The Savannah morning news., 1901-06-25
A TYPICAL ronAkER SPEECH.

The speech which Senator Foraker de-
livered yesterday. as Temporary chairman
Of the Republican stale Convention of
Ohio, will not make a very deep impress
sion. upon the country. 1t was not the
speech of a statesman. II was the speech
OF a campaign manager at the beginning
of political campaign
1t is not necessary to call attention to
moro than two points in it to show its
character. Senator Foraker said that
Harrison's administration was the most
prosperous in the history of the govern
ment. and that hard times began soon
after Mr. Cleveland was inaugurated and
the work of reforming the tariff began.
Now. it is well known fact. that the
signs of the coming hard times appeared
during the Harrison administration. The
election of Mr.. Cleveland and the changes
made in the tariff had nothing whatever
to do with the hard times from which the
country suffered from 1893 to 1898. The
worst period of the hard times was in
changes in the tariff. 1t came so soon
after the end of the administration of
President Harrison that fair-mlnded men
will admit that the causes of the hard
times existed long before the beginning
of the Cleveland administration. Sena-
believe however, that if the Republic
cans had been successful in 1892 there
would have been no hard times. He as
sumes that people have short memories.
There isn't a shadow of a doubt that
if President Harrison had been reelected
the coming of the hard times would not
nave been delayed.
The other point of Senator Foraker's
speech to which we wish to call attention
is the assertion that the government
ern states from eliminating illiterate ne
groes from the voting population and to
check lynching of negroes ia those states.
That part of his speech was demagogieal.
1t was intended to please the negro
voters in the Northern states, particu-
larly in those states in which the negro
holds the balance of power His purpose
was to create the impression in the
minds of Northern negroes that the
North is far more just to them than the
South is. 1t is true, of course, that in
the matter of the franchise the negro in
footing with white men, but how is it in
the matter of employment Is the ne
gro as free to earn a living in the North
as in the South? 1t is certain he is not.
In New York for instance and it is safe
to say in pretty nearly all of the other
Northern states. he is ruled out of the
trades and is being slowly crowded out of
most of the occupations. He is per-
mitted to vote because he is such small
factor in the political situation, but he is
not given entire freedom to earn a living.
1t has not been so very long since ne
gro miners were driven out of Illinois
with gatling guns.
Senator Foraker seems to think that in
the South the negro is entitled to more
consideration than the white man Know
ing that iHiterate negroes are unfit to
have the ballot yet he insists that they
shall have it. His party knew when
it gave it to them that the chances
were that in certain of the Southern
states they would get control of the gov
eminent and would likely ruin the states
they controlled. That did not prevent the
Republican party from putting the ballot
in their hands. And what was the re-
suit? Carpet bag rule came near ruin
ing the South.
But what did Senator Foraker say in
his speech yesterday in answer to Demo
cratic criticism of the decisions of the
Supreme Court in the Porto Rican cases?
Did he not uphold those decisions on the
ground that the Porto Ricans and the
Fihpinos were not qualified for citizen
ship-that it would DE a great mistake
TO give them the ballot and let them con-
troll their own affairs? And yet it seems
that he thinks illiterate negroes in the
Southern states ought to have the
ballot, even where the possession of it
might give them control of state govern
ments. The Senator did not increase his
reputation as a statesman by his speech
yesterday He did not advance a step
nearer to the presidential nomination of
his party.