Arizona daily citizen., 1901-10-24
MAKES A
TEMPEST
IN A
TEA POT
What a Southern Man
Thinks of President
Roosevelt's Action.
Politics in It.

WASHINGTON, Oct ga we'll
known Southern man who has been
in the north and understands Northern
as well as Southern sentiment. discus
sing the act OF President Roosevelt III
entertaining Booker r. Washington al
dinner said to-day.
President Roosevelt made tactical
mistake, because the entertainment
of Booker Washington at dinner
was unnecessary. and was sure to be
misunderstood and to arouse criticism
in the South Al the same time our
friends In the South are making a
greater mistake by using intempera-
iure language and In ascribing to the
incident. an Importance which il does
not possess
Nearly every northern man with
whom | have ever talked on the Sub
ject says the people OF the South are
wholly iustihabie In their refusal to
have any sosiai relations With the ne
groes, and admit that we're they south
ern men they would take the same,
view.
Northern men. however. complain
that the men OF the South are not con-
tent to follow ont their own traditions
In their own way, but that they want
10 dictate what northern men shall do
that because they will not Sit at table
with "A colored person they Insist the
President OF the United States Ii
northerner, shall not do SO Northern
men grant To southernefs a perfei |
right to do as they Ike. but claim the
same privilege Tor themselves and for
the President
The deeper into the problem We go
the more complex IL appears" added
this southern gentleman Northern
ers think we of the South are crazy on
the subject OF the negro They can
not understand our pnalterahle deter
mination not to have the social bar
riers between the two races broken
even in the smallest degree They az
cuse VS. OF narrowness. Of bourbonism
of fierce hatred of our inferior neigh
bors
Now 1t Is important that We know
the reason for this determination of
the whites of the South and ! will
give 1t to you frankly II Is not repuK-
nance to contact with the blacks. for
we have ,hem universally as domestic
servants and as nurses. II is not from
d desire TO keep the negro ignorant. be-
cause we are doing everything we can
to educate and elevate him, Ii is not
because we want to keep the negro
down industriaily. because we do every
thing possible TO help them In busi-
ness way II is because we know
from experience that II we relax
the social barrier in the slightest par
ticular, the negroes would make them
selves as insufferable socially as they
have politically. II is easy enough to
stand of the few hundred negroes
scattered through the North. but deal
ing with the millions of them in the
South and maintaining white SUI
premacy is a different matter.
Maryland Democrats have seized up
on the incident to turn it to account in
the pending State campaign. and Re-
pubiicans have admitted that IL may
give the State TO the Democrats. The
negro at dinner incident is being ad-
vertised in campaign fashion in all
the leading papers OF the State.
In Virginia, where a rather brave
boast of Republican success had been
put forth. the Booker Washington in
cident is proclaimed by some of the
politicians as settling any doubt
about Democratic victory 1t does not
appear that the President took coun-
sci with anybody before inviting Mr..
Washington. or that he cared TO know
whether he had departed from tradi-
ton or not No man knows better
what the traditions OF this country are
than the President,