The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1902-06-06
J. M. Holt, D. d., On the Negro En-
igration Scheme.

The Negro Emigration Society
held its annual meeting here this
week. The object of the society is
to buy a ship and try to induce all
the negroes of this country to leave
for Africa. There were delegates
from several States of the Union,
who claimed to be sent to the con
VentiOn to voice the sentiment of
their people. The time was spent
in making speeches and passing
resolutions, without reaching any
definite conclusion, or reaching any
end tor good. They denounced all
of lis who were not III sympathy
with the movement and who did
not take ship stock as towards and
enemies to the race. There was
only one white man present to take
stock in the meeting and he was
one Mr.. PluInmer, of Alabama, who
claimed to be a Republican and
whose heart and hands seemed to
be in the movement, but | soon
found that he (Mr. Plhmmer) was
an emigration agent, whose bust
ness was to get all the negroes he
could to go to Africa. He told of
the awful treatment the negro re-
ceived from the white man Of the
South, yet he acknowledged that
had the white man of the North
known that he was fighting to free
a negro who would make his home
among them IN the North he would
have failed to face the music. But
But | soon found that Hon. Mr..
Plummer got so much money for
each negro he induced to go to At
RIGA, and that his interest IN the
negro was centered in the dollars
and cents he would receive as a re-
suit OF negroes going. He said
also that he did not want to carry
the lawless, worthless negro to AT
RIGA, but would leave him here for
lynching and burning MATERIAL All
of which convinced me that the
Hon. Mr.. Plunlner has no interest
in the negro, nor any in his own
race, unless he could see an al
mighty dollar Ill his own pocket;
for if he loves the negro as he said,
lie would want to carry the bad ne
gro to Africa with the good, that
they might be induced to grow bet
ter; and If he loves his own people
as he should, | do not think lie
would want to take the good negro
away from the Southern W hite man,
with whom he seems to be well
pleased and leave the bad to com
NIT crime and to bring shame and
disgrace upon the greatest country
and the greatest people on earth.
do not believe that the Southern
white man wants to drive the good,
law-a biding negro out of the South,
nor do | believe that our Northern
brother in white wants the negro
to take up his bed and walk to him.
No white man can know the negro
like the Southern white man, while
the negro understands the South
ern white man, and, to my personal
knowledge, no worthy negro has
ever failed to find favor in his sight.
The Hon. Mr.. Plummer claims 10
know more about what the negro
wants than the negro himself, for
he denounced Bishop Shaffer, a ne
gro bishop who is just back from
Africa, for saying that the negro in
Africa did not want the American
negro with them. If | am permit
ted to answer them | will say that
there are thousands of good, hon
est, law-abidlng, upright negro cit
liens right here in the glorious sum
ny South that do not want to 90 to
Africa. East, West nor North, but
want to live and die in the South
and will not leave the South unless
they are driven out, and l do not
believe that the Southern white
man will drive the law-abiding ne
gro from his midst, with whom he
has dealt almost since the early set
tlement of this country.
Mr.. Plummer says that a negro
rapist is hanged, shot, burned, etc,
while the white rapist is given a
fair and impartial trial and is only
sent to the State prison for a few
years or let go without punishment
of any kind. Mr.. Plummer may
succeed in getting one who can not
or will not read to believe his state
ment, but he will have hard time