The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-03-30
FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 1900.
THE AMERICAN NEGRO,

One of the most scholarly we'll as
one Of the most entertaining and in
structive papers on the American negro
that we have seen is that which was read
by DIR. Paul b. Barringer, chairman of the
faculty of the University of Virginia,
before the Tri-State Medical Association.
which met in Charleston during the
month of February last. d copy of which
has recently fallen into our hands
Through the kindness of a friend.
DR.. Barringcr begins by quoting
biological axiom, which reads, 1.-The onto
Eeny is the repetition Of the philoSeny."
This he translates TO mean 1.-The life his
tory Is the repetition Of the race his
Tory Freely interpreted" he adds,
'.it means that the life history Of any
individual, of any type. unless modified
by forces of exceptional character, will
tend to conform to the lines Of ancestral
traits. In other wort11s, it is a tersc ex-
preston Of the existence of the force
which We call heredity in life
Applying this biological axiom to the
human race and taking as an example
of that race the Southern negro, he de-
clarcs that the tendency of the negro to
return to barbar'ism is as natural as the
return of the SOW that is washed to her
Uallowins in the nlire; that the ages of
degradation under which he was formed
and the fifty centuries of historically re-
corded sayasery with which he came to
us cannot be permanently influenced by
one or two centuries Of enforced correc~
ton, If the correcting force be withdrawn:
that when the correcting force of dis
cipline was removed he, like the released
ilummet, began 10 fall, and. although the
mills Of the gods grind slowly, what we
have already seen is but the first evi-
dellce of a motion as certain in its results
"a: the law Of grayitation.
Tracing the origin of the American
negro. Dr. Barringer points out that he
came from the west coast Of Africa and
from the valleys of the Niger and the
Senagal, and that as everything in that
part of Africa is originally of one race
and one blood. the A,neiicn negro is of
true negro origin and came from the
very lowest of the blacks OF Africa He
draws g distinction between these savage
carribals, lazy. lustful and without any
moral instincts, and those of the 1ndo-
African race who are a better type
After dwelling at some length on the
characteristics Of the negro savage and
the manner in which these savages were
imported into the United States and sold
US slaves, DIR. Barringer comes TO speak
of the condition of the negro in the South
n, the close of the war. '.Wlatever the
evils OF slavery may have been, says
he, land i have no desire to minimize
them the general result was. at the close
OF the war. some 100000 negroes. who
were in their average morality and char
actc.. 40 far ahead OF any other 4,000,0 900,
or any other 100000 oc that race TO be
that they were not in the same class
And he incidentally remarks that Mrs.
Stoves Intelligence should have seen
.he paradoxicai side Of work written in
cr,icis,n Of a civilization which produced
an Uncle Tom and ''Topsy" from
savage canrabals aT less '!i2h I'VE genera
lions.
Every person who was old enough to
know anything ut The close OF the war
knows that the negroes. especially what
was known as the house negro. that is
those who had been IN close contact with
the whites. .scre far superior, IN the
matter OF manners and morals at least.
10 the negroes as class OF to-day They
we're gentecl and they had some indi-
,idualat,. and character. Take an old
lime Virginia carriage driver or butler Of
to-day and you win find a man of sense.
man of character and In many respects
q polished gentleman.
But TO proceed with DR. Bawinscrs
paper lie points out that as a slave the
negro was taught tHo wholesome lessons
10 work aud 10 ebey-,and that under such