The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1900-10-18
IMPERIALISM
AT HOME.
COY NERNMENT WITHOUT THE
CONSENT OF THE COY
ERNED.
THEY ARE OWNING up PUBLICLY.

sH&i Sn1 tHHtNI UF FUBkIkkf,
Charlotte Observer says the S.groe. did
Not Vote 10 Di-franchi>e Them.elve.-
or Government in North CaroIina-HaI-
ifas the Hammer Democratic County.
Has Ihre" Negroes TO one White.
The following was the leading ed
itoriai ia the Charlotte Observer OF
the 5th inst.
ave don't intend 10 get in the at
titude of defending this thing
which, for lack OF a more formida-
bic n4h.e, Is called "imperialism." :"
We are IN favor OF giving the FIJI l..
lipinos an independent government
OF their own as soon as they are
ready for 1t, just as we promised
the cubans we would them. But
ii Is Impossible for US to keep ewes
on just one phase of this question
We mold that this government can
not, with any sort of regard to Its
obligations, with any degree of lelf-
respect, OF with any hope Of main
taining the respect OF the world,
Withdraw from the Philippines un
til the islands are pacified, and that
after that we must, as matter OF
Christian civilization, govern them
as We have Cuba, until they are
able to govern themselves We are
told hat this would be govern ment
without the consent 0f the govern
ed and that his is at variunce with
every American principle; and yet
this has not been the practice OF
the United States in its dealings
with the American Indians, the
Alas kans and Hawaiians, and that
this is not now the practice OF t re
Southern States with regard to the
negroes. Our valued contempora-
ry, The Norfolk Virginian-Pilo
while dumb as to the indians
Alaskans and Hawaiians, does not
at all see as we do, that the Filipi
nos and our negroes are III the same
boat, but reasons out the difference
thus:
"There is no promise whatever
held out to the Filipino, and no
means provided, that he may be
com an American citizen, with a
citizen's rights and privileges; ev-
ery Southern negro who can read
and write intelligently is an Amer
lean citizen, with all a citizens
rights and privileges. II the South
ern negro can't read and write, he
| has but TO learn In States where the
suffrage Is qualified, to nave all a
citizens rights Schools are provi
ded by the State where the negro
children can fit themselves to COM
ply with the law qualifying suff-
raga. which is the only limitation
on the neg ro's rights as a citjz N.
| The Filipino. though learned as
Socrates, can't be citizen. The
! door of opportunity shut in the ia.
ces of all alike? Not much. There
is but one Filipino who is an Amer
lcan citizen there are forty thou
sand n. groes in North aroiina v he
can vote under the new amend
ment."
AS matter of theory these PROPOSE
tions are unexceptiOHa able; as matter
of fact we Of North Carolina know thai
the tn ory d es not work out. We
grant that every Southern negro Wh
CO. read and write Int lligent Y i nom
inally an American citizen, with all :
ci izen's rights and pr,vileger, but o
VIII t value are these rights aud priv
ieges if he Cau't exercise them-and he
can t. In NV Hanover county, EN-
bracing the city # " Vrlmlngton, at The
lasG election, even when the Suffrage
amendment was being voted on, ther'
were rast o"ly three Republican votes
yet New Hanover has many more ne
gro than whit tiers. IN Ralifa.
county, which is credited with thre
neg oes to me white man, the Demo
cratic majority at he Augut election
was 5,14i. 1t Is C rtaIn that the \ Ney
Hanover a d Halifax negroes did II
vote 0 diSfranci ise themselves: it
equally cett in that they did not st
stain from voting in order that the
might witt the more certainty be di:
franchised by the white men. Our cor
tempora y cou d not .et one of thes
negroes to say that his ignorance
'.the only limitation on his rights :
citizen" for neither ignorance NJ
, intel igence cut any figure, under tt
law in that election. TO the cOncluC
ing assertion of our contemporary tht
, there are 40, 900 negroes in \ orth a
/ olina who can vote Under the ne
p amendmen )" we reply IN it's own lal
. xuage, mot much
III consent of the governed arg
I ment is good in some parts of the L .
e ted States but it will not go in NOR
c Carolina. Fer the good OF all c0ncer
;, ed ~e have nuilifi d that pr nciple
i government down here and have ma
: no concea ment about it. tU Is true '
have gone about it by indirection, D
the end has been accomplished just t
same, and we cannot, with any face,
heard to apply an argument In beh'
of the Filiplnos which we have revers
in our own practice"
], I he Charlotte Observer might i
u clude in the above a number of whi
:, men in North Carolina who We're
n prived of their right to vote in the A
If gust election.