The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-06-23
LEARNING ABOUT THE NEGRO.

The Danville Register says the wal
with Spain has had the effect of learn-
ing the North a great many things
about the negro that they didn't
know before-or at least they were
slow to admit. He has shown him
self to them in certain phases of his
character which they now see for the
first time. And seeing and under
standing as they do they are not pre-
possessed as they were when the
colored brother existed in sentiment
as they beheld him at a distance.
Continuing it's observation the Regis
ter says:
When the war broke out (this war
with Spain, we mean) no one mag
ined that it would have any special
effect upon the political, social or re-
ligious status Of the negro in this
country, but there are already some
developments which indicate that it
may work very decided change in
certain Northern sentiments regard
ing the negro.
As usual, the negro is bringing the
trouble on himself, and is making
trouble for his Northern friends.
We, Of the South, are not giving our
selves much concern about it. We
know how to handle and manage the
negro, and Southern men in the army
are going to handle him and treat
him there just as they did at home,
and that way is the best for the
negro.
Our Northern friends, however, are
in trouble about the patriotic sold{o..
in black. The trouble is opening the
eyes Of the Northern people, and the
papers Of that section are speaking
out in no uncertain terms.
The comments above were sug-
gested by an editorial article of the
Washington Post reprinted in the
GOLD LEAF the 9th) which our con-
temporary adds is sample of several
articles of like character it has re-
Gently read in Northern exchanges.
In order that the concluding COM
ments of the Register may be better
understood we reproduce here the
closing part of the Posts article which
reads as follows:
"When they (the negro finally sue
ceeded in implanting that conviction
in the nations mind they will dis
cover that this is the white mans
country, which the white man in
tends to govern in his own way and
for his own behoof. They can then
stay here or 60 elsewhere as they pre-
fer, but in neither event will they
affect the destiny of the United States
or change the fixed purpose of those
who rule it,
In conclusion the Register says:
The closing paragraph in the
above contains suggestive language,
and the same sentiment is being ex-
pressed all over the North.
Less than year ago a negro youth
applied for admission to the naval
academy at Annapolis, and one of
the most rabid Republican papers at
the North came out in an article in
which it boldly declared that to force
a negro officer into the naval service
was against public policy, in that
the presence of such an officer would
be constant menace to discipline
and would make no end of trouble:
that the government was under no
obligation to recognize the negro
when such recognition would be det-
in the public service.
The experiment of making soldiers
Of the negroes is naturally Increasing
the knowledge of the Northerners as
to the true position of Sambo, and we
would not be surprised if one of the
effects Of this war will be the disfran-
'hisement of the negro by the edict
that this is white mans govern
ment, and that none but white men
shall have hand in it's conduct and