The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-09-29

who ut Long raw Aucmpt Go Teach
the Southern People How Co Treat
the Negro and who Pretend 60 b. able
10 solve the Race Problem.

NJ UO - AOA& 49,
the Southern People How Co Treat
the Negro and who Pretend 60 be able
10 solve the Race Problem.
Jacksonville, n. c., September g.
To the Editor of The Messenger:
The negro apparently appears TO b
the pivot OF sectional d~issension, an
object of pecuniary speculation and
one enjoying the sympathy of a name
less herd Of fanatics whose hunanita-
rian cries are but the vociferous echos
of mercenary greed and vulgar noto-
riety.
Boston egotism is proverbial, so is 1t
surprising to find her posing as a para
gon OF Justice extending her unsullied
hand to protect her '"sinless" offspring
from the rutherless clutch of Southern
Oppression" 1t is peculiar that this
sapient pedagogue whose p~enitentaaI
tears have striven TO efface b eyu
stain of cruelty has furnished thus far
no sane and feasible solution TO b ne
gro problem, simply essaying to pro-
mulgate those fragrant sentiments
which are vernacular 70 the ~farinaceous
minds of some of our New England
brethren, clearly revealing the mental
inebriety which marks the present era
of their provincial reasoning.
AS we have been 50 frequently inn
pugned by the most poignant shafts of
criticism would it not be wei for the
salient minds of the north to advance
some practical ideas concerning the ne
gro. and the ann in which he riS-
ing tide of racial animosity can best
be subdued?
The acts of 'savagery" imputed ito
us can best be refuted by those who
have suffered at the hands of these ne
gro miscreants.
Collectively speaking we condemn
lynching as being a violent example
of what should be sober justice, yet as
. individuals thinking of our firesides
should we find them ~desecrated by the
hand of the rapist, we too, most likely,
would be temporarily oblivious to the
law and seek vengeance in like manner,
and we daresay that even the Puritani-
cal law Of Massachusetts would prove
a weak barrier should similar crimes
be perpetrated within her borders, and
those base moralists who delight in de-
flaming us would most likely be the
first to reco1 from their teachings.
1t must be obvious to all hat it is
hardly probable any radical change
can be affected in a race who, dwell
ing beneath the enlightened influence
Of citizenship and progress, are yet
daily sinking lower and lower in the
vortex of degradation.
The theory that education will finally
eliminate his evil is quite false; on the
contrary, it has been a pane to the race.
The schools ave been acting as incu-
bators for the asylums, while, on the
other hand, they have been instrument
tai in promoting id1ness and at the
same time materially adding to the cat
egory Of crime. Hence it is difficult
to determine in what way education
can possibly be beneficial. The race. it
must be remembered, was almost from
it's inception a separate and distinct
one, destined for labor alone and whose
innate desires, being naturally inferior
to ours, could lever become susceptible
ito the touch Of culture, and, conse-
quently, never harmonious with our
ideas.
Granting to the negro the rights Of
citizenship in addition to his emanci-
patton is the primary cause of the cur
rent veil. Left simply free to enjoy the
fruits of his labor would have been a
liberal gift in itself, and where now he
would be a peaceful and contented Gull
tivator of the soil, we find him, instead,
a burden to the country, a subject of
endless controversy and a ready tool
Of h unscroupulous politician. We
can hope to free ourselves from
this noxious influence or to alleviate
ourselves until we remove him from
the public arena and ~disqualify him
as a voter, and he then finding himself
no longer eligible to office, shorn of all
power and unable to conflict with our
public interests will soon develop into
a more tractible being and a more de-
Sirable n useful servant.
M. T. KLEIN.