Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1902-12-04


dent has sent the following COM
munication to a prominent citizen of
Charleston, S. c.:
Personal.
White House, Washington, D. c.,
Nov. Goth, 1902.
NY Dear Sir:-I am in receipt of
your letter of November 10th, and
one from MI. " under date
of November IL, in reference to the
appointment of DR.. Crum as collec-
tor of the port of Charleston.
In your letter you make certain
specific charges against Mr.. Crum,
tending to show his unftness in sew
eral respects for the Office sought.
These charges are entitled to the ut
most consideration from me and [
shall go over them carefully before
taking any action. After making
these charges you add, as a further
aso for opposition to him, that he
is a colored man, and reciting the
misdeeds that followed carpet-bag
rule and negro domination in South
Carolina, you say that 1--WE have
sworn never again to submit to the
rule Of the African. and such an ap-
pointment as that of DR.. Crum to
any such office forces US to protest
unanimously against this insult to
the white blood;'' and you add that
you understood me to say that I
would never force a negro on such a
community as yours.
Mr.. - put the objection of
color first, saying: "%I4irst, he is a
colored man and That of itself ought
to bar him from the Office" In view
of these last statements I think /
ought to make clear to you why I
am concerned and panied by your
making them, and what my attitude
is as regards all such appointments.
How any one could have gained the
idea that I had said [ would not APP
point reputable and upright colored
men to Office, when objection was
made to them solely on account Of
their color, I confess I am wholly
unable to understand. At the time
of my visit to Charleston last springI
had made, and since that time I
have made, a number Of such ap-
pointments from several States in
which there is a considerable colored
population. For example, I made
one such appointment in Mississippi
and another in Alabama, shortly be-
fore my visit to Charleston. I had at
that time appointed two colored men
as judicial magistrates in the District
Of Columbia. I have recently an
nounced another such appointment
for New Orleans, and have Just made
one from Pennsylvania. The great
majority Of my appointments in
every State have been Of white men.
North and South alike it has been
my sedulous endeavor to appoint on
ly men of high character and good
capacity, whether white or black.
But it has been my consistent policy
in every State where their numbers
warranted it to recognize colored
men of good repute and standing in
making appointments to Office. These
aDpointments of colored men have
in no State made more than a small
proportion of the total number of APP
pointlnents. I am unable to see how
I a legitimately be asked to make
an execution for South Carolina. In
South Carolina to the four most i'm
nortant positions in the State / have
appointed three men and continued
in Office a fourth, all of them white
men three of them originally Colo
Democrats-tWo of them, as l am
informed, the sons of Confederate
soldiers. [ have been informed by
the citizens of Charleston, whom
ave met that these four men repre-
sent a high grade of public service.
I do not intend to appoint any un
fit man to Office. So far as | leg1ti
mately can, [ shall always endeavol
to pay regard to the wishes and feel
!. ings of the people of each locality
but / cannot consent to take the Pc
sition that the door of hope--the doc
of opportunity-is to be shut upol
n man, no matter how worthy
purely upon the grounds of race o
color. Such an attitude would, &C
cording to my convictions, be funda
mentally wrong. If, as you hold