The Savannah morning news., 1902-11-28
NEGROES AND JOBS
PRESIDENT TELLS WHY HE AP-
POINTS THEM.
DOESN'T OBJECT TO COLOR.
FEELS THE RACE SHOULD HAVE
ENCOURAGEMENT.


Will Consider Charges Made
Against Crum, but Does not En-
terrain an objection to Him on the
Score of His CoIOr-GeneraI Dis
cussiOn of the Proposition.
Washington, Nov. 27.-The President
has sent the following communication
to a prominent citizen of Charleston,
S. c.:
Personal. White House, Washing
ton. Nov. 26, 1902 My dear Sir: I am
in receipt of your letter of Nov. 10 and
of one from MIR. -, under date of
Nov. IL, in reference to the appoint
ment of DIR. Crum as collector of the
port of Charleston.
I'm your letter you make certain
specific charges against DR.. Crum,
tending to show his unfitness in several
respects for the Office sought. These
charges are entitled to the utmost
consideration from me, and 1 shall go
over them carefully before taking any
action After making these charges
you add, as a further reason for oppo-
sition to him, that he is a colored man,
and after reciting the misdeeds that
followed carpet-bag rule and negro
domination in South Carolina. you say
that we have sworn never again to
submit to the rule of the African, and
such an appointment as that of DR..
Crum to any such office forces US to
protest unanimously against this in
suit to the white blood and you add
that you understood me to say that
would never force negro on such
community as yours.
''Mr. - puts the objection of col
or first, saying, first, he is a colored
man, and that of itself ought to bar
him from the office.
Color Is Not n Bar.
ain view of these last statements
think ought to make clear to you why
am concerned, and panied by your
making them and what my attitude is
as regards all such appointments How
anyone could have gained the idea that
I had said l would not appoint reputa-
BILE and upright colored men to office,
when objection was made to them
solely on account of their color, con-
TESS am wholly unable to understand
AT the time of my visit to Charleston
last spring / had made. and since that
time I have made. a number of such
appointments from several states in
which there is a considerable colored
population. For example, made one
such appointment in Mississippi and
another in Alabama, shortly before my
visit to Charleston. I had at that
time appointed two colored men as
judicial magistrates in the District of
Columbia. / have recently announced
another such appointment for New Or
leans, and have just made one from
Pennsylvania.
fAx-t ~rNF, TIT
ments in every state have been of white
men. North and South. alike it has
been my sedulous endeavor to appoint
only men of high character and good
capacity. whether white or black. But
it has been my consistent policy in
every state where their numbers war
ranted it tc recognize colored men of
good repute and standing in making
appointments to office. These appoint
ments of colored men have in no state
made more than small proportion of
the total number of appointments.
Can Make No Exception.
II am unable to see how l can legiti-
mately be asked to make an exception
for South Carolina. In South Carolina
to the four most important positions in
the state l have appointed three men
and continued in office a fourth, all of
them white men-three of them origi-
nally Gold Democrats-two of them, as
am informed, the sons of Confederate
soldiers. I have been informed by the
citizens of Charleston whom / have
met that these four men represent a
high grade of public service.
Il do not intend to appoint any I'M
fit men to office. So far as / legiti-
mately can, / shall always endeavor to
pay regard to the wishes and feelings
of the people of each locality, but
cannot consent to take the position
that the door of hope-the door of op-
portunity-is to be shut upon any man.
no matter how worthy, purely upon the
grounds of race or color. Such an at
titude would, according to my convic-
tons, be fundamentally wrong. If, as
you hold, the great bulk of the colored
people are not yet fit in point of char
acter and influence to hold such posi-
TONS ii seems to me that it is worth
while putting a premium upon the eff
fort among them to achieve the char
acter and standing which will fit them.
Is Not Negro Domination.
The question OF negro domination
does rot enter into the matter at ALL
1t might as we'll be asserted that when
was Governor of New York I sought
to bring about negro domination in
that state because / appointed two
colored men of good standing and
character to responsible positions-one
of them to a position paying a salary
twice as large as that paid in the Of
fee now under consderation-one of
them director of the Buffalo Expo
sition. The question raised by you~and
Mr.. - in the statements to which
refer is simply whether it is to be
declared that under no circumstances
shall any man of color, no matter how
upright and honest, no matter how
good citizen, no matter how fair in
his dealings with all his fellows, be
permitted to hold office under our gov
eminent, l certainly cannot assume
such an attitude, and you must permit
me to say that in my view it is an
attitude no man should assume. wheth-
er he looks at it from the standpoint
OF the true interest of the white man
OF the South or of the colored man
oil the South-not to speak of any other
section of the Union.
1t seems to me that il is a good
thing from every standpoint to let the
colored man know that II he shows in
marked degree the qualities OF good
dtizenship--the qualities which in
white man we feel are entitled 10 re-
ward-then he will not be cut of from
al hope of similar reward.
Without any regard as 10 what my
decision may be on the merits OF this
particular applicant for this particular
place. feel that / ought 70 let you