Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-06-15
Learning About the Negro.
Danville Register.)

When the war broke out dhis war with
Spain. we mean) no one imagined that 1t
would have any special effect upon the
political. social. or religious status OF
the negro i'm this country, but there IRE
already some developments which indi-
cate that il may work very deci1ed
change in a certain northern sentiment
regarding the negro.
As usual, the negro is bringing the
trouble on himself. and is making trou-
BILE for his northern friends We OF Inc
South are not giving ourselves much
concern about it. We know how 20
handle and manage the negro, ana
southern men In the army are going 10
handle him and treat him there just as
they do at home, and that way Is the
best for the negro.
our northern friends, however, are IN
trouble about the patriotic soldier BROTH
er in black. This trouble Is opening the
eyes of the northern people, and the
papers of that section are speaking out
in no uncertain terms.
The following from the Washington
Post is sample OF several articles OF
like character we have recently read In
northern exchanges:
1--WE have very little time 20 waste on
the negro newspapers and so-called lead
ers who do not approve OF the POST. Ii
is of absolutely no consequence To us
whether they approve or disapproye.
Their ridiculous claims to recognition
are only tiresome. Their criticisms and
denunciations of this paper affect us or
| intelligent public opinion about as much
| as the idle summer zephyr sWays me
| Washington monument. All this nom
senscal uproar has arisen over the de-
mands of certain negro military organi-
"a atoms to be accepted intact, with their
| officers. &c, and made part Of the army
without question, and the ground upon
which they base the preposterous as
| sumption is their alleged ability, train
! ing, fitness, patriotism, and all the rest
| of it. AS we say, this Is too absurd Tor
| argument. The white militia regiments
have not been accepted on such terms
why the negro regiments? The truth
OF the matter is that these noisy COM
plainants do not represent even their
own race, excepting perhaps, the impu-
dent. and troublesome element Of 1t. and
are entitled to no more consideration
| than we propose to give them now. me
| negroes can enter the army as whites
| do-leaving the government TO appoint
the oficers--or they can stay out or II.
The only people who are drawing the
| color line are the negroes themselves.
| The whites are content to be treated aS
| individuals The negro leader insists
that his race must be treated as whole.
| IL there is a color line to-day, they are
| TO blame for ii. If the authorities de-
cline to admit their claims it is because
those claims are impudent and silly.
There Is tust one result the negro organs
and leaders can accomplish by all this
pestiferous uproar. and that it is to con-
vince the whites that they are impractl-
| cable and malapropos. When they final
| w succeed in implanting that conviction
| in the nations mind they will discover
| that this is the white mans country,
which the white man intends 10 govern
| in his own way, and for his own behoof.
| They can then stay here or go elsewhere
as they prefer, but in neither event will
they affect the destiny OF the United
States or change the fixed purpose OF
those who rule IT"
The closing paragraph in the above con-
tains suggestive language md the same
sentiment is being expressed all over the
north.
Less than a year ago negro youth APP
plied for admission to the naval academy
at Annapolis, and one of the most rabid
Republican papers at the North came out
I'm an article in which IT boldly declared
that to force negro officer into the naval
service was against public policy. In that
the presence of such an officer would be
a constant menace to discipline and would
make no end OF trouble-that the govern
ment was under no obligation TO re-
cognize the negro when such recognition
would be detrimental to the public SER
vice.
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 IL one of the effects OF
this war will be the dsfranchisement OF
the negro by the edict that this Is a
white mans government, and that none
but white men shall have hand In lis
conduct and management.