The gold leaf., 1898-04-21


of the Republic, After Visit to the
Southern States-Nothing New but
Pleasant to Have Him Talk About us
That Way.
Or. +. Beasley, il. Charlotte Observer. }
Beyond and away, in the minds of
many persons, the race question is
the problem of the South; the one
which neither politics nor time can
settle. 1t can never be settled as a
political question because politicians
will never attempt to settle it; it is
not to their interest that it should
be settled. Time cannot solve it, at
least peaceably, for that is but
another way for saying that it can
solve itself, a thing impossible, since
| the longer it stands the further it is
| from a solution. The object of this
article is to notice a book just pub
| lished in which a solution is prOpos-
! ed
The book referred to is "A Solu-
ton of the Race Problem in the
south" by Enoch Spencer Simmons,
| IL III" Vel vi w lOl, ~. ". iio
little neatly printed book and bound
of one hundred and fifty pages
may be neither SO scholarly nor ex-
haustive as more experienced writers
might have done, but it possesses
some very excellent qualities that are
marked. The first is that the author
| is a Southern man who sees and
understands the situation; and next,
it shows sincere desire on the part
Of the author to do the black man
| Justice, and is not. therefore, an ex
parte production. The statement of
fact is perfect, the conclusions lOgi-
cal. Beside this there are several
ideas which are new, to this writer
ut least, and the whole is characterize
ed by an earnestness likely to make
an impression.
The author starts into the subject
by briskly discussing the race feel
ing in the South, and showing that,
owning to causes which are very APP
parent, this feeling has been growing
ever since the black man was made a
freedman, and that what was at first
but narrow pass is fast becoming
an impossible gulf, and that this is
happening in perfect ratio to the
rapidity with which the old genera,
tion of both white and black is dying
out, and the young ones who have nc
plantation memories, come upon the
scene. Time" he says, 1.-The great
absorbent, fails to wipe out the un'
pleasant memories of the past IRE
constructions for the reason that
! the repetition of still more offensive
action opens the wound afrcsh, fan
ming the fires of hatred and dislike
between the poorer classes OF the
white race and the negro race, unit
the utter annihilatiOn or dispersion
of the weaker is imminent in the
distant future.
To divert so dire catastrophe tht
author presents colonization of thu
only means. Then naturally arise
the question of the negro's capacit,
for selfgovernment. The argumen
on this point is good. being that i
placed in a congenial climate, con
liguous to the whites, thus living, s.
, to speak. under the shadow of thei
|
ion of the general Government, th
negro would display a perseverance
that would, with all the avenues t
preferment open to him, rapidly ad
vance him along all the lines of de
vclopment and improvement neces
sary in people who maintain a fire.
and worthy Government. We can
| not Judge of what he would be in
Government and State entirely hi
own by the way he casts his vot
now. He now practically has nothin
to do with the Government, and tn
knowledge of the fact that he is shu
, out has prevented the developmen
of anv members of the race alon
| these lines. He cares nothing fo
the State, nor for good Governmen
ut present because he feels that h
has nothing at stake. This woul
. be different in State which belOns
ed to and was controlled by him,
the management of which he would
on his mettle before the eyes of II
world.
MIR. Simmons argument that tn
o negro is barrier to the industrl
o progress of the South should
timely Just now. Half of this RAJ
!. live an idle life, supported by tt
- other half that pretends to work ea'
half living mainly upon the labors {
the whites, who have not only borl
4 with them thus, but paid the taN'
u to educate them at the same tim
This is a great load for the South
IL carry. but this is not all. From tt
1t fact that slaves formerly perform
&c all of the domestic and most of tt
manual labor in the South, SUI
labor has become known as negrot
work. and pride and social custo
debar the poor whites from tn
n labor. particularly the former, al
h. they will 90 without work befo
=, they will put themselves on an equ
M footing with the negro and thus 10
their standing by doing such woI
Thus, not only is the negro de
=, weight himself, but he is the eau
of half of the white population.
well. being idle, and the auth
rightly concludes that however ma
nitcent a country's recources, 1t c
never assume commanding po
ton with half its population idle.