The Ocala banner., 1922-05-19
CASTING THE NEGRO ovERBoARD

So far as our information goes the
negro and his grievances caused the
formation of the Republican party.
He brought it into being.
For a long time it was known as
the Abolition party" the ''Black Re-
publican party" etc., and it grew in
strength and power by exaggerated
stories of the brutal treatment of
the negroes by their cruel southern
masters.
The feeling grew to such intensity
that it led to the separation of some
of our big Christian churches and
finally to the separation of the sec
tions and fierce and bloody war be-
tween the states.
But these facts are SC well known
that historical narration is unnec-
essary.
Suffice it to say that the negro was
emancipated and clothed with all the
rights and privileges of an American
citizen by the party which his imagi-
nary grievances created.
Now, when he ceases to be a poll
tical factor in the South, what do we
see?
The Florida Post-the Republican
daily newspaper recently established
at Orlando-W Winter Park, in double
column article entitled Let Us Get
1t Right" among other things says:
THE trouble in Florida has not
been the negro, he has been amiable
enough, he has never endeavOred to
usurp any powers, nor has he ever
taken any particularly great interest
in politics, nor sought any Office un-
less-some low down white man has
first put him up to devilment.
1.-THE negro if left alone would not
care fig for all the politics in the
world neither would he ever assume
to an Office of any kind, he is content
to go about in his happy go lucky way,
carefree and unmolested if he is but
left alone.
when the trouble starts, is when
some downright scoundrel of a white
man (white skinneO starts to use
the negro to do his dirty work for
him, when he sits around in parlors
with him, meets in his churches with
him, meets. in council with him and
pats him on the back and tells him
he is just as good as the white man,
that he gets the idea in his head that
what that man is telling him is true
and when he has heard it SO often it
is just like any other lie, he COM
mences to believe it himself and be-
lieving he insists on the same privi-
lege and eventually these privileges
include some office, as held by Joe
Lee when Collector of Internal Reve-
nue.
Last fall when the Republicans of
Virginia put out state ticket and an
nounced that they favored a white
party delegation of negroes went to
Washington to see what about their
rights and where they ''got off at"
1t is common gossip in Washington
that when they called on Secretary
Weeks and demanded their rights,
Weeks asked them what rights they
had. why you have been nothing
but liability to the party ever since
its founding" Secretary Weeks is re-
ported to have said, and when he said
that he said mouthful. =
HAS the negro ever contributed
one cent to the party finances No.
Though there have been times when
the negro preachers have gone out to
collect some funds, but what little
passed into the party treasury was
that little that didn't stick to their
fingers
The first article in the declaration
of principles" sent out over the state
is the following:
First: That we are unalterably
opposed to the election, or selection,
OF any person to public office, or posi-
tion of public trust, in the state of
Florida, who is not white American
citizen"