Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-01
AN IMPOSSIBLE EXPEDIEST

Senator Butler of South Carolina.
Bishop Turner of the African Methodist
church and others who urge the depor-
tation of the negroes of the south as a
means of settling the race problem, pro-
pose an impossible e%Xpedient. AS has
been pointed out by Ex-Governor Bull
lock of Georgia, who has studied the
race problem in the south as intelli-
gently and carefully as any one in that
section, deportation is not for the best
interest of the white or colored people
and it is impossible to enforce it. He
said that the colored citizens of the
south as a whole have made a record of
progress not surpassed by any race on
earth and that a race which has lifted
itself from an illiteracy of 100 per cent
absolute ignorance-to less than so per
cent and has accumulated nearly $780,
100000 Of taxable property within the
relatively short period of n genera
tion after its slavery, is certainly not one
that must be deported, either for it's own
good or for the safety of the communi-
ties where these people We're born and
reared.
"Our negro population" said Mr.. Bull
lock, ''do not demand, seek or desire
social relations with the white people.
They do, however, ask and are entitled
to receive all their public, civil and po-
litical rights under the law as duly adj
Indicated. If not deferred by outside
meddling, the white and colored citizens
of the south will work out their own
salvation in good time, so that the old
est OF us may live to laugh at the idea
Of deporting 100000 of American citI-
zens because Of the color of their
SKINS The proposal that the national
government shall appropriate 100000
ooo or any other sun for transporting
negroes from the south to Liberia is
so obviously preposterous as not to merit
serious discussion. No party In con-
troll of congress would appropriate n
dollar for this purpose, and it is prob
able that If called upon to seriously
pass upon the proposal it would he
found that a large majority of the in
telligent people even of the south are
not favorable to it. But If 1t were pos.
sible to secure an appropriation for de-
porting the colored people of the south.
1t would be useless unless those peonle
were willing to be deported. Very few
or them, 1t Is safe to say, would be
found willing and there is no or
authority to force them to leave this
country. They are, as the New York
Sun correctly says, American citizens
and the government, state or national.
has no more power to compel them to
leave this country or TO remove to n
snecifed part of it than if their color
was white. They are free to go or stay.
as they feel inclined, and except for
crime and in regular process of law,
they cannot be deprived of their lib
erty and they have as much right here
as any other people. AS to this there
can be no reasonable contention or con-
troversy.
From a strictly practical point of
view, the south cannot afford to lose
any considerable portion Of its negro
labor. The industrial growth OF that
section is largely due to its having this
labor and upon 1t depends largely the
further development of the south. 1t
is cheap, efficient and tractable and if
the south were deprived Of it the future
material progress of that section would