Year: 1878

COLORED SUFfRACE.-Iu ne PROPOSE
ton 10 take away from the colored peo-
pIe the right of voting seems TO be gain
ing ground among Republican leaders.
A strong editorial appeared in the Phil
adelphia Press since the elections, urg-
ing that il be done, and Boutwell, oil
Massachusetts,, in a speech. took the
san same GRqHGae S9aRr In KfpES6hesn KfpES6 haTr or
gans, and indications are'that the poll
CIV will at no distant day be generally
adopted by The Republican party The
vote was gwen to the colored people
originally with view TO cripple the
Democratic party and to huTniliate the
South, to whom the measure was pre-
sumed to be particularly distasteiul.-
But the Southern people wisely went
TO work 10 convince the colored people
that the interests OF both races living to-
gether in contiguty were identIcally the
same, and in a great many instances
they have succeeded. Thousands OF
colored men in every part of the South
vote the Democratic ticket, because they
believe it is their interest and duty to do
so. The idea that the colored people
would always vote the Republican tick
ct. because they owed their freedom TO
a Republican President, was a iallacy.
The freedom Of The race was a necessi-
ty growing ont Of the war. II would
have come all the same had there been
a Democratic President instead Of a
Republican one: but even suppose the
colored people owed their freedom en-
tirely 10 the Republican party, il would
not necessarily follow that they should
90 on forever voting the Republican
ticket. If they were morally or IN any
other way compelled 10 vote the Repub-
lican or any other ticket, they would
not be freemen at all, at least not free
voters. II they were free to choose
they might, some Of them, vote the Re-
publican and some of them some other
ticket. This is wha: they have done.
Under the influence Of the Freedman's $
Bureau and the strong urging of Repub-
lican emissarles and organizers. for sew
eral years after tie war, they generally
voted the Republican ticket. And the
Republicans of the North saw nothing
dangerous in the solid negro vote in
these times. But the coloredPeople were
swindled by the Freedman's Bank,
W hich they identified with the Freed
mans Bureau and naturally and logical
" too; and they found that their condi-
lIon was not bettered by voting the Re-
publican ticket, as they had been told il
would be. So they have divided, and
many Of them now vote the Democratic
ticket. The whites of the South almost
universally vote the Democratic ticket,
because they are opposed to the tariff
policy OF the North, and because they
believe and fear that if the Republicans
gain an overwhelming prePonderance
in the government they will adopt re-
pressive and coercive measures against
the South, as they have done in the
past. The whites oI the South believe
that they owe their deliverance from
this coercion and oppression TO the
Democratic party, and they believe the
Democratic party is the only bull
wark OF their constitutional rights in the
Union. Naturally, then the whites vote
the Democratic ticket. And when a
considerable body ofcOlored voters vote
with them, results a solid South. The
solid South is no menace to the North,
but only proves that the South IS afraid
Of the menace contained in the attitude
and utterances Of the Republican party.
What is the bloody shirt outcry of the
party but menace 10 the South


This is reason enough why the South
should be Democratic; but thousand