The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-19
THE CAUSE OF THE RACE TROU.
RLES

Of New York city at their mass meeting
ON last Thursday night in which they
| protest against the failure Of the govern
/ ors of North Carolina. and South Carolina
to protect the negro citizens during the
| recent political troubles in those states,
and call on the federal government to give
negro citizens the protection which they
claim they make no reference to the real
cause of the troubles. In fact, they ignore
the cause. They cannot help knowing
that the federal government cannot give
them what they ask, except temporarily.
1t has been trying to do what the negroes
ask for more than a quarter of a century,
and there are no indications that it has
been successful. or is likely TO be-
The real cause of the trouble Is race
antagonism. The white race says that the
negro shall not RUE. The superior race
viii not submit 60 the domination of the
inferior race. The only thing the federal
government can do, is to Investigate riots
when they occur or to hold the negroes in
office by superior force. 1t tried the supe-
rior force plan once and the country
would not sustain It. Therefore we say
that the federal government cannot do, ex-
cept temporarily, what the negroes want
done.
1t is just as well to look the situation
squarcly in the face. Before the political
race troubles will end the cause of them
must be removed. There isn't thinking
man, North or South who doesn't know
that this is true. Then why not strike at
the cause instead of adopting make
shifts? The intelligent negroes are
well aware that the political troubles be-
tween the races will continue as long as
they use their numbers to become domi-
nant in municipal, county and state af-
fairs. The white people, being the supe-
rior race, and having nearly all the intelli-
gence and wealth, will not submit to the
domination of the negroes. Some of the
states, notably Mississippi Louisiana and
South Carolina, have lessened the friction
between the races by adopting consutu-
tons which disfranchise a large portion
of the negroes. In these states the race
troubles are much less frequent than they
We're.
The leaders of the negro race are not
satisfied, however, to let well enough
alone one of the resolutions adopted by
the New York mass meeting calls on con-
gress to reduce the representation in that
body of the states named to the extent to
which their negro vote has been suppress
ed. They want to punish the white people
Of those states for depriving portion Of
their race of the ballot. The fact that the
action of those states has made race
troubles less frequent does not have any
weight with them They want to domi-
nate, and unfortunately they do not use
their power wisely when they succeed in
getting control of public affairs. AS a
rule, they are aggressive and offensive.
All the testimony goes to show that such
was the case at Wilmington, ~ c. When
they get into positions of power they can
not help showing their antagonism to the
white people. This applies to the ignorant
negroes rather than to the intelligent
ones, and the vast majority of them are
ignorant. The ignorant masses, presum-
ing on the fact that men of their race
are in places of power give expression to
their feeling of antagonsm to the white
people.
In a strong article few days ago Henry
Watterson, editor of the Courier Journal,
said that in his opinion the President can
NOT hold himself wholly guiltless from re-
sponsibility for the recent race troubles in
the Caroiinas. He said that if the Presi-
dent wanted to experiment with the negro
as an office holder he should undertake a
few test cases at the North where the
negro population is not so dense, and the
race friction therefore less acute 1t is a
question whether the President is
DESTROYS of making any expert
meuts with negro Office holders.
AS an intelligent man he knows that there
is just as much prejudice against the
negro at the North as at the South. In
fact he probably has reason to know that
the prejudice is stronger at the North If
it were not so more negroes would find
homes in the North. The most of those
who so there very soon return. The ac-
ton of Gov. Tanner in shutting out Ala
bama negro miners from that state, shows
the feeling in respect to negroes in Hi
! nois. Let negroes emigrate to any one OF
the Northern states in such numbers. as &c
threaten the supremacy of the white peo-
pie and there would be an exhibition OF
race prejudice such as this country has
not yet seen.
| No, President Mckinley is not expert
meuting with negro office holders. He is
simply playing politics 1t is doubtful il
he considers 1t wise to appoint any negroes
| to office, but he realizes the necessity o.
| doing so if he expects to secure a renomi
nation He knows that the great majority
of the delegates from the Soutf
! to the next Republican conven
| ton viii be negroes. and that no
| one of them would help him to get
denomination if he refused to appoint
negroes to Office in the Southern states