The Cleveland Gazette, 1883-11-17

people are in themselves harmless, and when made the means of setting forth grievances, whether real or fancied, they are the safety-valves of the Repub Republic, - lic, Republic, a wise and safe substitute for vio violence, - lence, violence, dynamite and all sorts of revolu revolutionary - tionary revolutionary action against the peace and good order of society. If they are held without sufficient reason, that fact will be made manifest in their proceedings, and people will only smile at their weak weakness - ness weakness and pass on to their usual business without troublingjhemselves about the empty noise they are able to make. But if held with good cause and by wise, sober and earnest men, that fact will be made apparent and the result will be salutary. That good old maxim, which has come down to us from rev revolutionary - olutionary revolutionary times, that error may be safely tolerated, while truth is left free to combat it, applies here. A bad law is all the sooner repealed by being ex executed, - ecuted, executed, and error is sooner dispelled by exposure than by silence. So much we have deemed it fit to say of conventions generally, because our fesort to this measure has been treated by many as if there were something radically wrong in the very idea of con convention. - vention. convention. It has been treated as if there were some ghastly secret conclave, set setting - ting setting in darkness to devise strife and mischief. The fact is, the only serious feature in the argument against us is the one which respects color. We are asked not only why hold convention, but, with emphasis, why hold a colored convention? Why keep up this odious distinction between citizens of a com common - mon common country and thus give countenance to the color'line? It is argued that, if colored men hold conventions, based upon color, white men may hold white conventions based upon color, and thus keep open the chasm between one and the other class of the citizens, and keep alive a prejudice which we profess to deplore. We state the argument against us fairly and forcibly, and will answer it candidly and we hope conclu conclusively. - sively. conclusively. By that answer it will be seen that the force of the objection is, after all, more in sound than in substance. No reasonable man will ever object to white men holding conventions in their own interests, when they are once in our condition and we in theirs, when they are the oppressed and we the op oppressors. - pressors. oppressors. In point of fact, however, white men are already in convention against us in various ways and at many important points. The practical con construction - struction construction of American life is a conven convention - tion convention against us. Human law may know no distinction among men in respect of rights, but human practice may. Ex Examples - amples Examples are painfully abundant.' The border men hate the Indians: the Californian, the Chinaman; the Moham Mohammedan, - medan, Mohammedan, the Christian, and vice versa. In spite of a common nature and the equality framed into law, this hate works injustice, of which each in their own name and under their own color may justly complain. The apology for observing the color line in the composi composition - tion composition of our State and National conven conventions - tions conventions is in its necessity and in the fact that we must do this or nothing, for if we move our color is recognized and must be. It has its foundation in the exceptional relation we sustain to the white people of the country. A f imple statement of our position vindicates at once our convention and our cause. It is our lot to live among a people whose laws, traditions and prejudices have been against us for centuries, and from these they are not yet free. To assume that they are free from these evils simply because they have changed their laws is to assume what is utterly unreasonable and contrary to facts. Large bodies move slowly. Individu Individuals - als Individuals may be converted on the instant and change their whole course of life, nations never. Time and events are required for the conversion of nations. Not even the character of a great polit political - ical political organization can be changed bv a new platform. It will be the same old snake, though in a new skin. Though we have had war, reconstruction and abolition as a Nation, we still linger in the shadow and blight of an extinct in institution. - stitution. institution. Though the colored man is no longer subject to be bought and sold, he is still surrounded by an ad adverse - verse adverse sentiment which fetters all his movements. In his downward course he meets with no re resistence, - sistence, resistence, but his course upward is re resented - sented resented anti resisted at every step of his progress. If he comes in ignorance, rags and wretchedness lie conforms to the popular belief of his character, and jin that character he is welcome. Jiut

