The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1902-11-14
;19o2 NOVEMBER 1902;
THE NEGRO SHALL NOT BE IG,
NORED.

THE NEGRO SHALL NOT BE IG-
NORED.
President Roosevelt has again DEM
onstrated the fact that under no cir
cumstances shall the colored brother
be ignored so long as he can by either
word or action make him feel his inn
portance as a citizen of this glorious
United States. 1t will be remembered
that while he was Governor of New
York, he boosted of the fact that his
children attended school where the
sons and daughters of sunny Africa
received their education. Later on,
since President of the United States,
he invited and entertained at dinner
the negro leader, Booker T. Wash
ington. The talk about these two
scandals seems to have temporarily
died out and Mr.. Roosevelt, doubtless
realizing that tbs high time he should
do something to maintain his reputa-
ton as an admirer of the opposite
race, has decided that the Republicans
shall not keep their black brother out
of the councils of the party. On
Monday he removed Julian H. Bing-
ham, collector of Internal Revenue
for Alabama, and appointed in his
place Joseph o. Thompson, who, it
is claimed, is a Democrat. 1t is said
that this appointment is made in
recognition of Booker 7. Washing
ton as the appointee was strongly
supported by the head of the Tuske-
gee Institute, who recently had a
conference with the President on the
question of Southern politics. 1t is
expected that the action of the Presi-
dent will greatly discourage the
Lilly White" movement in the South,
as no Southern Republican has been
more active in efforts to prevent the
negro from being ignored in party
politics than Booker T. Washington,
who may also be credited with the
appointment of the successor of Will
liam Waugh, former. Attorney Gener-
al of Alabama.
The fact that Mr.. Bingham is
national committeeman from his
State gives added significance to the
Presidents attitude towards South
ern Republicans, and it will be a
matter of considerable concern to all
Southern members of the party.
Postmaster General Payne, who is
the political manager of the adj
1ninistration, made statement, after
the announcement of Bingham's re-
moval, in which he declared the
change reflected i'll no way upon the
official record or the integrity of the
former collector. The position, he
said, which had been taken by the
Alabama Republicans at their recent
State Convention, as interpreted by
Northern Republicans, was looked
upon as perversion of the funda,
mental principles of the party, and
as Mr.. Bingham was held partly re.
sponsible for this attitude, hence his
removal.
Mr.. Payne said further: Neither
the Administration or the Republican
party of the North will stand for the
exclusion of any section of our PEG.
pie by reason of their race or color,
when, in other respects, such persons
have complied with the laws and are
eligible under the law to full and free
participation in political action and
are Of high standard of personal
character. In other words there are
but few hundred colored men in
Alabama who come up to the re-
quirements of the recently adopted
State Constitution and are eligible
for participation in political affairs.
The action OF the Republican State
Convention referred to in arbitrarily
excluding them is not approved no
more than if this action was taken
in Ohio or Indiana"
1t is said that this action of the
President is bid for the negro vote
of the South and he believes that
thereby he will strengthen his cause
for nomination two years hence.
Mr.. Roosevelt realizes that he has
nothing tog gain from the white voters
in the South as he has so thoroughly
antagonized their interests by his
numerous recognitions of the equal
rights of the negro that they will
oppose him at the polls. His only
hope to get the vote in the Convention
will be from negro delegations. Col
lector Bingham's removal has been
accepted as a severe blow to the
movement which has been set on
foot among Republican leaders ofthe
South to build up white Republican
party. tits said that Senator Pritch-
ard, of North Carolina, has been in
defatigable in his efforts to construct
such a party in that State and that