Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-11-06
BRYAN ON RACE PROBLEM.
Dinner to Booker Washington Brings
Comment From Lincoln.

Lincoln, Neb, Nov Am the opinion
of w. j. Bryan the action of President
Roosevelt in inviting Prof. Booker I
Washington to dine at the white house
was unfortunate" Discussing the mat
ter in his paper, the Commoner, Mr..
Bryan says:
president Rooseyelt's action will
give depth and acrimony to race feel
ing already strained to the uttermost.
The negro is a citizen. and as cltlzeA
in entitled to all the guarantees OF the
federal and state constitutions. The re.
publicans. when challenged to defend
Imperialism, are in the habit OF refer
ring to the suffrage amendments adop-
ted in some of the southern states as II
the black man OF the south and the
brown man of the orient were being
similarly treated. The fact IS, however,
that in none of the southern states has
an attempt been made to take from the
negro the guarantees enumerated in our
constitution and in the bill of right;
whereas, the Filipino and the Porto Ri
can are denied the protection OF the
constitution.
The negro must be educated. The
whites, for their own welfare. as well as
for the good of the negroes, must see to
it that the free school is open to every
child, white and black. The negro has
already made great progress In lntellec-
tual development, and this. too, largely
thru the aid of the white people CT the
south The former slave owners nave
at their own expense been educating
the former slaves, while the more parti-
san republicans, some of them holding
office by the aid of negro votes. have
been melting the negro to oppose every
thing advocated by the southern whites
regardless of the merits of the propo-
sition under consideration.
I'm some of the southern states ed
ucational qualifications have been pro-
scribed with view to securing white
supremacy in the state and local gov
ernments. While universal suffrage is
the ideal condition toward which the
world is moving, and while it is mat
ter to be regretted that even education
al qualifications are ever found neces-
sary. it must be admitted that such
qualifications have been prescribed and
are still in existence in some northern
as well as in some southern states.
on the ground that the declaration of
independence is wrong. not on the
ground that all men are not created
equal or that they are not endowed with
inalienable rights, nor yet on the
ground that governments do not derive
their just powers from the consent OF
the governed, but upon the theory that
when races of different degrees of civ
iliZation are thrown together and must
necessarily live together under the
same recommendation the more adj
vanced race has always exercised the
right to impose conditions upon the less
advanced. The more advanced never
has and probably never will consent to
be dominated by the less advanced.
'"Those who oppose social equality be-
tween the white man and the negro do
so on the ground that they do not be-
lieye that the amalgamation OF the two
races is desirable. The advocacy of So
ciai equality will tend to throw the
white and the black races into greater
antagonism and conflict rather than to
bring them together, and the wiser
members of the negro race know this.
The president may have invited Mr..
Washington without considering the
question that it raises and Mr. Wash
ington may have accepted with feel
ing that an invitation from the presi-
dent was equal to command. 1t is to
be hoped that both of them will. upon
reflection, realize the wisdom OF ADAM
doning their purpose to wipe out the
race lines. If they entertain such pur-
pose. The negro can find sufficient
stimulus in the ambition to SO elevate
himself and the members of his race as
to create a satisfactory society among
his own people The race question will
require for its proper solution the intel
ligence and patriotism of all the people,
black as we'll as white. The recent oc-
currence at the white house will not