The age-herald., 1897-09-23
Mir. Mckinley In Trouble.

Some of Mi. McKin1sy's judicious re- publican friends aIe advising him to go slow in the matter of appointing negro officelIolders. Just what the president will do very few know, but it is said by one of his intimates fapat he has no intention of appointing many negro post masters in the south. He knows that such appointments stir up sbrifs and trouble, and his friends claim that Gle desinas to avoid such unplaasa.t less. In a recent letter on the subject Wal
 ter Wellman, Washington correspondent
 of the Chicago Times Herald says:
 That the southern people are not iil-
 disposed toward tho offlceseeking black
 man is shown by the fact that no such
 prejudice exists against hl5 hold ng other
 federal offices. It is oE.y as postmaster
 that fba is tabcoed. While The whites
 are naturally not enthusiastic over negro
 collectors of customs collectors of inter
 nal revenue or United States marshais.
 they raise alo such storm of objection
 in such instances as they do against a
 negro postmaster The racial and social
 traditions which lead up to fhs peeul- -af
 prejudice are deep-rooted and of long
 standing They cannot be overturned and destroyed dn day. If they are ever to disappear thsir removal will have to be effected by natural means, by the slow movement of changing and devtel- oping public opinion, not by the irrta- ton and shock of unwelcome appodnt- ments These facts are recognized by the most thoughtful colored people, as we'll as by the whites.
 A well educated oolored man, Mir. Ly- ons. hopes to be appointed postmaster at Augusta No one pretends that he 0tn an he is not competent, or that his charac- ter is anything but good. Yet if ha is appointed there will be a storm in Au- gusta. "Lyons is one of the incest eoi- ored men know" said young white man from Augusta. "He is of good colfsd family; he is bright. honest, oapa- be. have known him for many years. am not ashamed to say we are friends. Rut if his is appointed postmaster l shall never go to the postofflce while he is there"
 A grcnnlnent republican senator who | has some influence at the White House | is said to have exclaimed: '"rhis preju- 1 dice against cofored postmasteIs is fool | Ash. and the prestder1 ought to go ahead l and by main force teach the southern l whites iJhat the time for such notions l has passed in this country. Bue the pres | ident does not entertain this view. The l great NapaleGn once thought Sunday a l useless ina aitutforl having its existence 1 only in the foolish habits of the paop'e RlE when he tried to strike it down he quickly discovered the task was too grssi5 for him. President McKinley will not tf'y to run counter to the trad tions of the southern people. He has appoint cd one or two negro pos.masilers. and he may apDoiIAt a few more, but in every section tlrere will be special reason and fun ipstie!caton in the character an1 fitness of the appoinaae. Bes'df s he ag- gnrgate number of such appointments will be very small, not enough to be worth getting excited about.
 MT. W'eiinan does not touch the merits
 of tho case. He skips airily from point
 to point and treats nlle whole business
 lightly. Still, he admits in another part
 of his letter thai. nar:hsrnsrs residing in
 the south agree with the whites of that
 section in opposing negro postmasters,
 and he intimates thal5 the south has
 handled the negro problem so humane1y
 and satisfactorily thar The prejud.ces of
 her people should be respected. Un-
 dolubtedly, the president is just now re-
 ceiving some very sharp rebukes about
 his policy from he bclaetr element of his
 party, and tu is quite likely that he will
 jectionable appointment.
 But he is not the man to abandon his
 purpose. He may wait a while, but
 sooner or 1a'ier he will appoint another
 batch of negro officials in the south His
 sympathies are with the old abolition,
 south-hating, northern Methodist repub-
 licans, and it takes long time to ellmi-
 nate the ''pizen" from their systems.