The Washington bee., 1902-04-05
w. CALVIN CHASE, EDITOR.
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.
An IgnomlniOus Breakdown.

An IgnOminiOuS Breakdown.
On Monday last, the House was
regaled bg garbled effusion from
Representative Williams of Mississ-
ip2i, in opposition to the Crum-
packer Bill. Some who look
through glass darkly. have pro-
nounced it a most abe and schol
arly effort, as convincing as it was
beautiful. To the sober mind and
one familiar with the history of
southern craftsmanship, this So
called scholarly effort" is but the
hideous balderdash of a coward,
who so far forgets the tenets of bis
fathers as to ungraciOusly give the
lie to their most vehement and
honest utterances and to fawn be
fore the avalanche of righteous in
dignation which is even now seen
on the horizon and which pretends
the re-establishment of justice and
fair dealing toward all American
citizens.
This new offshoot compares the
Negro with the Chinaman and
draws upon his Imagination for
proof that like the Chinaman the
Negro has no right N this country,
much less equal political and civil
privileges along with the whites.
Forgetting the history of the
Anglo-Saxou race, VIII ch has long
since become absorbed into het-
erogeneous humanity. he talks
about race superiority with a fiipp-
aney which would become only a
juvenile sophomonic enthusiast. In
his attempt to justify the crime of
Acknowledgement, he formulates
new doctrine. He makes the start
ling announcement that there is a
difference between ignorance and
illiteracy and implies that while
the whites are ilitcrate they are
not necessarily ignorant but that
the ilIiteracY among the blacks is a
sufficient evidence Of ignorance.
By this strange Alchemy, an illit-
crate white man can vote, while
every negro who cannot read and
write should be disfranc ised.
1t will certainly do no harm to
remind Mr. Williams of few ten
cts of his fore-fathers and advise
him Of the Characterization which
the southern people have always
awarded the blacks. One of the
most common sayings is that the
negro is one of the most matter-of-
fact beings on earth.
He Is quick to perceive, quick to
learn, quick to forgive and quick
to accommodate himself to his sur
rOuudings and to assimilare the
civilization by which he is environ
ed. Southern writings are full of
evidences of these and the average
southern man has repeated it Il
thousand times over.
There is no disposition on our
part 10 belittle the Chinaman. IN
deed, there are many virtues and
many arts which they can teach
the proud American. But the COM
parison made by Williams leads us
to contrast the two races.
L e Chinaman's home in Chi
ma, the Negroes is' America; the
Chinaman does not assimilate
American civilization; the Negro
does; the Chinaman- takes ne part
In tn" religion or the politics of
this country. the Negro is ardent
with regard to both. The China
man I es not wish the American
eduta ion, the Negro rot only
wishes 20 have it, but is making
rapid progress along educational
lines rhe Chinaman cares not to
ente the various trades and pro-
fessions, the Negro isanxious to do
so and is doing so whenever and
wherever the business spirir is suf-
fi3iehiiS y liberal to admit Of n.
Hence this gratultous compari-
son on The part of Williams is only
tSe mesn graspiDg Of an Opportun-