The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-11-25
FROM RELy CLOVIS STANDPOINT
the Church Papers OF
the state Have to Say EditoriaIIy on
II, erent Revolution at Whining
tOn-I1ieir Assignment Of the Causes
Therefor

Therefor
lNorth Carolina Presbyterian
As reluctant as We are 70 discuss
anything in this paper that has a po-
ntical bearing, the events of last week
that are upon the hearts and tongues
OF all North Carolinians, are too i'm
portant in their causes and results to
be passed over in silence, and any dis
cussion Of them should be thorough.
Not only do our own people need to
be informed of the ethical aspect Of
the occurrences at Wilmington, but
they need to be defended from the
prejudlced u~tterances Of those who are
akin to us in race and feeling, but who
have thus far seemed unable to under
stand US, though there are signs that
the light is breaking upon the minds
and that sympathy for their own blood
is forcing it's way into the hearts, Of
our brethren of the north.
Wilmington is the largest city in
North Carolina. according to the last
census returns. 1t is a city of
churches and schools and Christian
homes. Its people are the equals in
birth and breeding, in refinement and
cultivation, of any in this broad land,
and we challenge n city of the same
size in America to show as large a pro-
portion of the people Of that class.
There is also a large negro pOpula-
ton in the city, slightly Outnumbering
the whites, yet paying but five per cent
of the taxes as they own but five per
cen of the property. The town is di-
vided into white and negro wards and,
until recently, the city was governed
by a board of aldermen, elected by the
people. On this board there was a
n~inety-five per cent of the property of
the city, the ward lines being run SO
as to take account of hat fact.
After the inauguration of the pres
ent governor and the assembling of the
last Legislature, the charter Of Will
mington, under which the city had
earned en- enviabIe reputation for good
order, under which the laws were fair
ly administered to all conditions and
classes of the people, was changed
it is an open secret, by the influence Of
the governor. Here is the law hat is
at the bottom of all the trouble:
"Private laws of North Carolina, 1897.
Be it enacted that there shall be elect
ed by the qualified voters Of each ward,
one aldermen only, and there shall be
appointed by the governor n alder
man for each ward, and the board OF
aldermen thus constituted, shall elect
a mayor according to laws declared to
be in force by this act
It is easy to see that this put the
government of the city into the hands
Of those elected from the negro wards
in combination with those appointed
by the governor, who owed his nomi-
nation and election to negro voters.
Result, number one, anarchy.
The law was held to be unconstitu-
tional and was tested in the courts.
Before the question was decided in
favor of it's cOnstitutiOnality, there
were three mayors in the city, each
claiming authority. There were two
boards of aldermen, each striving to
administer the laws. But the board
elected under the law which we have
quoted, and the mayor elected by this
board took possession.
The white people of North Carolina
are law-abiding. There are none who
can yield to just rule a more loyal sub
mission" But in any city in the
world, the half of the population that
owned five per cent of the property
would be styled the idle and criminal
class. In the city Of Carlisle, Penn
%sylvania, under the most favorable
conditions for the Improvement of the
negro population, DR.. Guy Carleton
Lee, of Johns Hopkins university
found SiXty-tWO per cent Of the male
population to be idlers and siXty-seven
per cent of the idlers to be criminals.
He says: Eighty per cent of negroes
born since 1865 are worthless, %inSOlent
1Oafers, immoral, criminal, a sorrow to
their parents and a curse to the COM
munity." This class took the reins of
government in Wilmington, and not
through having won the power them
selves. 1t was bestowed upon them by
the state government. The appOintive
places in the gift of the board of alder
men were chosen from this class. The
new government soon found itself in
capable of governing. 1t could not
control its own Lawlessness reigned
because the intelligence, the courage
the property and the virtue Of the city
had been defied in the appointment of
that government. The property Of the
city was at the mercy of thieves and
burglars and in~cendaries. White wo-
men could not walk on the streets in
daylight without the risk of insult and
assault by negroes, men and women.
A negro editor laid the fault upon our
white women of the south of hat un-
speakable crime. which has resulted
in the death Of the hapless victim
often. and in disgrace which is worse
than death always. And the white
people of Wilmington began to arm
themselves for the protection of their
lives and their property and the honor
of their wives and daughters. And
the patience with which they possess