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Mr. J. P. Tumulty THE WILSON ADMNISTRATION By Cornelius A. Hughes, Esq.
THE WHITE HOUSE OCT 9 - 1916 RECEIVED [?] DRY PARK
Cornelius A. Hughes Discusses Wilson AND WHY COLORED MEN SHOULD FAVOR HIS REELECTION
Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Colored Democratic League, Eastern Division, says:— "The present Democratic Administration has accomplished more in the form of public benefits than any preceding administration in the Nation's history."
"We should not despise any, for the finger of destiny marks in the soul and not upon the brow." "For every drop of blood drawn by the lash, the sword has avenged; and for every attempt to ignore the rights of humanity there is retributive demand awaiting individuals and nations."
The past achievements of neither the Republican nor Democratic parties offers any reason why you should continue allegiance to a party that, standing on past attitudes is unresponsive to present needs; for parties are supposed to succeed or fail according as they meet new issues affecting the public welfare.
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[left page] I consider it unfortunate indeed that so many Colored men seem to be endowed with that characteristic said to be peculiar to women, in that they seem to see chiefly the defects of a man of talent, yet loudly acclaim to merits of a fool. Colored Republicans have unconsciously advanced a line of argument, which, if continued should add greatly to the strength of President Wilson in the present Campaign. They unhesitatingly claim that had President Wilson appointed a few Colored men as heads of departments, that, coupled with the many pieces of legislation for which he has been responsible in Congress, he would have split the Colored Republicans vote in twain in the present Campaign. Surely no greater argument could be used by the worst enemies of my race as to its unfitness for suffrage than the logic of those men who in effect say, that the failure of the President to appoint from a particular group of people, a few heads of departments, shall outweigh with them the passage of laws for the better government of the people at large which included all groups both black and white, such as the law creating: – The Federal Reserve Bank with all the benefits which follow in its train to the Colored business man; The Rural Credits Bill as it affects the Negro farmer; The Child Labor Bill as it affects the Negro children of the South; The Workingmen's Compensation Act as it affects the twenty-five thousand Colored Government employees: and the Eight-Hour Law as it affects the 209,000 Colored Railway employees:
If the editors of the "Weekly Patent Back" known to the trade and the Republican party as the Colored press, were to use one-tenth of the space which they seemingly wild delirium devote each year to abuse of Colored men who support the Democratic party, to enlighten their few readers upon the real economic issues that are constantly confronting the American people, they would be giving the group of people whom they claim to represent, in some measure, a return for the financial support they receive from them: but to continue to hand out that abusive "bunk" about men who differ with them politically, does the Colored Democrat no harm, but holds the writers of such childishly foolish bable up to the ridicule of intelligent readers. If there were no other means of gaining information on public questions, the readers of the "bunk" given out by some of these dance-crazed editors would believe that all Colored men and women holding office in Washington had been wiped out because of the failure of the President to appoint a few Colored men as head of departments. They take no pains to enlighten their readers upon the fact that in the Treasury Department alone, between March 4, 1913, and December 31, 1915, the number of permanent appointments of Colored people by the present Administration was 333; of temporary appointments 202, and of promotions 452. Politically speaking, Colored Republicans have much to be thankful for at the hands of the President
[right page] and his Administration. The Colored Democrat has been the chief sufferer, and if he can stand the gaff of political disappointment and still give his loyal support to the Administration on purely economic grounds, it should bespeak much for his intelligence as a voter.
Many readers of the shafts of abuse that are being hurled by the editors of the New York Patent Backs, have expressed their surprise that men whose public and private lives are as vulnerable as a few of these editors lives are known to be, should invite the back-fire of their Colored Democratic brethren. Yet, fools often rush in where wise men fear to tread.
I have often wondered what proportion of the present generation of Colored editors knows or has accepted the "self-evident truths" upon which the Republic rests: "That all men are created equal? That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights? That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed? And–That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to affect their safety and happiness." And, that it is well within the rights and privilege of Colored men to oppose with all the force at their command, any political party regardless of its past history, whose policy they believe to be destructive of good government. Such I believe to be the prime factor which has actuated most Colored men who have left the beaten track of their benighted brethren to follow in the wake of a new Democracy.
I am but one among several million of people who believe that Woodrow Wilson has been one the greatest Presidents under the most trying conditions that this country has ever had; and while his policies may not have satisfied some of those who revel in destruction and find pleasure in despair, and may not have satisfied the "fire-eaters" and "swash-bucklers", yet, it does satisfy those who worship at the altar of the "God of Peace." It does satis the mothers of the land at whose hearth and fireside no jingoistic war has placed an empty chair. It does satisfy the daughters of this land from whom bluster and brag has sent no loving brother to the desolution of the grave. It does satisfy the fathers of this land and the sons of this land, who will fight for our Flag and die for our Flag when reason primes the rifle, when honor draws the sword, and when justice breathes a blessing on the standard they uphold.
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The rise and fall of the Republican Party always brings to my mind these lines of Edwin Markham:
THE VERMIN IN THE DARK
In storied Venice, down whose rippling streets The stars go hurrying, and the white moon beats, Stood the great Bell Tower, fronting seas and skies– Fronting the ages, drawing all mens eyes; Rooted like Teneriffe, aloft and proud, Taunting the lightning, tearing the flying cloud.
It marked the hours for Venice; all men said Time cannot reach to bow that lofty head; Time, that shall touch all else with ruin, must Forbear to make this shaft confess its dust. Yet all the while, in secret, without sound, The fat worms gnawed the timbers underground.
The twisting worm, whose epoch is an hour, Caverned his way into the mighty tower, Till suddenly it shook, it swayed, it broke. It fell in darkening thunder at one stroke. The strong shaft, with an angel on the crown, Fell, ruining: a thousand years went down!
And so I fear, my country, not the hand That shall hurl night and whirlwind on the land; I fear not Titan traitors who shall rise To stride like Brocken shadows on our skies: These we can face in open fight, withstand With reddening rampart and the sworded hand.
I fear the vermin that shall undermine Senate and citadel and school and shrine— The Worm of Greed, the fatted Worm of Ease, And all the crawling progeny of these– The vermin that shall honeycomb the towers And walls of state in unsuspecting hours.
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October 10, 1916.
To the President of the United States, The White House, Washington, D. C.
7 H
Sir:
As an organization representing the Negro race and thousands of their friends we are deeply interested in the presidential election.
During the last campaign, believing firmly that the Republican Party and its leaders had systematically betrayed the interests of colored people, many of our members did what they could to turn the colored vote toward you. We received from you a promise of justice and sincere endeavor to forward their interests. We need scarcely to say that you have grievously disappointed us.
We find ourselves again facing a presidential campaign with but indifferent choice. We have waited for some time to gather from your writings and speeches something of your present attitude toward the colored people. We have thought that perhaps you had some statement or explanation which would account for the
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