratic organization that
has labored in vain for a score of years
to seduce the negro voters of the coun-
try into the Democratic party, under
the leadership of Bishop Alexander
Walters, of New York, the leading
bishop Of the African NJ. e. Zion
church, has proven a colossal failure.
The good bishop reached the zenith
of his fame as a political prophet and
Democratic leader four years ago,
when he succeeded by taking advan.
tage of the division in the Republican
party ranks, in leading several thou
sands of his people to follow his lead.
ership in supporting Woodrow Wilson
for the presidency.
But the bishop had a rude awaken
ing. His eyes have been opened at
last, and so have those of his deluded
followers. The hopes of the negro
Democratic band have been blasted
by the duplicity of President Wilson,
who turned his back on them when he
entered the White House, and in the
four short years he has been in power,
has removed nearly every evidence of
political advancement of Republican
administrations for the last fifty years.
Bishop Walters has proved to be a
false leader and his followers have de-
serted him. His aged head is bowed
down and his heart is saddene by the
~evience of his own duplicity. He has
been slaughtered in the house of his
false friends, and with all his prestige
as a leader gone, he bemoanes his fate
in sack cloth and ashes, while he seeks
to undo the great wrong to his people,
for which he feels keenly the respon-
sibility.
A year ago last March, when Bishop
Walters visited st. Louis to aid in
the dedication of Metropolitan A. M,
E. Zion church, his proud heart over.
flowed with grief over the disaster he
had wrought along his people, and
in the presence of a large audience
composed of many of the most import.
ant white and colored people of St
Louis, gave vent to his lamentations
taking President Wilson and his ad.
ministration severely to task for the
outrageous treatment he had melted
out to his people.
He declared with the forceful elo
quence for which he is notedj as a
pulpit orator, that President Wilson
had misled him and his followers by
promises of fair play, prior to his
election, and after reaching the White
House had ruthlessly undone the worl
of fifty years of ace advancement
made by the negroes by the policy
of segregation and elimination prac
ticed against them in the various de
partments of the Federal Government
In a burst Of frey e%loquence at the
close of his address the bishop de
clared it to be his solemn belief thai
the only salvation for che negro in the
future was to organize themselves and
cast a solid vote for the Republican
nominee for president in 1916.
In an interview given out to the
press a few days prior to his address
Bishop Walters expressed himself on
the political situation in the following
unmistagable language Everybody
knows, from the very nature of things
there can be no such thing as a negro
Democrat, but a few of us thought il
a wise thing to play Democratic poll
tics. Our motive was to test the sin
certify of the Democratic leaders who
had long claimed to be our true
friends, but had withheld their poll
teal help from us because of oul
blind allegiance to the Republican
party"
81 had known Mr.. Wilson as cover
nor of New Jersey, and regarded hin
as an upright and God fearing man
and when he gave us positive assur
ances that the people of my rae would
receive fair play under his administra
ton, If he was elected, l decided tt
, give him my support, and did all il
my power to aid him in securing
large share of the negro vote, and
uO uOL luluh IL Gall D6 SuCCebSlull
denied that he received the larges
negro vote ever cast for a Democrat,
candidate for the presidency"
| ITO say that l was disappointed ant
surprised at Mr.. Wilson's course il
permitting the heads of the various
departments at Washington to iutro
t duce and enforce rules segregating tn,
z negro clerks and other employees, thu
! disturbing the era Of good feeling be
tween the races that had existed il
the departments for nearly half a cen
fury, is putting the case mildly.
was both grieved and indignant"
81 called. on the president and hal
a talk with him about the matter, ant
while he gave me no assurance tina
he would interfere with the depart
ment heads, in their management.
. still believe Mr.. Wilson meant to d.
the right thing in the distribution o
Federal patronage, when he came tt
make appointments, but when l saw
most of the negroes who held positions