Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1902-05-13
Dsvis' Bad Bre Ak.

ont in a frsh spot. His crown
,it;on seems to be to leave to
.ori,v legacy of strenuity equal
H on,v bv that of the invincible Theo-
ore From time to time he has Civ
the thinking and abservant world
striking exhibitions OF strenu-
I,sness. but his latest official action
oir1v CAPS all former achievements
rho novelty of his plan for giving the
@o+e East q proper conception OF
,a moro problem is fairly dazzling.
Theoretically, it was an ldea WofthE
Riche]eu. Practically, is was a
,,enarent and highly ridiculous bid
Tor notoriety. 49,,
Tnesdav.s dispatches brought intel
,;aorce Of Gov. Davis scheme to give
+1,o # an idea of what the negro
nroblem really is. He picked out one
If the most incurable and offensive
nooro convicts in the state penltentl-
orv and gave him a full and free par
don with the Droviso that within thir-
~ days he must repair to the state
If Massachusetts, and take up his resi-
Edence there with the intention of be-
] coming a qualified citizen of the Bay
Estate.
The novelty of this scheme is its
sole redeeming feature. In the first
n1ace the chances are thousand to
one against the negro convict keep
of 40 %
probably return to his old haunts in
Arkansas and continue his career of
crime until the hand of the law is
again laid upon him. Admitting, how
ever. for the sake of an argument that
4 the negro will purchase a ticket for
BOSTON. and repair thither as fast IS
steam can cary him, is it likely that
the commonwealth Of Massachusetts
will welcome a notorious CRIMINAL
character fairly saturated in crime,
and examplar of the very worst type
of the Southern negro?
The carrying out Of Mr. Davis plan
would imply that al 1.-THE negroes III
the south are bad, and representa-
tive of this race was to be forwarded
tn Boston for psychological study.
While it is true that the percentage
o. crime among the negroes 5 larger
then among the whites, still the ne
eroes in the south are. as class. law
abiding and peacefully inclined. The
convict pardoned by Gov. Davis, is 70
more a representative of the negro
population of the south than the AZ
kansas governor is representative
type of the southern statesman. HIS
idea of foisting another habituai Grim
inal on the community in ord II to pro
mote eastern contact with the negro
question is eminently farcial The
hvpothesis that his act will give the
Bostonians proper idea Of tl,e real
character of the race question is Who'll
ly untenable.
The negro problem vii gradually
work itself out if Mr.. Davis and oF9cr
strenuous statesmen can be induced
to hold their horses for while, 1t
is troubling nobody in particular Just
now, least of all the people OF the
south. The negro is slowly recoSnlz-
ing his importance as an lndustllal
factor ands his unftness for politics.
He is sticking to the noe and plow and
not bothering his head about social Or
political conditions The regulations
of the criminal element among the ne
groes must be left to the duly con-
stituted authorities and in time we
will sec a decided Improvement in taA
colored race.
Mr. Davis unquestionably made
bad break. 1t was neither wise nor
judicious to open the gates OF the pen
|itentiary to iberate confirmed Grim
inal for any purpose whatever. Nor
does the idea Of making the east
Humping ground for negro criminals
fairly represent southern sentiment.
We would like to get rid Of our crlmI-
mails. OF course but not at the expense
|of the country.-ShrevepOr Times.