Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1900-07-19

py the NUMBER or births exceeding
the deaths, and another BY the in
flux Of new people into the coun-
try. Both of these Influences are
against ron. The white race is in
creasing more rapidly than your
race. You are getting no increase
by immigration and never will.
Your brothers at the north are not
coming south. It is more likely, IL
certuin conditions prevail, that goo
will 60 to them. Though in that
you will make q mistake. But
from no foreign parts is any in
crease coming to your ranks.
When it comes to the matter of
wealth, the white race is wealthier
than yours, and it is going to re-
main so. / do not mean that you
will not increase in wealth. / be-
lieve you will and hope from the
bottom Of my heart that you will.
But relatively speaking you are GO
ing to be outrun in the race for
wealth, because wealth increases of
itself. The rich become richer. /
am not prepared to say that the
poor get poorer, but it lie certainly
true that wealth breeds wealth, and
as time goes on you will find the
disparity in this respect will also
increase.
When it comes to the question of
intelligence and knowledge, there
is no necessity of discussing which
race has the greater natural gifts.
But the white man is intellectually
better equipped. / know that in
some things your race possesses men
Of superior merit. In all these
things in which the imagination
plays q great part, such as oratory,
and perhaps art, your race is high
ly gifted. However, with the &C.
cumulation of knowledge the white
man has great advantage Of you.
We have the accumulation of hun.
dreds Of years. You are only be-
ginners. So really all these ele-
ments of strength and power are on
our side and they are not going to
be shifted. They are going to be
increased rather than diminished.
You teachers will make mistake
in guiding the people that are com.
mitted to your guidance, if You do
not make these most serious and
controlling facts clear to their
minds. 1t may not be pleasant to
do it, but it is right to do it. 1t
10 wise to do it. As / have said, /
did not not start out to fatter you.
| started out to tell you the truth.
| started out with the conscious
ness that ] was going to say things
that perhaps would not be agreea-
BILE, and ! am just on the eve of one
such announcement.
1t follows from what have said
that You are at the mercy of the
white people of this land. When /
say at their mercy do not mean to
say that you need cringe; that you
need 60 down in the dust; but !
mean that there is always in this
race feeling a latent fire, a dormant
antagonism, and if that is ever
aroused, whatever may be the dis
asters to both races, you will find
that you are in the hands Of those
that are far more powerful than
yourselves. All the elements of
power are on the side which in that
event will be opposed TO you.
Now have said all the disagree
able things 1 feel called upon to
say. ! want all who hear me to rec
ognize the truth or what / believe
to be the truth, and that is the ex-
istence this radical race feeling, and
the fact that it is apt to breed an
tagonism and that when any such
antagonism 10 aroused, the strength
and the power are on one side and
the weakness is on the other.
Recognizing these facts, to which
no wise man will close his eyes. let
us see il we can pursue q course
which viii prevent antaaonism. /
think we can. / should be truly
unhappy il I thought we conld not.
But it 10 no easy task. / said just
now that / believed that / had de.
livered myself Of all the unpleasant
things that | had to say. But I
will say one other. Let me tell you
that the keynote Of your conduct
should be Cancellation. Avoid sg-
gression. Avoid those things that
are likely to arouse passion upon
the part Of those of the other side.