The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-05-19
TILE eNenRo pRoBl EN-.

WASHINGTON, May 1s-At a meeting ct
the Metropolitan A. NJ. 4. church IN Ibis
city, held for the purpose OF discussing TIE
race problem, ex-senator =. h Bruce, N
the course of short address. said that
the negro in this country occupied &C
anomalous position. He was freeInap, .
citizen. and, as far as the organic law Was
concerned, q common sharer IN the grand
civilization Of the country. But he lap0fs
under the Disadvantages involving the
abridgment of his most sacred rights,
These are referable mainly to an unjlst
estimate of him as a man.
Mr. Bruce said that the moral and Intel,
lectual character of the black race attestRd
their ability to take in and maintain civil
ization. When they were freed 1t was ss-
serted that they would not maintain them
selves; that they would be indolent, tar-
bulent licentious and a vexatious PUBIC
burden What had they dones Their ID
Dor upholds and undergirds the Industries
of nearly dozen great states. 1t was sat0
they would retrograde morally. This tie
speaker, with some warmth and feeilGE,
denounced as utterly false and untr1e,
The colored people, he knew. were not as
moral as they should be, but for that met
ter, no people were. But to deny the MOO.
ern development of this people was 20
naunt the lie in the face Of every man WIG
has given this matter any investigatlo4:
1t was said by the opponents OF THIS
people that they could not be educated Or
aroused from their mental letharsy. Let
the schools and colleges throughout fts
land and the men and women who haYe
attained distinction, said Nj. Bruce, a4-
swer this prediction.
The proposed colonization scheme was
impracticable. After seventy years OF
hard work the coloniZationists had only
succeeded in sending 10000 negroes TO
Africa. The negro would not go. He is
here, and here to stay; to contribute his
share to the development OF this country,
and to exercise the prerogatIVes or The
American citizen.
In this Mr. Bruce said be differed from
the Indian who sullenly refused to accept
our civilization, and was on this account
being slowly eZterIninated; different from
the Chinese, who refused to give up has
Orientalism, and was now almost prQ-
hibited.
1t is here on his native soil, under his
flag, that the negro must solve the race
problem for himself. He has accomplished
much. said Mr. Bruce, but must accom-
plish more. He is gradually pushing hlp4-
self into every field of activity, but must
not be content TO follow theindustries that
simply give him wages He must make
greater progress and aspire to a more psr-
feet manhood. Already. said Mr. BRUCE,
his intellectual development has cen=
founded his enemies, but he must CON
tipue to intermeddle with all knowledge
and learn the lessons yet unlearned, and
do the work that remains undone.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. May 1S.-At the
Virginia Baptist State convention. repre-
senting 200, 600 colored Baptists, Dr.. Mo
Vickers, of Toronto, Canada, in urging the
raising OF fund of So 900 for two colored
seminaries. drew gloomy picture Of the
colored people of the south, asserting that
they were worse off now in many sections
than they were thirty-fve years ago. He
then spoke of what the American Baptist
Home Missionary society desired to do for
the people of the state. Ia a reply to DR..
MoVicars, the Rev. J. N. Arnistead (col-
ored) of Petersburg, Va, said:
Il am opposed to any more such help
from the north. ] would say to the home
mission board of New York, put your
money somewhere else and let us help our
selves. If we are ever 20 stand alone now
is the time to do so, but as long as our
northern brethren rock the ,radle for US
we will be children, and forty years hence
we shall be as dependent on northern help
as now"
The speech created stir and provoked
long and heated discussion.