DECEMBER 27, 1912
her husband back, but the colonel
refused to sell him. We are not told
whether Dilsejr found another or
moaned her poor heart away.
Near Aberdeen, Md., Nat Butler,
negro, owned a small farm and
bought and sold negroes for the
southern trade. He became notorious
for tricky deals and narrowly
escaped being murdered by slave
victims.
As evidence that negroes were not
all in sympathy with the emancipa
tion proposition here is this from
Mr. Wilson's collection of incidents:
"At the outbreak of the civil war
there was in Norfolk, Va., an indus
trious negress who was a huckstress
in the market and owned her hus
band. He was an ardent succession
ist and was in full sympathy with the
firing on Port Sumter. After Nor
folk was evacuated and was occupied
by the federal forces, he was loud in
his expression of southern views and
was at one time in the chain bang
because of opinions obnoxious to the
military. No slave trader was ever
more convinced that the negroes
were made for slavery."
Under conditions of a century ago
white persons were occasionally
made slaves of negroes, according to
evidences obtained by Mr. Wilson.
Ho says:
"An example of the purchase by
free negroes of two families of Ger
mans who had not been able to pay
their passage from Amsterdam to
Baltimore and were sold for their
passage money to a term of labor,
is given in a volume issued in 1818
in Stuttgart. It contains letters
written in 1817 addressed from
Baltimore to the Baron von Gagern,
minister plenipotentiary to the diet,
in Frankfort-on-the-Main. The Ger
mans of Baltimore were so outraged
by this action that they immediately
got together a purse and bought the
freedom of these immigrants. An
early law of Virginia is aimed at the
same thing, and forbids negroes or
Indians to buy 'Christain servants,'
but permits them to purchase those
of their own 'nation.' "
Here is given some further his
tory of particular interest:
"Robert Gunnell, a free-born, full
blooded African Virginian, married a
slave wife, but bought her of her
master before their first child was
' born, so becoming the legal owner
of her and all her children and of
their daughter's children. He with
all his family; was a resident of the
'District of Columbia, during the civil
war, when slavery in the district
was abolished. All slave owners
there received compensation for each
hIjivp Gunnell received $300 each
for his wife, for each of his children
and for all the living children of his
daughter eighteen in all. Except
for a short time during the civil war
he lived at Langley, Fairfax county,
Virginia, and died there in 1874.
"Also, in the District of Columbia,
Sophia Browning bought her hus
band's freedom for $400, from the
proceeds of her market garden, and
she was in turn, purchased by him.
Alethia Tanner purchased her own
freedom in 1818, for $1,400 and that
of her sister Laurena Cook and five
children, in 182.6. At the emancipa
tion in the district, April 16, 1862,
one negro received ? 2,1 68 for ten
slaves, another $&$2 for two, another
$43.80 for one, .and' another $547.50
for one, while from the $4,073 placed
to the credit of the Sisters of the
Visitation of Georgetown, $298.75
was deducted by" Tgnatius Tighlman
toward the purchase; pf the freedom
of his family."--Edgar Ellsworth
Owen in Chicago; Tribune.
The Commoner.
15
to succeed. Had Mr. Bryan reached
,n summit of success in 1896 in
1900 or in 1908 his hold upon the
hearts of a great people might not
have been as strong as it is today.
He is greater in defeat than his
rivals in victory. Many of Mr.
Bryan's theories of government may
be wrong; his high sentiment may
overwhelm saner and more conser
vative methods, but his heart is
right.
Last June ho entered the republi
can national convention in Chicago
a newspaper reporter, occupied a
seat in the press row and brushed
elbows with the "thought provokers"
as one of them. As he passed down
the aisles on his way to the press row
it was said that his appearance
brought forth as much applause as
the mention of the names of the con
vention's candidates for the nomina
tion for the presidency.
Men grown old in political ma
nipulation and rich as a result of
it shook their heads and said that
Bryan was foolish. Ho was "violat
ing a precedent held sacred for
years." It made no difference to the
commoner. His reports of the con
vention were read by hundreds of
thousands of his friends.
When the republican convention
was at an end a transformation was
wrought. This man in the press row
was in Baltimore attending the con
vention of his party. There he held
the hopes of millions of voters in the
hollow of his hand. The calm, pleas
ant man in the press row at Chicago
was now the grim and determined
warrior against intrenched millions
of capital. And Mr. Bryan won his
battle.
It is a nleasure to nay a tribute to
a man of this character. An honest,
lovable, kindly, God-fearing Ameri
can citizen. Our ideas may flow in
different and divergent channels in
matters political but there can be but
one acclaim for a man who has lived
the life of a Bryan.
