The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1916-09-09
CHAPTER Y.

night until public sentiment is radically
changed in their favor through the
medium of their own newspapers
With remarkable ability the average
Afro American can tell you all about
the Holy Ghost descending from heaven
in the shape of a white dove, which
they say made love to Mary the wife
OF Joseph-the mother of Jesus, who
brought three or four other children
into this world aside from the son of
God. They can explain how Daniel
happened to tarry so long in the Lions
den without being devoured by them.
They can very infinitely relate to you
that the three Hebrews rested up in the
fiery furnace without getting one hair
on their heads singed by the roaring
flames. But they are as dumb as oys-
tiers when they are called upon to elab-
crate on the achievements of the
scholars belonging to their own race.
Therefore, let the Afro-Ameriean re-
frain from spending so much time in
studying the wild and visionary stories
in the Bible and devote more of his
time in familiarizing himself with the
literary productions of those of his own
flesh and blood; then it will not be hard
for him to learn that the pen is more
powerful or mightier than the sword.
As Victor Hugo says in his eloquent
and classical Grafton on that great
humanitarian "Voltaire," that Vol
taire uttered a loud shrek of horror
which penetrated down to the bottom
of his warm iberty-loving heart, when
he beheld the priesthood and the church
cutting the tongues out of the mouths
of the people, pouring melted lead in
their ears, tearing them to pieces over
the racks, binding them by putting
out their eyes, simply because they
would not yield obedience to the church
and the priesthood in all things.
Voltaire, alone, with his pen, in the
presence of those united forces, the
court, the nobility, the church, capitol,
that unconscious power, the blind null
titude, that terrible majesty so severe
to subjects, so docile to the master,
crushing and fiattering, kneeling upon
the people before the king; that clergy
vile, melange of hypocrisy and fanati-
eism, Voltaire alone, we repeat it, de-
elared war against that collation. of all
the social iniquities against that enor-
nous and terrible world, and he accepted
battle with it. And what dear readers
was his weaponi That which has the
lightness of the wind and the power
of the thunderbolt-a pen. With that
weapon he fought, with that weapon
he conquered.
Our main contention is that if Vol
taire could stand up single-handed alone
and work up and create sentiment
which compelled the rulers or the au-
thorities of the church and of France
itself to accord to them their religious
and political liberty, what could several
hundred able Negro writers accomplish
in the way of creating public sentiment
in favor of the Afro-Ameriean being
permitted to freely enjoy all of his
natural rights, if their publications
were properly supportedi For it hath
been said by that eminent authority
who was one of the greatest champions
of the manhood rights of the Afro
American-Wendell Phillips-that I" Ar
mics are nothing, courts are nothing,
laws are nothing, unless they are
backed up by public sentiment" And
mark our words, the Negro never VIII
have public sentiment on his side In
this country until he is willing to
heartily and eheerfully support news
papers published exclusively for the ad-
vancement of his race.
For printers ink and education
tinged with irony and song saps away
the strong foundations of all monument
al wrongs.
In conclusion, from the bottom OF
our warm and sympathetic heart, we
most gratefully desire to express our
lasting gratitude to each and every one
who have in the past and the present
time assisted in any way to make 1t
possible for US to present them with
copy of the Twenty-frst Anniversary
edition of The Broad Ak.