h
that political party which proves to be the most friendly towards him.
There is very little in a name. Results should be sought, and the
Negro should never waver until they are obtained. This will
necessitate a division of the Negro vote. No fixed rule can be
established as a political guide for him, any more than it can be done
for any other people. The location, environment, men and measures
sought to be obtained, should guide him. The political pathway for the
future may seem dark and discouraging, but nothing daunted, we should
continue to press forward, contending for every inch of our rights--no
right which man enjoys aside from his own household should be guarded
more sacredly than his right of franchise--a right which makes each
one a sovereign in himself; a right which determines what laws shall
govern us, who shall construe them and execute them.

I am not unmindful of the fact that the views here expressed, may
sound rather Utopian. But in this age of rush and bustle for place,
preferment and national gain, by individuals and the nation; and in an
age when anarchists, lynchers and murderers set at defiance all law
and government; in an age when, in certain sections of the country,
the ballot-box ceases to stand as an exponent of the registered will
of the people, but stands rather as a political cesspool of reeking
rottenness, impregnating the national atmosphere with germs of discord
that may yet stagnate and throttle the Union; in such an age, it is
quite necessary that a halt should be called; a reckoning had, and
that these small, though dangerous political sores should be lanced
from the body politic before they develop into putrifying cancers that
will destroy the life of the republic.

From any view that may be taken of the present political situation, it
is apparent that the time is ripe for the colored American to think
and act for himself. If he reasons correctly, he will certainly reach
the conclusion that right must some day prevail; and in order that he
may enjoy the resultant blessings flowing from a pure ballot, the
colored man must set the pace, and thereby place himself in a position
to command respect and proper recognition. "He who would have equity
must first do equity."

The Negro's loyalty to his friends, his impressionable soul, his
devotion to church, his yearning for education and enlightenment, his
thrift, industry, devotion to country, fidelity to the flag shown upon
hundreds