The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-25
"One Mistake :"

Editor The Advertiser:
 If for no other reason, in the inter- est of the farmers and land -holdersof Alabama. there is one mistake which the writer hopes the Constitutional Convention will not make, and that is to put something into the Constitution which will needlessly unsettle and stir up the negro Iaborer.
 Every fapmer and land owner and especially those in the black-belt, knows that in a large degree, his pros- perlty for the present, at least, is largely dependent upon securing a good class of renters and laborers.
 Just now when there are strikes and lock-outs in nearly all parts of the North. the negro laborer in Alabama is giving no trouble in this respect. Every farmer and landowner should enter his protest against the passage Of the amendment recently proposed which will prevent any negro from holding office in Alabama. Absolute ly nothing is to be gained by passing such an ordinance. The neg,o is holding no office. is not trying to hold office and is not likely to hold any, so that this is not practical question. When the negro votes. more and more, he is learning to vote for his best white neighbor
 What has the State to gain by pass- ing sucn law? In the first place. the direct result the writer fears would be to make the best and most reliable negroes gradually emigrate to other States where no such law exists. They would gradually leave our plantations TOT the plantation of other States. not because they expected to hold office. but because they did not care to live Tn the one State out of 46 States in the Union in which he is to be prevented by law from holding office. The most valuable negroes would be led by emil grafton agents to leave Alabama be- cause the negroes in this State would not care to bear the taunts and 1eers which would be heaped upon them by the negroes or other States, because the negroes of Alabama were living in a state whose constitution casts a stig- ma upon the negro that is true of no other State in the Union.
 IT all the other Southern States had such a law perhaps Alabama from an economic standpoint could afford to take such a step but since no other otate Tn the Union has such a law if seems to the writer that it would be costly step for Alabama to take especially when no gain could come to the land-owners in return for the loss sustained.
 We have some bad negroes in Ala oama. but not the worst in all the States of the Union and there is no need or branding the Alabama negro With law that does not exist in other states in the United States and cause us to run risk of losing large part or our best labor and of putting A splrlt or bitterness and discontent in the hearts of those who may remain
 Aside from the consideration of loss Tn dollars and cents, to say the least there would be a question as to the constltutionality of such a law, and that would give the Federal courts ona more ground upon which to attack tbe new constitution.
 TO say that an ordinance to prevent negroes from holding office. would make white people rally to the support or the constitution is to say that the white people do not reason and do tneir cWn thinking. The white people know thero is no danger threatening them now in any section of Alabama Dy reason of the negroes running for once and the land holders and es- peclaIly those of the bIack-belt are not willing to exchange a real benefit Tor some gain that exists in the ina gination.
 .N Rlack pa1+ar