the race question. I have referred merely to the earliest utter-
ances which represent the heroic period in the struggle for liberty
and reconstruction. They are sufficient to establish a fact which
does not require proof, because it is known to all that the Repub-
lican party has been the liberator and the friend of the negro,
and the Democratic party has been consistently throughout its
history his oppressor and his enemy.

        Political Recognition for Colored Men
  But let us look at some of the recent practical sides of the
question. Men are known by the company they keep and by
their actions. Declarations of principles are good, but they are
useless unless carried out by performance.  Whatever political
recognition the negro has obtained in the National Government
or under the administrations of the States has been received from
Republican authority. Under Republican Presidents the negro
always has been recognized in every department of the Federal
Government; lawyers have been appointed in the Department of
Justice; notable representatives of the race have held high office
in the Treasury Department; many of the important offices
in the District of Columbia have been reserved for prominent
colored men. All through the South the negro, who naturally
constitutes a large and important element of the Republican
party, has been generously considered in the appointment of
postmasters, collectors of customs and of internal revenue, and
in relation to other important offices.
  The stalwart sentiment of the Republican party throughout
the North never has lent ear to the plausible contentions of the
"Lily-White" element of Republicanism in the South. The great
majority of Republicans in National Conventions always have
upheld the principle of equality of rights regardless of race
or creed.
  In Pennsylvania and in other Northern States increasing rec-
ognition has been given to the race. It may be that it has not
always been as much as it should be, but it has increased with
the years and will develop in the years to come.
  You have had a capable member of your race in the Penn-
sylvania Legislature and in the Councils of the city of Philadel-
phia, in the various departments of the municipality and of the
State Government at Harrisburg.
                               8




			

OHS Archives/Library Pamphlet Collection

Progress of the Negro Race: Address at a Patriotic Race Service, Philadelphia