Page:The Afro-American Press.djvu/298

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THE AFRO-AMERICAN PRESS.

most humble hut. It is related, that on one occasion when Mr. Chase called on President Cleveland, he showed him a copy of The Bee, in which he (Chase) had said that in consideration of the number of outrages perpetrated in the South upon the Afro-Americans by the whites, it would cost the lives of millions to inaugurate Grover Cleveland, if elected. Mr. Chase did not deny being the author of the article. Although Cleveland was elected and inaugurated without any bloodshed, and Chase supported in a measure his administration, yet he received his discharge a few weeks afterward, at the instance of the president and Secretary of War Endicott, from the position he held in the government printing-office.

He has since given his whole time to The Bee, which stings in no uncertain manner. His fearless statements have more than once brought him into the courts of justice, having been five times indicted for libel, and acquitted in every case except one, in which he was fined fifty dollars. In these experiences he has a record not held by any one else of the fraternity.

Mr, Chase delights in newspaper controversies, and seldom, if ever, comes out of one worsted. His Bee is known by every Afro-American editor, correspondent, or writer, and while many do not agree with him, they all admire the steadfastness with which he holds to what he thinks is right. One has said of Mr. Chase: "He will never give up, as long as there is a fighting chance."

He has read several papers at the various press conventions, the most noted of which was the one on Southern Outrages, which was favorably commented upon by the Philadelphia Press. He is now historian of the National Press Convention,

It is our hope that The Bee will live long, and its editor continue to be honored as a true specimen of the Afro-American journalist.