The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1902-12-27

and divisions for years To come, a
Negro c0Iunist from the Uniteu states
could not be sure that IN removing
to any part Of Africa he would not
soon come under the mastery Of some
military satrap who would make him
again a slave with the added misery
Of being a slave in a strange land.
In brief. if the Negro cannot hope
for liberty in free America. how can
he reasonably hope fer il anywhere
in the Old World? 50 the colorei
people seem to have thought and. in
my judgment correctly.
Booker T. Washington has prOpos-
ed as a solution the education Of the
Negro and particularly his industrial
education. by all means let it be 50.
PROFESSIONALLY enlightenment of head
or hand must De- uf valuC-if in no
other way. NJ least. in dignifyin- the
student and enabling him To more in
telligcntIy scan his own situation and
supply what is wanting Manual ed
ucation. particularly. might. for a
time. and in many cases. give the re-
cipicnr increased nawrr To- earn and
thus tu raise in the social scale. But
il has alrcady Ecrn pointed out in this
article that under the trust system
/ personal accomplishments will nuJ
/ ucccss ariIy provide rcmuncrativc cm
pluymcnt for the masses he they
black or white The many places
which afford employment under "a,
competitive system of twenty-five
/ years ago are greatly diminished and
swiftly diminishing in number. Great
plants. where the cmp!oyc in only re-
d quirci To feed huge automatic ma
chimes without any invrntivcacss or
/ particular Intelligence upon his part
are increasingly dominating every
form Ui indu.t try. and i'm such plants
the tendency is To- employ a few high.
/ ~ accomplished men as supcriutcnd-
ents. foremcn and the like. while the
.
or almost as automatically as Tho
machines which they operate. and
with no rational hope of promotion
Finder such circumstances the old
fashioned skilled mechanic has but lit
tie more assurance Of profitable ON
ploymcnt than his unskiIIcd acighbor.
and. if the present regime Of tho
trusts shall continue Mr. Washington
will find that after his pupil has been
educated the most difficult part Of
the problem. the finding of a job. will
still remain. Clearly the road To in /
dustrial freedom uhc freedom which
eventually includes all other kinds Of !
frecd"ml lies across and over tho
great mOnupulios. and the cuIored cit |
lien has more at stake in the effort .
to control these corporations than
anybody else.
This opens the subject Of politics
and ] do not hesitate Ia say that tho
Negro will find his most effective field
IF sclf-heIp at the ballot box. II is
true that ne has been voting now for
a long time not only without advanc-
ing his race greatly. hut even drifting
backward recently. if my view be cor
rect. But this partial failure Of the
ballot in the Negroes hands Is not
conclusive evidence Of the worthless
ness Of the ballot His ballot has
been used hut not inteIliecntIv and
consequently not effectively. The
Negro must learn many things. doubt
less. but above and before everything
he must learn to vote.
He must learn that what is called
recognition" Cthe occasional election
or appointment Of a colored man to-
some small office is Of but little value
to the race at large. He should.
therefore. steadily vote for princinles
and policies as they effect the multi
tude rather than for the doubtful
fruit ri few political places for Ne
groes. The best possible "recogn,
ton for the colored people will he &C.
complished when cOIored men shall
become so strong at the polls that
white men will hasten to recognize
them 10y such legislative and admins
trative measures as shall effectively
secure the black mans rights in com
mon with those Of all men.
The Negro must also learn. and as
quickly as possible. that he owes moth
inv whatever hut resentment to tho
republican party. The republican
party Of Lincoln's time was a patriot.
ic. humanitarian and progressive par
ty. firmly planted uDon the great doc
'rine OF equal rights for all and spe-
ci7l privileges for nome" but its char