The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-10-26
VIRGINIA COMMENT.
What Virginia Editors Think OF the Booker
Washington Incident.

:
What Virginia Editors Think Of the Bot kcr.
" ashinsts n Incident.
The real friends Of the negroes, and
they have PLENTY OF them, know that a'. I'VE
greatest good to be done that race IS -
teach, them to work and TO impress ~ -.
them the dignity OF labor. Per1ect. sos:..l
equality with the whites will not eve ave
them homes or buy clothing, or fill their
dinner pa. Is. If they '1se to hisherl
things it will be ION stepping stones 9.
their dead selves. So The first steps OK
their assent is to learn to work. ~ z
want fewer village loafers nd more men
TO cut corn. We want fewer assl!is.iie
ATTEMPTS at Latin and Greek and more
cooks and washer women. In other Woru VS.
We who spend our money in scnoois vi
the negroes should educate their ha llls
as well as their heads. We should give
Them less learning and greater n1anuai
training. When we have taught than to
work they will be even on the sWh'fsie
tree In the race of life, and they can WI" WIN
If it Is in ti3eIn--Warrenton NiTgaIllat.
Although President Roosevelt feals
called l,pon as the head OF the nansil,
to entertain at his table his distinsulsii'esl
coiored friends, We do really think 1,lae
j. Hampton Hnge, as the head OF ny, s
State of Virginia. would entertain MS c .'l-
ored friends at the Governor Aaa q i', :
IN Richmond There is too much South
ern blood coursing through the Coloneis
veins for anything like that, hoWs'er
hard he might be pushed. but AooseNeie )
action shows what the Republican party
is and though ]. Hampton, reared n II
eiria on Democratic doctrines, may iioe
be able 10 reach such an extreme. = eie
arc lots of white Republicans IN nlgh Of
ice who do advocate social edualtty te-
tween white and black, and you ale 'oi Wv.
that it Is the party you must Vete iof
ard not the man.-Bedfofa EpHelin.
617, poosevelr cannot know the harm
that he has done taking any view OF
the matter. a statesman, wise ruler,
woi,id not sleedlesslv stir up known ana
v-it5esnreaJ4 preiudices. even though, ~
his opinion. they had no founaauoh =.
fact much less the instructive feelings OF
the Euglisil-speaking white race tAe
world oyer-lIalifax Record-AdVertlser.
While we cannot commend his judg-
ment, we confess we do not see the use
,n making a great ado over President
Rooseyelts dining with Booker WASH
incton the colored educator. as his spec
ial guest at the White House last Week.
Mr.. Roosevelt has right to associale
with whom he pleases. and II he wants
Mr. and Mrs. Washington ano all tle
little colored Washington's to dlne OF
spend the day with him and Mrs. Roose-
Welt and the little Roses, why, of course,
let them go. If Mr. President grasps
the hand of Mr.. Washington more cor
daily at parting than other guests, ana
Mrs Roosevelt wants to confer upon
EcoiSer's wife the usual feminine laie-
we'll salutation, and the little Roosevelt
hug the little Washington's fondly as
they say goodbye, why it's nooooys
business but their own, is it? Like the
old woman who kissed the COW. We say.
Everybody to his notion" even II we
feel like saying sometimes darn such
doings''-Salem Times Register.
We do not object to courtesies shown
Booker Washin Tton. He Sc no drum
very deserving person. What we do find
fault with is that Mr.. Roosevelt by virtue
o. this act, says to the people or tne
United States, and especially TO tle
South: "The negro must be placed on the
same social plane as white people lie
shall not be kept down because his father
was a slave, because his skin is black
or Yellow The Prince OF Wales by
putting on a certain kind of coat, or
wearing q, certain shaped hat at the.
Derby, could at once make it SO popular
that everybody else in the world rushed
after it and got one just like it. we
doubt, however, if everybody will enter
tain negroes at dinner simply because Mr..
Roosevelt entertained one. - otaunton
Spectator.
When N:r. ROOSEVELT. as chief magis-
tate of ills nation, or at least while he
is chief MAJ istrate of this nation, invites
a negro % dine at the White House
the home not of Mr. Roosevelt, the pri-
vate citizen, but of Mr.. Roosevelt, the
president-he instantly presents in con-
crete form the question of racial social
equality; and in presenting it he attempts
=. throw the weight, the dignity an
the authority of his official position on
the affirmative side Of that question It
is absurd in him to imagine that his pri
vate acts either will be or can be disas-
ISOLATED from his official character.
Every one knows that when Mr.. Roose-
welt sits down to dinner in the White
House with a negro, he that moment de-
clares to all the world that, in the judS-
ment of the President OF the United
States, the negro is the social equal OF
the white man.-Abingdon VirSinian.
Mr.. Roosevelt in inviting Booker T.
Washington. colored, to dine at the
White House one day last week, has sha-
ken the confidence of the people in his
wisdom and conferred no benefit upon
the colored people. Els action in this
matter will be worth fifteen or twenty
thousand votes to the Democratic ticket
in this State The people Of Virginia,
while entirely friendly to the negro in
all matters relating to his material well
fare, resent most strenuously any and all
efforts to bring about condition of So
cial equality be. ween the races. Individ-
ually, Mr.. Roosevelt may consider negro
as good as himself, and no one will dis
pute the claim; but as president, his con-
duct assumes different aspect. There
is no position, however exalted, that will
justify or enable its occupant to set at
dchanna distinction which the Creator of