WHITES AND BLACKS OR THE QUESTION SETTLED 42

CHAPTER VI. SHALL THE NEGRO BE DISFRANCHISED? 

Take away from the Negro the "ballot," which, as used heretofore by him, served only to make voting a farce and the republic a mockery, so far as having enlightened black citizens, understanding the responsibility of citizenship. That this argument, made as an appeal for a division of the Negro vote between the political parties, will be resisted by a number of honorable men I have no doubt.

To my statement now made that no other nationality votes solidly one ticket, will come the reply, that no other class of people are situated as are the Negroes.

To the statement that the Negroes are divided in church belief, in society preference, and differ in taste, in physical appearance and in every way except politically, comes the answer that they are kept in one party by:

 " a condition which confronts them, other parties refusing to accept them on equal footing as members, and on account of no recognition being given them by the dominant party in the South, in the way of dividing the offices, affording the black voters, as a respectable part of the South, minority representation”.

The reason colored men are not accepted readily into the Democratic Party is because, as a rule, they make a condition of their coming, “receiving something”, office or other thing of value. They say, I am a Democrat in one breath and ask for office or money in the next.

This has been carried on so long until the Democratic Party has no confidence in the Negro as a patriotic, loyal member of its party. They have learned by many painful, practical lessons of experience that the Negro loves the Republican party as he loves his soul, and that, except in rare cases, he only votes against that party out of revenge or for the hope of reward, in money or its equivalent.

The Negro must start first — not the white man of the South — for it is the Negro who stands most in need.

It is your duty to restore confidence in the Southern white man, by teaching him by our overt acts that you can be honest, loyal and consistent in other than the Republican Party.

But you, as colored voters, say:

"How can we leave the Grand Old Party, which Mr. Douglass calls, the “ship”, all else, the “sea”, in the face of outrages being daily committed upon our race?"