Evening star., 1898-11-19
THE NEGRO PROBLEM
Further Expression of Opinion on the Trou-
BILE in the Oarolinas
Some SugGestiOns as to Government,
PrOtectiOn-What the South
Has Done.

| The Star is still in the receipt of commu-
| nications en- the disturbances in North and
| South Carolira and the solution of the ne
| gro problem. Mr.. Thos l.. Jones writes:
| Since the recent elections resulting in
| an overwhelming victory for the republican
| party, and which ] regard as signal in
| dorsement of the able. sagacious, wise and
patriotic administration of President WI
liam Mckinley. much has been said, wise
and otherwise, touching the recent ou.-
| RACES upon my people in North and South
| Carolina.
! 1T is apparent to every observer that
| Russell of North Carolina and Ellerbee of
South Carolina can no longer be regarded
| the negroS friend. AS TO the governor
| Cf South Carolina. this is no news to the
| Afro-American; but every lover of liberty,
| law and order who believes in the prir
| ciples of republican form of government
| will justifably so condemn with righteous
| indignation the inaction and retcence of
| Gov Russell Of North Carolina. who, as
the chief executive of that state. charged
with responsibility and duty. backed by the
| state militia, to maintain law and order. to
protect life and property in the face of an
army of ruff1ans, who took the law into
| their own hands numbering. burning and
intimidating citizens, refused not Only TO
| ask protection of the federal arm, but
| cowardiy refused to allow the state militia
| the exhibition of the most dastardly out
| rage (by removing men from office elected
by the people before their term had eN-
pired) ever witnessed in free country.
'sThese -outrageS have no place in free
| country. The question paramount is, what
shall the negro do? Retaliation and protest
| have been suggested on the part of the
negro; others advise that he vote the demo-
cratic ticket As a close observer of our
history, | see no solution of the negro prob
| lem in either of these remedies. because to
adopt either is an acknowledgment on the
part of the negro % that he Is not an
American citizen in the sense of the genius
and spirit of our institutions. and 1t FUR
ther places the government which many ot
our race have given their lives to defend
in the hour of national peril in the coward
| ly position before the world of not being
able to protect citizens at home. much less
| to hold out protecting shield to millions
of savages far away in distant lands.
THE American people are morally bound
to correct these evils. The President, his
cabinet and the Congress of the United
States cannot fail to heed the cries OF the
millions of blacks of this land and their
| many white friends, who are watching the
hand of the clock as this nation marches
on to eternity.
The acquisition of new territory is out
of the question until these wrongs are
righted at home. The only solution to this
problem is that the south must understand
that it is part and parcel of this union;
that the negro is entitled to be republican
in the south, if he so desires, just as Croker
or Hill chooses to be a democrat at the
north.
In my judgment the negro will never be
safe in the south until the national gov
ernment takes up his case it did the
case of the outraged Cubans. Then, and
hot till then, will this nation be regarded
as sincere in its efforts to right the wrongs
of other nations
1.-The Star above all other papers should
be commended for the friendly editorials
in behalf of the oppressed. Ten millions of
negroes in this country applaud it's inter-
est in their cause, and pray its continuance
in the advocacy of fair play and Justice
What the South Has Done.
Mr.. P. j. OBrien thus speaks of what the
south has done for the negroes:
For the enlightenment of the American
people / would like to ask these colored
peoDle, whose stock in trade is abuse of
the south and whose sole ambition is to
hold an office, whether they are aware that
they are indebted to the southern people
for everything they have of any value? Ii
they are unable. through chronological in
sufficiency, to so understand the matter,
Will state, for their especial benefit, that
the southern people imported them, while
naked cannibals, from the swamps of Ar.
rica, put clothes on their bodies and shoes
en- their feet, taught them to speak the
English language and put the word of God
IN their hands that they might be saved.
All that the negro gave in return was his
inefficient slave labor The south, re-
suit of bringing them here, has retarded Its
future for 1000 years. Great, indeed. has
been the sacrifice of the south. The intelli-
gent people of America are beginning to see
that the dear old south has sacrificed too
much already without turning over her gov
ernment to this dense mass OF ignorant IN
CRATES Gods law says they shall not rule.
No human law can superSede 1t.
Real Cause of the Wilmington Riot.
An old subscriber and white man
writes as follows:
Even The Star seems to have been de-
ceived in regard to the true cause OF the
recent disgraceful riot in Wilmington, N. c.
There negro domination there
only a few negro policemen and magistrates
necessary under any rule for the purpose
of keeping order among the blacks. The
whole trouble was due to the desire of the
democratic politicians of the state to regain
their lost control of the state government,
and their decision that the only way to do
it was by keeping the republican negroes
away from the polls. In town 200 miles
from Wilmington, WintOn, no negro was
allowed to vote after 10 o'clock in the
morning. when the white mob assembled,
unless he voted the democratic ticket. The
color of the voter was not Objectionable
it was the ticket he voted-although the re-
publican ticket was made UP of the best
white men in the state and county. When
ever republican negro attempted to vote
he was set upon and beaten and when a
crowd of them gathered they were shot into
and killed and wounded. There is no
remedy unless it be time The white
republicans are numerous, but will not at
tempt to settle the matter by force, as they
are peculiarly quiet and law-abiding ele
ment of the community, and are mostly
farmers, but they do deserve to be under
stood by the people of the north and not be
classed as negroes or ignorant whites un-
worthy of decent and fair treatment.
The destruction of the building and
plant of the negro editor at Wilmington
was not the result of a righteous uprising
of the people. The Objectionable article
was written months ago and was kept
standing in every democratic paper in the
state throughout the campaign
Reina Mercedes Can BE Saved.
A dispatch from Santiago de Cuba yester-