The record-union., 1895-12-14
FAVORS AN EXODUS.
Bishop Turner Wants Two Million
Negroes to Go to Africa.
He Regards the Outlook for the Race
Here Unpromising-Hope
in Liberia.

| has the supervision of the churches OF
his connection. The presence in this
country at this time also of DR.. Edward
NJ. Blyden of Africa, who represented
Liberia at the court of ST. James, has
started anew the discussion of the sub
! ject of the emigration of the American
negro to Africa. DR.. Blyden is opposed
to the wholesale emigration of the
American negro to the dark CONT
nent," and says that hundred years
from now will be time enough for the
| American negro to consider the colo
nization of Africa. Bishop Turner
thinks differently, and says that now is
| the time, and that the future of the
negro in America is dark. The Bishop
has been instrumental in having many
colored families go from the Southland
| to Africa, and thinks as yet it is the
promised land for the negro. A Star
reporter visited Bishop Turner to-day,
and, after submitting to the Bishop
| Blyden'S views as to Africa and the
| American negro, asked him If he was,
| in the face of DR.. Blyden's views, still
| favorable to the wholesale emigration
OF the American negro to Africa.
He said: mo. 1 have never favored
| the wholesale emigration of the negro
|
| foolish and suicidal TO the race, if the
race was simple enough to embrace it.
The colonization Of 1O,000,0O0 negroes
! in any part of Africa in a mass would
entail vast suffering and dying. But l
| do favor a gradual emigration OF the
negro from this country to the republic
of Liberia as an objective point, be-
! cause it is the great negro republic.
| Black men control it. The President,
Cabinet, Generals, legislators and all
| that constitute the machinery of the
| Government and carry on its merchan-
| disc are negroes, or, rather, should
have said Africans. This is a vast do
main, and it is one of the most interest
ing spots of the globe, and the only
place that has any form of national
organization where the American negro
could go and find a ready welcome and
b. man among men.
| When asked why he was so ardently
in favor of the emigration of the negro
| to Africa the Bishop said it was be-
| cause there was no manhood future for
the negro in America. Il see," he said,
| mo future for the negro here, and how
ANYBODY else can is a mystery to me.
He has no civil rights under the Gov
eminent; his enfranchisement is mere
! bagateIle and that soon will be gone.
He is disfranchised in Mississippi, and
in a few days will be disfranchiSed in
| South Carolina. Other States will fol-
low, and the General Government will
do nothing about it. And instead OF
the condition of the negro as civil and
political factor getting better, it is
growing worse daily. Nothing less than
a nation controlled by negroes will
ever command the respect of the civ
ilized world. Just so soon as the negro
establishes a civilized country and does
| something of worth and merritt moth
ing more than to make a big speech on
his own territory-juSt so soon will the
world look at him and place some value
on his merit 1t will not require 10000,
600 negroes to do it, either. All / want
| is 100000 of self-reliant negroes to
| engage in the great work which en-
| braces the future hope ofthe negro, and
the other 5000, 900, if they choose, can
remain here and be servants and scull-
ions for the white folks, for that seems
| to be the ambition of a majority OF
them"
How about DR.. Blyden's ideas as to
| negro emigration to Africa? was the
next question submitted to the Bishop,
and he replied: "Dr. Blyden believes
that small emigration, even at the
present time, will do no harm, but he
thinks anything like an exodus should
be deferred for a hundred or two years,
when all of the old slaves and their de-
scendants for a few generations shall
have died out and more independent
and race-admiring generation shall
have been born and raised up. He be-
lieves that the American negro is too
much tainted with desire to get away
| from his own race. In short, too anx-
ious to be white, and that they would
not be controlled by one another. But i
| believe that the very thing that DR..
Blyden complains of now will be worse
a hundred years hence. If our chill
| dren's children are born and raised up
under the impression that to be black
is a disgrace-as they will be in this
country-the same condition of things
will exist then as now.
THE American negro has not as much
race pride now as he had when he was
first emancipated, and it will not in
crease under present environments.
! There is no great conflict between us
as to the two positions. The conflict is
as to the time that the work should be
| begun | believe that now is the time,
and that this Nation should put its
hands in it's pocket to help us, while DR..
Blyden believes that the movement
should not take definite form for hun
dred years.
do YOU mean that the General Gov
eminent should defray the expenses
which would be incident to the trans
portation of the negro to Africa?"
Il do. 1 mean that all who desire to
go should be assisted by the General
Government This Nation owes the
negro $40 600, 100000 for actual serv-
ices rendered during the 246 years he
was in slavery. And instead of trying
to lynch us to death, trying to Jim Crow
car us to death, trying to disfranchise
us to death. and uncivil right US to
death, and subjecting us to q thousand
other forms of death and degradation, it
ought to put some steamships between
here and Africa and let all who want to
60 go to Africa free"
How much would it cost to carry all
of the negroes who desire to go to
Africa"
TT would cost $20,000,00O. At least
100000 negroes are ready to leave for
Africa at moments notice. and so
| each would meet the cost of actual eX-
penses for transportation. Very few
| would go without enough to SubSiSt on
until they could raise something. And
these that had nothing could be en-
plcyed to work for those who had some
thing. The Liberia Government will
gladly give every married couple
| twenty five acres of land who will go
and settle OH it, or land could be bought
from 20 cents to $40 an acre, if they
were dissatisfied with the location of
the land given. Washington Star.
To those who are employed and busy,
time flies with great rapidity. Life is
| tedious only to the idle. Nothing is
more monotonous than the ticking of
a clock to him who has nothing to do
| but listen to it.--Anon.
/ Success is full of promise till men get
it, and then it is as last years nest
from which the bid has flown.-H. w
Beecher.