The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-16

kxlcfB. IL pr0Vfdes that the Wnite man ohail have district to himself and the negro . district to himself, the white districts to be voted on by nobody but white men and the same way with the black man for his district. It is the old Southern idea that the negroes uhould go to school to themselves, sep Arate and apart from the whites, and that the whites should attend school to { Themselves. We have made the line of separation so plain, MT. President, we do not want 1t crossed. We do not want to see the time, and I hope to < God 1t will never come when they will si mix and mingle in the schools of the South. They do in some sections of the country. We have said to them
 here, you shall not marry into the Caucasian race. It is a race, as stated once before on the floor of this Convention. physically prohibited from assimilation and amalgamation. We have not said to the Jew and to the Italian. you shall not mingle and marry into the fmilies of the Caucasians here and there and everywhere, but we have said to the black man, "so far shalt thou go and no farther" MT. President, more than any other question, perhaps, before the people was urged this one any other question save the suffrage of giving the white man the right to
 
 the right to use his. It has been argued here by gentlemen that the negro was a slave for hundred years. and has only had his freedom for thirty five years. and that 1t is too short a time af- ter slavery has been abolished to now throw upon him the responsibility of working out his own salvation. I would reply to them that the sons of those men who fought and fell for four 4yA Ac rU nv rsrka onI tav,6 their property swept from under them; who started out fighting the battles of life. with but little of the advantage afforded by letters; who fought their way and supported their mothers and sisters ask them if 1t Is right to tax them to educate the negroes of Ala bama. The white people of Alabama and the pemocratic party, I believe, and it Is the dominant party in the s State. has urged in different sections Git has been done in my immediate section of the State) that some time this pro- vision would be made; that some sweet day the people of Alabama would have the right to tax themselves-the white people, and would enjoy the benefit of that taxation, and allow the negroes to do the same. do not believe that it is wrong to the negro race. They are being educated very rapidly. Why, they will attend school with but few garments to wear and with but little to eat, when the child of the white man would be kept at home because he hasn't good clothes to put on and good victuals to send with him to that school as his neighbor has. Pride of tentimes will keep him back. It is wrong, but it is true. nevertheless. The negroes are being education very rap idly. and I say in the light of all the history of the past, some day when the two separate and distinct races are thrown together, some day the clash will come and the survival of the f1t- test, and I do not believe it Is incum- bent upon us to lift him up and edu- cate him and put him on an equal foot ing that he may be armed and equip ped when the combat comes. I favor the minority report and shall so vote.
 MT. Jones (Montgomery)-Mr. Presi- dent, I find myself unable to concur in the proposition embodied in the minor ity report, for two reasons. One is that after thoI ough investigation, l find the plan is plainly. and palpably, and manifestly unconstitutional; but l do not rest my opposition upon that ground only. l remember seeing 1t related somewhere of Robert E. Lee, when he was asked why he took so much interest in a worthless soldier, and why he seemed to have solici- tude for his welfare, that that grand old man answered. Because he is un- der me-" The negro 1ace is under us. He is in our power. We are his GUS todians. In furtherance of what this Convention believes to be justice to him and justice to ourselves. we have shorn him of political power, which is as much to his interest as to ours that he should not now have. In return for that, we should extend to him, as far as possible, all the civil rights that will fit him to be a decent and self-respect- | ing, law-abiding and intelligent citizen of this State. We are dealing not merely with conditions of today, nor for ourselves alone, because in a few years at most, most of us will have passed away. We are dealing with conditions which are to affect our children, and our children's children. This race is here. It cannot be trans | planted. It cannot be deported. He is a part of our economic system. We come in contact with him everywhere. | If we do not lift them up. they will | President, that a large part of the op- 1 position to dividing the school tax | with the negro, is based upon mis- apprehension of, or at least confusion | as to a great economic truth. Every | negro who works, does pay his share | Of taxes, whether he ever goes to the | tax gatherer's office or not. You may | take it in town, in the country, any where, and on an investigation you will find that every man who pays rent, every man who works for wages, in he adjustment of those two relations, bears his fair share of the burdens of government. For instance, man rents a house here; he may have passed the poll tax age; he may have nothing to return to the tax gatherer; and yet, when he pays the rent charged him for that house, in some measure he inevi- tably aids in discharging the taxes that are levied upon that house. and it is the same way when his wages are ad- justed.
 Many years ago, having occasion to speak in another place on this same subject, I met great man, a citizen of this county, who has long since gone to his reward, a Scotchman, a man of fine intellect, but of violent prejudices. He reproached me somewhat for taking the position I now advocate. I said to him, 'Colonel Gilchrist has the negro a soul?" He threw up his hands, and in his impulsive way, said, That ends it; that settles it; he has a soul" We ought to teach the negro at least enough to enable him to read his Bible, to understand the laws that he is to obey, and to unders and tha con tract he signs.
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