The progressive farmer., 1902-09-02

6ILt4iy- VI I'LL dAd. POO13s O1 O1 OdI14O-
lie and Protestant, or of Baptist and
Methodist, townsman and country
man? To illustrate: Suppose we let
the wealthier race now say to the poor
er race, owe are tired of having to
pay taxes to educate your children.
Take what is your own and educate
your children; we will use our money
on our children" What then should
we answer-as Governor Aycock sug
gested to the writer few days ago
if ten years later the old aristocratic
idea should show itself by the rich
white man saying to the poor white
man, "If it is not right to compel a
rich race to aid the education of
poor race, neither is it right to compel
rich class to aid the education of
poor class. I am tired of paying tax
es to educate your children: educate
your own and I will educate mine"
Positively inevitable is the conclu-
sion that the adoption of the proposed
policy would mean the breaking up of
the foundation principle of our edu-
oational system. Who can say what
the end would be?
In the second place, as have said,
the proposed change is inexpedient be-
cause cit would aggravate, not alle-
viate, the Southern race problem" To
put it more plainly, it would produce
result exactly contrary to that pre-
dicted by the extremists who advocate
it-just as short-sighted extremists in
the North have seen their policy of
wholesale negro enfranchisement make
the South solidly Democratic, instead
of solidly Republican as they expected.
For nearly four decades the South
ern white man has borne the burden of
negro education. When he came home
from the war with little left save hope
and honor, he assumed it. The carpet
Dagger came, and the negro was in
strumentaI in forcing on the South the
most vicious and corrupt government
that this country has seen; yet I be-
lieve that the white people of no
Southern State, coming to their own
again, attempted to withdraw aid from
negro schools. To abandon now, in
our day of greater strength and pros
perity, the policy that we have main
tained through all these years of trial
and tempest, would widen the breach
between the races, would break the
most potent tie by which we may prop
erly guide and influence the negro, and
would endanger the Southern policy
of suffrage restriction which we re-
gard as best for both races.
"The negroes are a child race" as
DR.. Felix Adler says, and both races
would suffer if the guiding hand of
the white man were removed from the
educational work of this child race.
The negro would suffer because of his
inability to choose wise leaders; the
white man would suffer because of the
improper training of this people whose
destiny is to be somehow interviewer
with that of the South, whether or not
we shut our eyes to this fact. As it is
now, the white people pay the taxes;
they control the government. Sup
porting and managing the negro
schools, it is in our power to adapt
the negro's education to his needs, and
select the worthie3t and safest black
men to direct the education and in
fuence tie principles of the young ne
groes. Of all the methods of leading
the negro in right paths, of all the
methods of promoting right relations
between the races, this is the most
practi .able and powerful. If we have
not heretofore improved the opportun-
ity, the fault is our own; we have in
telligence enough for the task, and
the machinery is at our command.
On the other hand, were we to with
draw aid from Legro schools, we
should at the same time withdraw con-
troll over them; and in our stead
would come perhaps new and unworthy
leaders, allied with misguided, long
range ph;1anthropists. For the negro
schools would not be closed if the
Southern whites should refuse to aid
them longer. They would be main
tanned by offended blacks and by negro
sympathiIers in all parts of the coun-
try. So far from promoting peace,
as they may now be made to do, it is