property-holders than against the whites, of similar
deficiencies, the conditions are there and can only be fought down by
intelligently meeting the requirements, whatever they may be. No
educated Negro is refused the right of suffrage by any constitutional
enactment. No property-owner is made to feel himself outlawed by
virtue of suffrage restrictions.

The moral is plain. Get education. Be thrifty and economical. Get
lands and money. Get character and personal culture. These qualities,
united, pass as good coin in any state North or South. They go far to
minimize the disadvantages of color everywhere. Without them no race
is strong anywhere. They are potent in allaying the race feeling
aggravated by too many of us, through voting under the leadership of
scheming politicians who are opposed to the best interests of the
masters of the Southern soil, and who have no use for black men except
on election day. In the matter of suffrage, I would suggest that the
black voter place himself in touch with his white neighbors. The
interests of each are identical. It is of far greater importance to
the Negro to have the friendship, respect and confidence of his
next-door neighbor than who shall be President of the United States.
It is of more moment to him who shall be sheriff or member of the
state legislature and city council than who shall go to Congress. This
suggests that the Negro use clear judgment in casting his ballot, and
that he use that instrument to identify himself with the law-abiding
and progressive forces about him. The Negro's natural home will ever
be in the South. The careful exercise of suffrage in promoting the
interests of that section, eliminating partisan bitterness and
vengeful spirit, will be one of the most powerful agencies in
maintaining and strengthening friendly relations between the races
there.

Further, let the Negro make for himself a place in the business world.
Let him develop hotels, groceries, stores and shops of all kinds, thus
affording employment to our competent young men and women. Let him
perfect himself in the useful arts; till the soil, and become an
indispensable factor in the uplift of the community which he calls
home. The farmer, the artisan, and industrious wage-earner form the
backbone of racial progress, for they support the church, are patrons
of the schools, and are steady conservers of public morals. From this
firm center, a lever is furnished which holds up the house of