Show THE NEGRO AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF ALTON ILL ox ON last wednesday and thursday sept and while a large majority of the members of pur our race throughout the country were engaged in celebrating emancipation ci day and in lauding flauding abra nam lincoln to the skies all the republican city officials of alton ul DL which is located in a state which gave maj mckinley one hundred and fifty thousand majority last november were busily engaged in stationing battalions of policemen in front of every school house throughout that city for the purpose of preventing the negro children from attending the various schools it is a very singular coincidence that one of the school houses which the negro children were debarred barred de from frequenting has the name of abraham lincoln inscribed over the main entrance of the building we have no desire to play upon the prejudices and passions of our race neither do we wish to speak disparagingly of abraham lincoln but we wish to remind all of mr Lincol ns friends that the citizens resi residing cling in those towns and cities where mr lincoln d livered delivered his seven speeches during tal his famous joint debate with stephen A douglas the little giant have proven themselves to be the most bitter foes and enemies of the negro race and in order to corroborate our assertion we will again quote a portion of mr Lincol ns speech which he delivered at charleston ill on sept 18 1858 seven years before his death 1 I am not nor ever have been in in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality oi of the white and black races I 1 am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes nor of qualifying them to hold office nor to marrying with white people and I 1 will say in to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I 1 believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms ot of social ocial and political equality thirty nine years and a few days have elapsed since mr lincoln uttered the above words a at t charleston during the course of his debate with mr douglas and they have left such an indelible impression m upon the minds of the people of that city hat that they will not permit negroes to reside there nor even to remain over night and the same condition of affairs exist in the other cities where mr lincoln delivered h his is speeches during that debate after meditating upon the trouble which has resulted from the endeavor of trying to deny them thel ne negro children the ha right to attend the p public ablie schools of alton we aann cannot h ot wp help being of the opinion that if abraham had possessed age enough to has afore all of those who artl a jea in m those demor rebates 4 6 pro proclaimed claimed to jaje oz T j a t A hat th the e negro hottott doT TOtt h P sar ap ailed 0 ti afif 01 e fifi a t if f juram P d at az 4 az existing between the white and black races which will forever forbid the two races from living in harmon harmony y upon this continent then we truly and firmly believe that if mr nf r lincoln had given expression to those sentiments they would have left an irre impression upon the memories of all the american people and the people of his adopted state no doubt would have been perfectly willing to concede every right to the negro even the right to attend public schools throughout the state of illinois and throughout the nation |