The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-11-22
ON THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

Inc race question 1s 10" buo OAo ny
permost in the minds of the people
throughout our country, Not in the
Southern States alone has i5 caueed
trouble, but even in Abraham LiUcoln's
State, it is being seriously discussed.
For, only recently at u mining town IN
Illinois, the miners demanded higher
wages. Instead Of granting this, the
mine owners sent a kind Of Peg leg
Williams" down to Alabama and he
returned with a train load Ut negroes
ready to take the places of the striking
miners.
No n has denied, or attempted to
deny-we do not suppose, that the Gov
ernor of Illinois himself would for a
moment think of denying-that the
Constitution of the United States guar
anteed those negroes the right to go
there and ask for employment. They
had as much right I o go from Ala
bama to Illinois aud ask for employ
ment unmolested as g Durham man
has to come to Raleigh and ask for q
position in a Raleigh house No one
not even the Governor Of Illinois
would attempt to deny this. And yet
he gov. Tanner), the Chief Executive
OF inc State Of Illinois, issued an order
that under no circumstances should
any negro from another State be
allowed to enter Pana The com
mander of the State troops faithfully
Carried out the Governors order, and
himself declared. IF l lose every man
under my command, no negroes shall
enter Pana." The negroes we're not
permitted to land, and so returned
to Alabama.
Later Gov. Tanner boldly declared:
II will not tolerate this Wholesale i'm
portation of foreigners into Illinois,
and if / hear that another mob is to be
brought into this State, such as was
taken into Virden, / care not on what
railroad it comes or from whom, I will
meet it at the State line and shoot iT to
pieces with Calling guns"
Now it may be true that the II inois
miners ought not to be forced to COM
pete with Ignorant negroes. But if we
admit this, then we must also admit
that the cotton growers OF the South
should not be forced to compete with
negroes. And 80, even from that point
OF view, it will be seen that Gov. Tan
ner has no mo- right TO take the stand
he says he will take if more negroes
are carried into the State than Gov.
Russell has to order all negroes to leave
this State and to ''shoot TO pieces with
Calling guns" all who refuse to go. In
short, we are inclined to endorse the
position taken by the Western Re-
corder, a religious paper of Louisville,
K which holds that
I'VE cannot overthrow the Consti
tuition in the case of negroes and m ain
tain il In the case Of white people.
When once the constitutional guaran
tees of our freedom are broken down,
they are broken down for everybody
alike. If it had been simply q local
mob that prevented the Alabama ne
grOes from LANDING In Illinois, the case
would have been far Gift rent. But
here the Chief Executive Of the State
uses his eff 3i4l authority and calls into
action the State o g to deprive citi
zens Of the rights guaranteed to them
Dy the Constitu ion Of the United
States. No such crime against lib. rty
has ever before been committed 10 our
country"
It add, "Fhis is a great deal woyee
than notification in South Carolina,
for that was simply a setting aside of a
Federal law, not a defiance of the Con
stitution; and yet how prompt was
Andrew Jackson, then President. in
asserting ard meintais ing Federal au-
thority. This Illinois rebellion is a
great deal worse than secession, for the
seceding States claimed to be exercis-
ing tneir rights according to the Con
stitusion in setting aside Federal au
thority and withdrawing from the
Union, while in the case Of Illinois no
| body pretends that the Sta is acting
according To the Federal Constitution.
Since. therefore, notification and
secession must be suppressed at what
| ever sacrifice, whaU should be done
! with Illinois IN her open re~beiljonP"
! x X \
THIS is the situation in Illinois.
In our own State the Constitution OF
The y tied States hae net been defe !
but the rae question Is nevertheless
the b2ne OF contention Oily last week
the newspaper organ Of cna Cf the
| greGtsst re i 5ious denominations in our
| State-We reser to the North Carolina
Presbyterian, Of Charlotte, organ q
the Presbyterian Church IN this State