The evening times., 1898-11-28
Booker Washington

The influence of Professor Booker T
! Washington at the present time is what
may be called xuaordinary His whole
career partakes OF that quality No
man in the history of the Republic has
started from so Low point in the social
scale and attained so high a place Be-
ginning life without money, friends, po-
sitiQn. or education. ne has come nearer
to solving the race problem in the South
than any other man wko has yet at
tempted the task. Others have contend
ed that when cOlored men of property
and education wished TO vote they
should he allowed To do so; this man
has set himself to the work of enabling
them TO gain property and education,
that they may share in the develop
ment of the South. The most remark
able thing in his work is that it is un-
questiGnably successful. 1t has the ap-
proYal Of every Southern newspaper
and Of nearly all the people OF influence
in the South. 1t might be expected,
therefore, that whatever he might have
10 say on the race riots in the Carolinas
would be listened to with attention.
What he does say is this: That too
much emphasis has been placed by the
negro on politics and the holding of
office and not enough on the necessity
Of gaining education and property. His
advice is that the political question be
put aside for a time, until the negroes
Of the South have made it evident to all
behclders that they are fitted TO hold Of
fee. In short, he advises the colored
man to bend before the wind, to be pa
tient, TO wait till his rights come to him
instead Of trying TO seize them by force
Since the South has always contended
that all the trouble of the race question
arose from the granting of political
rights TO the negro, this advice would
seem to dispose of the entire difficulty.
If The negro Of the South is willing to
give up all his political pretensions, and
work hard, and become a useful, tax
paying citizen, furnishing his share of
the labor and money needed for the
successful development of the Southern
States, there is certainly no reason why
anyone should object to his presence.
The right will be on his side, that is
certain, as long as he follows this ad-
vice, and that must always be a tre-
mendous, though only half-recognized
force. There was never yet race or
nation which wronged another which
did not in the end suffer doubly for that
wTongdoing. The question which has
is simply this: Should the negro give
up the rights which are legally his. or
should he be deprived of those rights.
on the ground of eXpediency? Wash
ington appears to think that he should
yield TO the force of circumstances, in
the hope that he may in time gain con-
cessions by such yielding which he
could never win by force. Other leaders
declare that whatever ground is now
given up viii never be regained, and
counsel their people to stand firm, and
not To compromise. Which will be
done?
1t seems to the impartial observer that |
the negro himself. if allowed TO develop |
along his own lines, will eventually |
solve this much discussed problem If |
he is willing, for the sake of peace, to |
lGitSo privileges gwen MN Dy Ine FIJI |
tcenth Amendment, he should certainly |
be given all possible chance to become |
a useful citizen. If he is not to be al
lowed in white theaters, restaurants,
hotels, libraries, and railway cars, on the
plea that social equality will be estab-
lished, he should be allowed to achieve
such industrial independence that he
can have his own accommodations.
paid for by his own money. He should
not be refused work on account of the
color of his skin, nor should he be for
hidden to own land if he has money to
buy it. If kept illiterate, poor, degrad-
ed, and under conditions which foster
there is no power on earth
DR. in heaven which can prevent the
race from being menace 10 the entire
South. If allowed to develop along in
iustrial lines, to cultivate their own
and, work at trades, establish factor
es, and make money, the negroes will
De able to pay the salaries of their own
lergymen and educators. and like other
aces under the same conditions in the
history of the world, will become an