His address in the Temple theater
recently came like a benediction
when compared with the heated cam
paign speeches of the present day.
His harshest expression came when
he said that to his sorrow both Taft
and RooBevelt were calling each
others "liars." He added, with a tan
talizing smile: "I believe they are
both truthful men."
It has been said that he is the hero
of ten million school children in the
United States. If this is true it is
enough. The presidency holds no
higher honor than this.
May Bryan never reach the presi
dency. His best friends hope he
never will. Today he s known as
the grandest American of two cen
turies. Official position would place
in his hand the weapons of right
and wrong. He mieht use the latter
and in the twinkling of an eye
that great maker and unmaker of
men public opinion might change.
MR. BRYAN IN ' COLORADO
Following is an editorial from the
Colorado Springs Gazette, a republi
can paper: WMHaril J. Bryan is a
great man not because, of his suc
cess, but rather because of his failure
FEDERALIST, WIG AND REPUB
LICAN EXITS
With the overthrow and disper
sion of the forces of the once power
ful republican party now so apparent
even to those who vainly strove to
preserve the organization, there
naturally arises a comparison of the
Results of November 5th with those
of the last days of battle of the
federalist and the whig parties.
The federalist party ended its
existence in the campaign of 181 b,
when its candidates for President
and vice president, Rufus King, of
Npw York and John E. Howard, of
Maryland were defeated by James
Soe, of z DanlGl D
TnmDkins. of New York.
The entire electoral vote of the
Tinion at that time was 221, and of
?hese Monroe, democrat, for presi
dent and Tompkins, democrat, for
vfee president, each received 183,
while Rufus King received 34, made
up of 3 votes from Delaware, 9 from
Connecticut and 22 from Mnssnchu
setts. One vote from Delaware and
three from Maryland were not out
either for president or vice presi
dent at this election.
This was the closing battle of the
federalists, and they pasted away
forever when they could hold but
three states, casting a total of 34
votes.
The seventeenth presidential elec
tion, that of 1S$2, witnessed the
downfall and departure from politi
cal life of the Whig party, but "tnps"
were sounded over that organisation
when it controlled for fJeneral Scott
42 electoral votes and carried the
states of Massachusetts, with 13
electoral votes; Vermont, 5; Ken
tucky, 12, and Tennessee, 12. Frank
lin Pierce, democrat, received the
votes of 254 electors, the total of
the electoral college that year being
29G votes.
General Scott received, as above,
only 42 electoral votes to 254 that
Pierce was given, but on the popu
lar vote Scott had 1,380, 57G to
1,001,474 for Pierce.
His comparatively largo popular
vote was not productive of electoral
results In the states.
The passing of the republican
party with its eight votes out of a
total electoral voto of R31, mado ft
record of fighting to thfc last ditch by
a political orgunlxation, but Its man
ner of disappearing, largely through
absorption of its strength by a now
organ ixation in opposition to the
democratic party, was In marked
contrast with the total disappearance
of the federalists in 1S20 and the
straight contest between whig and
democratic parties In 1852,
Senator Dixon should have In
eluded 1 SIC and 1S52 with 1856 and
1 SCO when he noted similarities of
1012 and prior campaign?. Clncin
natl Enquirer.
FAI6K WITNESS
"What," asked the Sunday school
teacher, Is meant by bearing falst
witness against one's neighbor?"
"It's telling falsehoods about
them," said one small maid.
"Partly right and partly wrong'
said the toacher.
"I know," said another little girl,
holding her hand high in the air. "It's
when nobody did anything and some
body went and told about it." Llp-plncott's.
Fields are won by those who be
Hovo in winning T. W. Hlgglnson.
OVER HALF A MILLION GAIN IN
LAST THREE MONTHS
Gnln for September. 1012 S201,nZ-l.2I
Gnln for October, VJ12 :3,K45.-iQ
Gnln for November, 1012 100,37-UJl
Total Gnla for lnt DO dny sr0ri,M3.02
Thcro 1ms never been a tlmo In the history of the shoe business wlin manu
facturer and merchant were more sorely tempted. owing to the high prlco of
leather, to sacrlflco quality In order to maintain prlco. Thcro has novcr been
a time when our policy adopted years and years ago was no Important to mer
chants as now. It is. "Keep the Quality Up," and keep the quality up vtf
will so long as we make shoes.
HAMILTON, BROWN SHOE COMPANY
ST. LOUIS, HUSTON.
Handy Sewing Awl
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A Limited Special Offer
tlon tS The CommoAer and The American Homestead (the popular farm
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Address, THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Nebraska
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in
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