Evening star., 1898-11-18
THE NEGRO PROBLEM.
Some Further Replies to Prof. Kelly
Miller's Communications.


The Rev. S. Geriah Lamkins, in a COM
munication to The Star, taking exceptions
to the deductions of Prof. Kelly Miller is
of the opinion that Mr.. Millers" logic is de-
fective ard his argument, therefore, faulty,
and If this be true, the whole superstruc-
ture would remind us of beautiful house
built upon sandy foundation In the first
place, the professor states that despite the
wonderful transformations of thirty-five
years, this question Is TO nearer a salts
factory settlement than when Lincoln is
sued The emancipation proclamation His
solution Of the question is the moral, men,
tai and material improvement of the negro.
During this wonderful transformation of
which he speaks the negro has acquired
millions worth of property and demonstrat-
ed that under similar conditions his mental
capacity is equal to that of any other race.
OF this the learned professor is a striking
example. The thousands Of churches and
school houses and Christian homes tell us
that he is better off morally than he was
thirty-five years ago.
If the negro has done all this along the
lines suggested by the professor for the
solution of the question, is it not nearer
settlement than it was when Lincoln is
sued the emancipation proclamation?
In speaking of the episode of North Car
olina the professor tells us about the grav-
ity of the negro problem. He says: Kind
Providence has endowed the negro with a
patient. ng-suffe-ing, nCn-revengeful dis
position, which, to the self-aSSertiVe Anglo
Saxon. is simply inconprehenSible. The
| rows of insult, injury and outrases are alb
sorbed by the negro's generous nature and
rendered nugatory and harmless. On the
other hand, the Anglo Saxon forges them
into thunderbolts of wrath and hurlS them
back at the aggressor with the red hand of
vengeance Does he mean to tell that
F,,l
gressor, while the white man holds the
thGnderbot of wrath to hurl against him
with the red hand of vengeance-the lamb
advancing upon the lion?
" That the white man is the inevitable
ruler of the south no one any longer
doubts says the professor, and ne well
adds, that although the white race has
the power, it must prove its right to rule
by ruling right The statement that the
negro is not qualified to control in state,
town or county, is simply his opinion, to
which he has a right, but when ne says
that the equality of the races is impossible
he makes a statement that is very suscepti-
BILE of a construction which l do not think
he intended. If he means politically, fnan-
cially and socially, we agree with him; but
II he means that the white man is by ma
ture better than the negro, we demur. All
white men are not better than all negroes,
nor all negroes better than all white men.
Some white men are better than some ne
groeS, and some negroes are better than
some white men, in the sense that some
fruit, because of cultivation, is better than
some of its kind that has not been cuti-
waited. We are in full accord with the pro-
fessor in condemning the hypocrisy of the
! national government in going to war to pro-
tect humanity abroad, when it seems to
be unable or unwilling to protect its own
citizens at home. We are opposed to all of
the negroes of the south or anywhere else
remaining in the republican party. We are
equally opposed to all of them going over
to the democratic party for the reason that
Ina
other. The professors advice for them to
cease voting at all is still worse, for the
reason that 1t pours cold water upon the
fires of patriotism in the negros breast
He must learn to do other people-vote
according to the best interests of himself
and the people by whom he is surrounded
| The professor writes an admirable letter
but errs in drawing a universal conclu-
sion from a particular premise. The people
of Wilmington. both white and colored. rep
resent very small proportion of the peo-
pie of this country. If Wilmington was
sent up in a balloon and dropped in the
broad waters of the Atlantic not a wheel
in this great government would stop sin.
gle revolution.
Negro Domination Impossible.
H. A. Clarke. Washington correspondent
of the Defender, writes:
In recent publication of The Evening
Star / read an article on the negro aues-
tion,' by Prof Kelly Miller. Prof. Miller
was, no doubt, inspired to write on the.
negro by the breaking cut of the recent
race riots in North and South Carolina II
seems though the lawless political ele-
ment of the south has succeeded in convinc-
| ing the negro. as it has endeavored to con-
| vince the white people throughout the coun-
| try, that 1t fears negro domination"
The cry of negro domination" is a false
alarm. 1t is not negro domination" but
Republican domination that the southern
| politician fears. The lawless people of the
hn SnIi1
south" from the effects of republican enter.
| prise and capital. Although many of our
negro leaders have become the victims of
| the outcries of southern politicians the law
abiding white people of this country will
| not allow themselves to be mised by such
misrepresentation.
| How is 1t possible for the negro to domin.
| ate, when the executive, legislative and ju-
| dicial branches of the state governments
| of the south are absolutely controlled by
| white men?
Bntter Worthy Thanksgiving.