| Show THE NEGRO VOTE There are indications and many of them that the negroes are not going to continue the slaves and tools of the Republicans Re-publicans who have assumed that because be-cause they were abolitionsts the darkle must forever do their bidding without reward As the backs gain intelligence they are learning that the Republican affection for them is vain profession and consists only of a desire to USA the colored people for the purposes pur-poses of white politicians The negro as he gets intelligence sees how be rewards others but derives no benefits for himself He placer his white master in office but gets no office himself He is not ungrateful but he begins to think that gratitude should be mutual and not all on one side At the late election in Louisiana thousands of colored men openly voted the Democratic ticket astonishing the Republicans who thought they had rings in the noses of all the negroes At Petersburg Va the other day which has been under the control of the Republicans ever since the war owing to the number of negro citizens the blacks voted the Democratic ticket and elected it greatly to the astonishment and chagrin of the radical bosses And so itis going all through the south the negroes showing that they have learned of the deception practiced upon them Now comes the New York Age a leading lead-ing organ of the colored people with this praise and endorsement of President Presi-dent Cleveland who is coming to be regarded as the black mans friend not that he is peculiarly an admirer of the race but he is a stickler for equal rights before the law and equal advantages fo all The Age says There is not a colored citizen in the country coun-try wno does not look with satisfaction upon the assurance that President Cleveland Cleve-land will bo the candidate of his party again not because they look with any degree de-gree of favor upon the present or past policy poli-cy of the democratic party not because they will In an considerable numbers support the candidates that party will place In nomination nom-ination but because they have an undivided I undivid-ed confidence in the honesty the wisdom and demonstrated regard and disinterested interest of President Cleveland In them and their welfare as coequal fellowuitizens We know of no other democrat in the coun tryin whom colored voters of all shades of opinion have more confidence and for whom a larger number of them will cast their ballots The Jacksonville Fla Leader is the principal colored newspaper of the south It is ably edited and is free and outspoken In a recent issue it speaks in high praise of President Cleveland andtells the Republican press and politicians iticians to call a halt on the question of the sectionallssues saying frankly that the colored people were never in a more healthy and prosperous condition than i under the present Democratic administration tration Mr Thomas Fortune perhaps the ablest of the colored editors in the country has issued an address to the voters of his race In which he states the situation clearly and intelligently and lets the Republicans know what the negroes are thinking about He closes I his address in the following significant language I am convinced that a respectable number num-ber of intelligent colored men can effect fJ Jei tu gl I i fto more good Inside the Democratic than has been effected by millions of them inside the Republican party since 1S76 pulling chestnuts chest-nuts ont of the fire for politicians who simulate sim-ulate an Interest they do not feel and I am going to putthe matter to the test I am not alone in the position I now take There are plenty of us who are gratified at the patriotic pat-riotic policy of President Cleveland and the Democrats Congress since 1884 in matters affec ing colored citizens and who will do all we can to elect the nominee of the St Louis convention whoever they be The negroes are not going to be enslaved en-slaved again and they begin to find it out and as they learn the truth they are asserting independence of their false friends who have treated them as if they had a mortgage on all black voters |
