The New York herald., 1879-09-13
SOCIAL SCIENCE.
IMPORTANT PAPERS READ Yesterday AY-FRED
DOUGLASS ON THE NEGRO E1oDUs-AS E'-

DOUGLASS ON THE NEGRO EzoDUs-AS E;'-
rHUsIAsrlc SESSION
SARATOGA, n. y, Sent ,. 1879.
large audience assembled at the session Of tho
Social Science Association and hear Frederick
Douglass speak OF the negro exodus irom the South.
and there was great disappointment when it an
nounced that Professor Francis Wayland would read
the paper sent by Mr.. Douglass, who had been un-
able to attend.
MI. DOUGLASS PAPER.
The negro, long deemed to be too indolent and
stupifto discover and adopt any rational measure
to secure and defend his rights as a man. may now
be congratulated upon the telling contradiction
which he has recently and strikingy given to this
whitening disparagement and reproach He has dis
covered and adopted measure which may assist
very materially in the solution Of some OF the yital
problems involved in his sudden elevation from
slavery to freedom. and from chattlehood to man
hood and citizenship He has shown that Mississippi
can originate more than plan and that there
is possible plan for the oppressed as well
for the oppressor. He has not chosen to
copy the example of his would-be enslavers.
II his credit that he has steadily refused to re.
sort to those extreme OF repression and
taliation which the cruel wrongs he has suffered
might have tempted less docile and rorgivng race.
He has not initiated the plan OF the oppressed
tenant who sneaks in ambush and shoots his land
lord, as in Ireland nor the example of the Indian.
who meets the invader of his hunting ground with
scalping knife and tomahawk; he has not learned
his lesson from the freed serfs of Russia and
organized assassination against tyrant princes and
mobiles; has he copied the example of his own
race in st. Domingo who taught their French op-
pressors by fire and sword tho danger of goadng too
lar the ''energy that slumbers in the black mans
arm" On the contrary. he has adopted simple.
lawful and peaceabe measure. It is emigration.
THE EFFECTS OF AN EXODUS.
Only few years OF non-tllage would be required to
owls of desolate wilderness. From this
dition, shocking for q Southern man to con-
template 1T is now that nothing less
powerful than the naked iron OF tho
negro can save her. For h,m as Southern laborer
there is no competitor or substitute. The thought
OF filling his place by any other variety of the
human tamiy will be found utterly impracticable.,
can drive him from the sugar and cotton fields
of Louisiana and Mississippi. They would certainly
could be induced, which they cannot, to try the
experiment Nature itself in those States comes
ties and enables him to exact conditions
from those who would unfairly treat. cheat
upon the toughest and fintest kind of labor, the
climate OF the South makes such labor unlnviting
and harshly rcpulsive to the white man. de breads
1t. shrinks from it and refuses it. He shuus the
burning of the fields and seeks the shades tho
verandas on the contrary. the negro walks; iaoors
apology for slavery was based upon q knowledge
OF this tact. 1t said that the world must
have cotton and sugar. and that only the negro
could supply this want. and that he could be in
duced to do it only under the ''benctcent whip" OF
some bloodthirsty Legree The last part OF this ara
gument has boon happily disposed of by the largo
crops OF these productions since emancipation but
the first part of it stands firm, unassaed and un-S
assailable. 1t served him we'll years ago when in
the bttercst extreme of his destituton. But for it
he would have perished when he dropped out OF
slavery. 1t saved him then and will save him again.
Emancipation came to hm surrounded by exceed
lngly unfavorable circumstances. 1t was not the,
choice or consent Of the people among whom he
lived. but against death struggle on their parsh
to prevent it.
THE cArsE OF TT
Adopts in political trickery and duplcity, who
will never go straight to point when they can
go crooked explain the exodus as q cunning scheme
to force q certain nomination upon the repub-
lican party in 1880. 1t does not appear how such
effect is to follow such cause. For il
the negroes to leave the South, the advocates
OF the exodus tell and settle in the North where
all their rights are protected the country need not
| trouble itself about securing President whose
chief Recommendation is supposed to be his will
and power to protect the negro in the South. and
tho nomination is thus rendered unnecessary by tho
| success Of the measure which made it necessary.
The paper then touched on the arguments pro and
con as to the effects OF tho exodus on the politics OF
the southern States and stated that il the republ
make a solid North against solid south they would
md themselves greatly disappointed.
At the close Of the reading of Mr. Douglass paper
r. l. Greener. president OF the law school of How
ard University, Washington, replied to it. Ha
quoted from the Irish land tenure to show similar
conditions in the South Injustice and the abuse OF
privilege confined to one Capital
trenches on the rights of labor. rich poor the
world over Yet no one had right to shun these
questions refuse to suggest remedy.
Mr.. W. A. Hokly. of Boston. next read paper
"Co-operative Distribution. He began fol-
lows:-"Whie we cannot 90 the length OF those who
demand that accumulated wealth shall be forcibly
taken from those who possess it, may well per-
NIT ourselves to ask whether steps cannot be taken
and forces set at work whose tendency will be to
prevent the further accumulation OF large sums OF
money in few hands. by enabling the wage class
particularly to mako their earnings, small though
they be- further than they do in the purchase Of
the necessaries of life.'
He gave an account of the Rochdale plan as ths
best, whore shareholders only have vote,
matter how many shares they hold. and said it was
preferable to allowing vote each share.
THE AFTERNOON SESSION.
At the afternoon session paper by w. L. Ford, on
debt Paying American Cities, read also
by Mrs. Langhorne of Virginia "Colored
Schools" In the Department of Social Economy.
the report of Secretary I. d. Sanborn read. \
paper by c. L. Brace. of New York. on the ''Care OF
Poor and Vicious Children" also read. He ad-
vocated sending them West. This was followed by
paper by the Rev. T. X. Fessenden of Connecticut,
ON 'Institution Life for Children He thinks
home in institution is better than no home.
debate followed. during which Ex-Governor Bagley.
of Michigan gave account of various State insi-
tutions there. Mrs. Leonard. of Springfield, Mass.