Not even our churches, whose mem members - bers members profess to follow the despised Naz Nazarine, - arine, Nazarine, whose home when on earth was among the lowly aud despised, have yet conquered this feeling of color madness, and what is true of our churches is also true of our courts of law. Neither is free from this all-pervading atmosphere of color hate. The one prescribes the Deity as impartial, no respecter of per persons, - sons, persons, and the other the Goddess of Jus Justice - tice Justice as blindfolded, with sword by her side and scales in her hand, held evenly between high and low, rich and poor, white and black, but both are the im images - ages images of American imagination, rather than American practices. Taking advantages of the general disposition in this country to impute crime to color, white men color their faces to commit crime, and wash off the hated color to escape punishment. In many places where the commission <4 crime is alleged against one of otfr color, the ordinary processes of the law are set aside as too slow for the impet impetuous - uous impetuous justice of the infuriated populace. They take the law into their own bloody hands and proceed to whip, stab, shoot, hang or burn the alleged culprit, without the intervention of courts, judges, juries or witnesses. In such case it is not the business of the accusers to prove guilt, but it is for the accused to prove his innocence, a thing hard for any man to do, even in a court of law, and utterly impossible for him to do in these infernal Lynch courts. A man accused, surprised, frightened and captured by a motley crowd, dragged with a rope about his neck in midnight darkness to the nearest tree, and told in the coarsest terms of pro profanity - fanity profanity to prepare for death, would be more than human if he did not, in his terror-stricken appearance, more con confirm - firm confirm suspicion of guilt than the con contrary. - trary. contrary. Worse still, in the pres presence - ence presence Of SUCH tn-H-Wnvk the pulpit is usually dumb, and the Eress in the neighborhood is si simt - mt simt or openly takes side with the mob. There are occasional cases in which white men are lynched, but one sparrow does not make a summer. Ev Every - ery Every one knows that what is called Lynch law is peculiarly the law for colored people and for nobody' else. If there were no other grievance than thia horrible and barbarous Lynch law cus custom - tom custom we should be justified in assem assembling - bling assembling as we have now done to expose and denounce it. But this is not all. Even now, after twenty years of so socalled - called socalled emancipation, we are subject to lawless raids of midnight riders, who, with blackened faces, invade our homes and perpetrate the foulest crimes upon us and our families. This condi condition - tion condition of things is too flagrant and noto notorious - rious notorious to re iuire specifications or proof. Thus in all the relations of life and death we are met by the color line. We cannot ignore it if we would, and ought not if we could. It hunts us at. midnight, it denies us accommodation in hotels and justice in the courts, ex-, eludes our children from schools, re refuses - fuses refuses our sons the chance to learn, 1 trades and compels us to pursue only! such labor as will bring the least re reward. - ward. reward. While we recognize the color line as a hurtful force, a mountain bar barrier - rier barrier to our progress, wounding our. bleeding feet with its flinty rocks at ev every - ery every step, we do not despair. We are a hopeful people. This convention is a proof of our faith in you, in reason, in truth and justice - oiir belief that prej prejudice, - udice, prejudice, with al lits maligning accompani accompaniments, - ments, accompaniments, may yet be removed by peaceful! means; that, assisted by time and< events and the growing enlight enlightenment - enment enlightenment of both races, the color line will ultimately become harm harmless. - less. harmless. When this shall come it will them only be used, as it should be, i o distin distinguish - guish distinguish one variety of the human fami family - ly family from another.. It will cease to have any civil, political or moral significance,, and colored conventions will then be dispensed with as anachronisms, wholly out of place, but not till then. Do not marvel that we are not discouraged. The faith within us has a rational basis, and is confirmed by facts. When we consider how deep-seated this feeling against ns js; the long centuries it has been forming; the forces of avarice, which have been marshaled to sustain; it; how the language and literature of! the country have been pervaded with it; how the church, the press, the play playhouse, - house, playhouse, and other influences of the coun country - try country have been arraved in its support, the progress toward its extinction must be considered vast and wonderful.

At the outset we very cordially con congratulate - gratulate congratulate you upon the altered condi condition - tion condition both of ourselves and our common country. Especially do we congratu congratulate - late congratulate you upon the fact that a great re reproach, - proach, reproach, which for two centuries rested on the good name of your country, has been blotted out; that chattel slavery is no longer the burden of the colored man's complaint, and that we now come to rattle no chains, to clank no fetters, to paint na honors of the old plantation to to humble your pride, excite your pity, or to kindle your indignation. We re rejoice - joice rejoice also that one of this stupendous revolution in our National history, the Republic which was before divided and weakened between two hostile and ir irreconcilable - reconcilable irreconcilable interests, has become united and strong, that from a low plane of life, which bordered unon bar barbarism, - barism, barbarism, it has risen to the possibility of the highest civilization; that this change has started the American Republic on a new departure, full of promise, al although - though although it has also brought you and yourselves face to face with problems novel and difficult, destined to impose upon us responsibilities and du duties, - ties, duties, which, plainly enough, will tax our highest mental and mor moral - al moral ability for their liappy solution. Born on American soil in common with yourselves, deriving our bodies and our minds from its dust, centuries having passed away since our ancestors were torn from the shores of Africa, we, like yourselves, hold ourselves to be in every sense Americans, and that we may, therefore, venture to speak to you,tn atone not lower than that which becomes earnest men and American citizens. Having watered your soil with our tears, enriched it with our blood, performed its roughest labor in time of peace, defended it against enemies in time of war, and at all times been loyal and true to its best interests, we deem it no arrogance or presumption to man manifest - ifest manifest now a common concern with you for its welfare, prosperity, honor and glory. OPPONENTS OF THE CONVENTION AN ANSWERED. - SWERED. ANSWERED. If the claim thus set up by us be ad admitted, - mitted, admitted, as we think it ought to be, it may be asked what propriety or neces necessity - sity necessity can there be for the Convention, of which we are members ? and why are we now addressing you in some sense as suppliants asking for justice and fair play? These questions are not new to us. From the day the call for this Con Convention - vention Convention went forth this seeming incon incongruity - gruity incongruity and contradiction has been brought to our attention. From one quarter or another, sometimes with ar argument - gument argument and sometimes without argu argument, - ment, argument, sometimes with seeming pity for our ignorance, and at other times with fierce censure for our depravity, these questions have met us. With apparent surprise, astonishment and impatience we have been asked: "What more can the colored people of this country want than they now have, and what more is possible to them?" It is said they were once slaves, they are now free; they were once subjects, they are now sovereigns; they were once outside of all American .institutions, they are now inside of all and are recognized part of the whole American people. Why, then, do they hold Colored Na National - tional National Conventions and thus insist upon keeping up the color line between them themselves - selves themselves and their white fellow-country fellow-countrymen? - men? fellow-countrymen? We do not deny the pertinence and plausibility of these questions, nor do we shrink from a candid answer to the argument which they are supposed to contain. For we do not forget that they are not only put to us by those who have no sympathy with u.%'but by many who wish us well, and that in any case they deserve an answer. Before, however, we proceed to answer them, we digress here to say that there is only one element associated with them which excites the least bitterness of feeling in us, or that calls for special rebuke, and that is when they fall from the lips and pens of colored men who suffer with us

