The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-12-03
THE TRUTH AT LAST.
Roosevelt's Family Did Not Dine
With Booker Washington.
HE WAS SERVED WITH LUNCH
In Private Room and Was
in No Sense a Guest on
Terms of Socia!
Equality.

TIE Memphis C0mmercial-Appeal
publishes the following: Booker Wash
ington did not dine at the White
House table as the guest Of President
Roosevelt and family. as has been
previously charged. is the startling
announcement made by Gen. Marcus
j. Wright, of the War Department
at Washington, who has been visiting
in Memphis for number Of days.
This statement was made several
DAYS ago Ey Gen. Wright in the office
of a well known whole sale grocer
who was a companion-at-arms with
him during tha late war. Seated
around the office were a number OF
well known business men. who were
talking with Gen. Marcus Wright
ocer happenings of the past.
The President was in Memphis that
day for the purpose of doing honor 20
Gen. Luke E. Wright, and the subject
of the Washington incident, as it al
wavs has in the South since the an
nOuncement was first sent broadcast
over the land was broached by num-
be of those present.
THAT statement was false" replied
Gen. Wright Immediately, to the in
tense .astoniShment Of those present.
Nov as you ali know. am Dem
ocrat, and have never voted any other
ticket in MY life. For the past tweG-
ty-three years, however, have been a
resident Of Washington, and have had
no opportunity Of exercising my fran
chiSe. But when man has been SO
wofully misunderstood, even if he is
my political opponent, believe it a
duty to set the matter right before
the people.
THE whole truth Of the matter is
this. President Roosevelt had been
anxious for some tine to obtain
truthful light on the situation in the
South. Finally, at the suggestion OF
a number Of Southern and Northern
men Of both great political parties, he
sent message to Booker Washington
asking him to come to the capital for
conference regarding the negro. his
needs and his capabilities. Washing
ton came. and the conference, which
was started in the Presidents eSecu-
tive Office and was changed to his
private ofice because of repeated in
.terruptions, continued for five hours.
I'm the midst of the conference be-
tween the President and Washington,
lunch was sent 10 to the chief eNecu-
tive of the nation. Desiring to con-
tinue the conversation, and rather
than lose the time necessary for Wash
ington to 60 to lunch. President
Roosevelt thereupon ordered that
lunch be served to the negro educator
in the same room.
Now this is all there was to that
story. Washington did not dine at the
White House table, did mt break
bread with the Presidents wife and
daughter, and was in no sense a guest
upon terms of social equality"
Asked as to why the president had
never seen fit to have this statement
made public, Gen. Wright replied:
Because he is too great man. He
believed that it was beneath him to
deny story so palpably false, and
that the truth would in time prevail.
It is his ambition to be President Of
the whole people of the United States,
knowing no section or party, and his
visit here shows how fond he is Of the
Southern people. He is an aristocrat
to the finger tips, and for that reason.
aside from the fact that he is the son
of Southern woman would never be
willing to acknowledge the social
equality Of the negro. At The same
time he believes, as we all 60, that
everything possible should be done to
assist the members Of that race IN
their struggle for higher citizenship,
and will be their friend in all their
worthy undertakings.