Mr. J. Sella Martin was next introduced. He considered this an hour of humanity and reconciliation because the Fifteenth Amendment had made it unnecessary for white men to hate colored people any longer. When the war first broke out and it was actually waged to perpetuate the Union with slavery, he felt no interest in it and actually rejoiced when the Federal troops were defeated at Bull Run. But when the abolition of slavery was declared the colored man could shoulder a musket and help the Government. There is no longer any hatred of color, we can weep over the death of a white man as readily as we can over that of one of our own race. He had looked with pity upon the white man who had felt compelled to give him a whole seat in a car and rejoiced that the Fifteenth Amendment had put an end to his sufferings. Now that you have the ballot the white man must set down beside you to ask for it [laughter] and soon all these prescriptive seats will be done away with. Speaking of the emotional character of the negro, his love of religion and music and poetry, he said that as the negro could not love man he must love God, and it naturally followed that his affections went to music and poetry.

You may pick up any hundred colored men in the South and you can't get them to go against the Republican party, their sense of gratitude is too strong. If you could find them, the other ninety would be ready to lynch them. If the white men will only stand by their party and principles as we will, the South will be regenerated and blossom as the rose.