The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1921-06-25

question:" After criticising THE
APPEAL for endeavoring to eliminate
the danger of segregation, it is not
surprising that he now accepts an
appointment which carries less dig
nifty than the place held by William
He Lewis under President Taft.
Colored men have held representa-
tive places under every Republican
administration since the time Presi-
dent Grant came into power, and
even under Democratic President
Cleveland they were given honorable
presidential appointments Cleveland
appointed Mr.. Trotter, father of that
valiant defender of the right, William
Monroe Trotter, recorder of deeds for
the District of Columbia
Frederick Douglass was at one time
marshal of the District of Columbia,
Blanche X. Bruce was Register of
the Treasury and John MI Langston
served as minister to Haiti and under
the last Republican regime colored
men were appointed, confirmed by the
Senate and served in the following
Offices: Assistant Attorney General,
Register of the Treasury, Auditor for
the Navy, Recorder of Deeds for the
Distict of Columbia, assistant Regis
ter of the Treasury, Collector of In
ternal Revenue at Jacksonville, Fla;
Register Of the Land Office, Mont
gomery, Ala; Collector of Internal
Revenue, New York City; Receiver of
Public Moneys Little Rock, Ark;
Collector of Customs, Washington,
D. c.; Collector of Internal Revenue,
Honolulu, Hawaii; Received of Pub
lie Moneys, Jackson, Miss; Collector
of Customs, Beaufort, S. c.; Collector
of Customs, Georgetown, S c., and
Collector of Internal Revenue, Allan
ia, Co.; Collector Of Customs, Savan-
nah, Ga; Register of Land Office,
New Orleans, La; Collector of Gus
toms, Charleston, S. c.; Surveyor
General of Louisiana; Receiver of
Public Moneys, New Orleans, La, and
a number of others.
These were all presidential appoint
ments and each one was confirmed
by the Senate. In addition there
were number of special assistant
district attorneys, deputy collectors
of customs, deputy collectors of in
ternal revenue and other officials
who were appointed by the heads of
the various departments. And under
former Republican administration a
colored man served as minister to
Santo Domingo. Without exception
the colored men in presidential Of
fees served the government faithful
ly and with credit to themselves and
the group they represented.
NOW READ THIS CAREFULLY:
William H. Lewis of Massachusetts,
was appointed ASSISTANT ATTOR-
NEY GENERAL OF TILE UNITED
STATES, a presidential appointment,
confirmed by the Senate of the Unit
ed States. Perry Howard of Missis-
sippi has been appointed SPECIAL
ASSISTANT to the Attorney General
of the United States. Lewis was an
assistant attorney general; Howard is
an assistant to the Attorney General.
There is a great difference in the
status. Lewis was an official; How
ard is an assistant to an official and
has been assigned to special work on
the claims of colored people against
the United States. If the matter
stopped with Howard it would not
make much difference, but it affects
the citizenship status of every colored
person in the country and segregates
colored people from every other
group of American citizenship, and
establishes a dangerous precedent.
Now after 100000 colored men
served in the war Ito make the world
safe for democracy, and with the Re-
publican party, to which the colored
voter has always been a faithful ally,
in complete control of the govern
ment, it is Infamous that the party
leaders should insult the people by
giving inferior appointments, and it
is humiliating to think that colored
men will accept such places. It will
be noted that the men appointed are
Southerners.
Northern voters, who voted for the
Republican nominees and whose votes
were counted are not satisfied with
what has been done. They feel that
it would been. better to have had
nothing at all rather than inferior
appointments, which tend to lower
their status as citizens. Some high
class colored men ought to get a. few
high class presidential appointments
just as under former Republican ad-
ministrations.s .-s
OIlESTION nE e-A-IIc