Just From the Press. THE HEW AND REVISED EDITION ' - or THE - Underground Railroad, BY WILLIAM STILL, . WITH A LITE OF THE AUTHOR. A large, handsomely printed, highly illus illustrated - trated illustrated and beautifully bound book, which ex explains - plains explains the mysteries of The Underground Railroad, and preserves the only records, made at the time, of the escapes of slaves and their heroic struggles to obtain freedom. These records were faithfully taken from the lips of fugitives. Their making and pre preservation - servation preservation would have cost the life of the au author - thor author had he been detected. They are therefore history which would have been lost but for the risk he took. And what wonderful, stirring, thrilling history, too I How it rounds out and completes the history of our country 1 How momentous it is to the colored, race! It is their oxode from Egypt, their grand march through the wfiderne^'their entrance into Canaan. All would know it. All will know it. This new Edition contains much matter not in the old, among which is a carefully pre prepared - pared prepared life of the Author, written and pub published - lished published at the request of many friends, and in inwrted - wrted inwrted in his book with the hope that it may encourage his brethren everywhere to dowhat men must do in order to succeed. This life also contains many pleasant allusions to the treat anti-slavery leaders, such as Sumner, Wilson, Greeley, etc., sac similes of their hand handwriting. - writing. handwriting. In it are found, too, many bits of history which have never before seen the light, as, for instance, the escape of several of oft John Brown's officers, and the way they got passage on the Underground Bailroad to ^St^ther^s book is one which must prove interesting and profitable to every reader; and to the colored race, whose heroism helped to make it, it must prove a history at once in instructive - structive instructive and inspiring. A commanding volume of 800 pages and .0 illustrations. A work which sells readily. Agents wanted, with whom liberal terms will be made. There is money in it for energetic canvassers, male and female. Sold only by subscription. Price f 4.50. For circular and terms, address WILMAR STILL, Author and Publisher, Mt South Twelfth Street, PHILADELPHIA, PA. nnta urn The undersigned, having established a Pur PurchsMng - chsMng PurchsMng Bureau by which means persona de desiring - siring desiring goods of any description can have them purchased at the lowest cost price, solicits the patronage of ladies especially. Address for full particulars, MBS. RB. RICH ABDS. 153 Wert Mth St., New York Citv. References by permission - W. Walter Samp Sampson - son Sampson and T. Thomas Fortune, of the N. Y. Qtobe. JOB PRINTING! THE GAZETTE Is prepared to do AU MBS OF JOB PRINTING. DON'T FOBQET THIS. -FVKA - « --- K*el!< Avmm MUSIC - FOB - - FOBWEISIM, WEISIM, - FOBWEISIM, ROMOS. PARTIES, ETC. QrtlMGAMrrraOMo',

