The spirit which resisted George III., which put down rebellion and treason and which gave citizenship to the slave, as well as that other spirit which, with a magnanimity unparalleled, threw the protecting mantle of the flag of the Republic about those who sought its destruction; this spirit, I say, is still abroad in the land. The old cry of
And "Negro rule" is a false alarm. History does not record a single instance in which the Negro has attempted unlawfully or by force to dominate this country or any section thereof. He has never plotted or perpetrated treason against the Constitution or the laws. He has never given his vote in support of any measure against the best interests of his country and his countrymen. He has a keen appreciation of his condition and his needs. The Church has more charms for him than Congress; he is more anxious to go to school than to the Senate; and now, thank God, under the changed conditions of these latter days, he is striving with more diligence to provide a home for his wife and children than he is to obtain a mansion in the skies. But, while this is true, he is striving more zealously to wear a crown in the kingdom of heaven than for the uncertainty of being a ruler in the kingdoms of men. When the party of his choice has rewarded his devotion by appointing him to an humble office, with the promise of better things to come, he has been satisfied and remained as faithful as the old woman who shouted every time she went to church. One day her pastor asked her if she was happy every time she shouted. "Why, no, I'm not happy every time I shout," she said. "Then why do you shout?" he inquired, and she replied, "Why when I'm not happy I just shout off the promises." Like her, the Negro is Republican in season and out of season. Whatever others may do there are no factional quarrels among the colored citizens. They are as incorruptible as any class of citizens in the State. They do not sulk in their tents on election day, nor at the polls do they conceal a razor in the Australian blanket in order to cut any member on the ticket from the head to the foot. Despite outrage and desertion and wrong, despite passion and prejudice, as long as the banner of Republicanism bears upon it such illustrious names as Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, Garfield, Blaine, McKinley and Foraker with the principles which these names suggest, as long as gratitude is kindled by the memories of the past, and while the achievements of the present can give confidence to patriotic hearts, as long as the star of hope sheds its rays upon the pathway of the party of progress, bearing inspiring prophecies of victories to come, the colored citizens of the United States will be among the last to desert its standards or to let its sacred folds trail in the dust of dishonor or defeat.