The most of our people, to their honor be it said, are remarkably sound and true to each other. To those who may think we have no cause to hold this convention, we freely admit that, so far as the organic law of the land is concerned, we have indeed nothing to complain of, to ask or desire. There may be need of legislation, but the or organic - ganic organic law is sound? Happily for us and the honor of the Republic, the United States Constitu Constitution - tion Constitution is just, liberal and friendly. The amendments to that instrument, adopted in the trying times of reconstruction of the Southern States, are a credit to the courage and statesmanship of the lead leading - ing leading men of that crisis. These amend amendments - ments amendments establish freedom and abolish all unfair and invidious discrimination against citizens on account of race and color, so far as law can do so. In their view citizens are neither black nor white, and all are equals. With this a I mission and this merited reproof to trimmers and traitors, we again come ito the question, W T hy are we here in I this National Convention? To this we answer, first, because there is a power iin numbers and in union; because the m my are more than the few; because the i voice of a whole people, oppressed by a common injustice is far more likely to command attention and exert an influ influence - ence influence on the public mind than the voice s of single individuals and isolated organ organi - i organi izations; because, coming together from all parts of the country, the members of a National Convention have the m**ans of a more comprehensive knowl knowledge - edge knowledge of the general situation, and may, therefore, fairly be presumed to con conceive - ceive conceive more clearly and express more fully and wisely the policy it may be ' necessary for them to pursue in' the I premises, Because conventions of the

A Portrait of "The Old Mat Eloquent.'' Fellow-Citizens - Charged with the responsibility and duty of doing what we may to advance the Interest and firomote the generatavelfarfe of a people ately enslaved, and who, though now free, still suffer many of the disadvan disadvantages - tages disadvantages and evils derived* from their former condition, not the least among which is the low and unjpst estimate entertained of their abilities and pos possibilities - sibilities possibilities as men, and theii4vahie as citi citizens - zens citizens of the Republic, instructed by these people to make such representations and adopt such measures as in our judg judgment - ment judgment may help to bring about a better understanding and a more friendly feeling between themselves and their' white fellow-citizens, recognizing the great fact, as we do, that the relations of the American people bod those of civilized nations generally depend more upon prevailing ideas, opinions and long established usages for their qualities of good and evfi than upon courts of law or creeds of religion. Allowing the existence of a magnan magnanimous - imous magnanimous disposition on your part to listen candidly to an honest appeal for fair play, coming from any class of yonr fellow-citizens, however humble, who may have, or may think they have, rights to assert or wrongs to redress, the members of the National Conven Convention, - tion, Convention, chosen from all parts of the Unit United - ed United States, representing the thoughts, feelings and purposes of colored men generally, would, as one-means of ad advancing - vancing advancing the cause committed to them, most respectfully and earnestly ask yonr attention and favorable consider consideration - ation consideration to the matters contained in the present paper.

and ought to know better. A few such men, well known to us and the coun country, - try, country, happening to be more fortunate in the possession of wealth, education and position than their humbler brethren, have found it convenient to chime in with the popular cry against our as assembling - sembling assembling on the ground that we have no valid reason for this measure or for any other separate from the whites; that we ought to be satisfied with things as they are. With white men who thus object to the case it is differ different - ent different and less painful. For them there is a chance for charity. Educated as they are and have been for centuries, taught to look upon colored people as a lower order of humanity than themselves and as having few rights, if any, above domes domestic - tic domestic animals, regarding them also through the medium of their beneficent religious creeds and just laws - as if law and practice were identical - some allowance can, and perhaps ought to, be made when they misapprehend our But no such excuse or apology can be properly framed for men who are in any way identified with us. What may be erroneous in others implies either baseness or imbecility in them. Such men, it seems to us, are either deficient in self respect or too mean, servile and cowardly to assert the true dignity of their manhood and that of their race. To admit that there are such men among us is a disagreeable and humiliating con confession. - fession. confession. But in this respect,as in others, we are not without the consolation of company; we are neither alone nor sin singular - gular singular in the production of just such characters. All oppressed people have been thus afflicted.

if he shall come as a gentleman, al scholar and a statesman he is hailed asj a contradiction to the National faith! concerning his race, and his coming is i resented as impudence. In the cmei case he may provoke contempt and de derision, - rision, derision, but in the other He is an affront^' to pride and provokes malice. Let him' do what he will there is at present, i therefore, no escape for him. The color line meets him everywhere and; in a measure shuts him out from all re respectable - spectable respectable and profitable trades and! callings. In spite of all your religion, and laws he is a rejected man. He is rejected by trade unions, ofi every trade, and refused work while he lives and burial when he dies, and yet he is asked to forget his color and for forget - get forget that which everybody else remem-, bers. If he offers himself to a builder' as a mechanic, to a client as a lawyer,; to a patient as a physician, to a college; as a professor, to a firm as a clerk, to a Government department as an agent, or an officer, he is sternly met on the* color line, and his claim to considera consideration - tion consideration in some way is disputed on the ground of color. *