The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-12-02
(PERSONAL.)

Charleston, S. c.:
CPERSONAL.) |
White House, Washington, d. G.
November 26. 1902.
My Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your
letter of November 10th, and Of one
from Mr.. -, under date Of Novem-
Der 18th. in reference to the appoint
ment Of DR.. Crum as collector of the
port of Charleston.
In your letter you make certain spe-
cifc charges against DR.. Crum tend
ing to show his unftness in several
respects for the office sought. Th,.se
charges are entitled to the utmost con-
sideration from me and l shall go over
them carefully before taking any &C
ton. After making these charges you
add. as a further reason for opposi-
ZION to him, that he IS a colored man.
and after reciting the misdeeds that
followed ~carpetbag rule and negro
domination in South Carolina. you say
that eve 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 10
protest unanimously against this in
suit to the white blood: and you q
that you understood me to say that i
would never force a negro on such a
community as yours
Mr. - puts the objection of color
first. saying: first he is a colored man,
anGA that of itself ought to bar him
from the office" In view of these last
statements 1 think I ought to make
clear to you why I am concerned and
panied by your making them and what
my attitude is as regards all uch ap-
pointments. How any one could have
gained the idea that I had SAID 1 would
not appoint reputable and upright col
ored men to office. when objection was
made to them solely OH account o. their
color, 1 confess / am wholly unable to
understand. At The time of my visit
to Charleston last spring 1 had made,
and since that time l have made, a
number of such appointments from
several states in which there is a COLI
siderable colored population. For ex-
ample, I made one such appointment
in Mississippi and another in Alabama,
shortly before my visit to Charleston
1 had at that time appointed two co.,
ored men as judicial magistrates in
the District of Columbia. 1 ave re-
Gently announced another such appoint
ment for New Orleans, and have just
made one from Pennsylvania. Tile
great majority of my appointments in
every state have been of white men.
~ ---L ~ - 49, -z. 49,,
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 warranted
it, to recognize colored men of good
repute and standing il making appoint
ments to office. These appointments of
colored men nave in no state made
more than a small proportion of the
total number of appointments. 1 am
unable to see how 1 can legitimateiy
EsVssked TO make an exception for
South Carolina. In South Carolina 20
the four most important positions in
the state L have appointed three men
and continued in offie a fourth, all Of
them white men-three Of them orig
inaRy gold democrats-two of them, as
L am informed, the sons of Confederate
soldiers. I have been informed by the
citizens OF Charleston, whom l have
met. that these four men represent =
high grade of public service L do not
intend to appoint IN unfit men 20
office. s. far as / l~egitiznately can. L
shall always endeavor to pay regard
to the wishes and feelings of the people
of ZACH locality, but 1 cannot consent
to take the position that the door o.
hope-the door of opportunities to he
shut upon any man, no matter how
worthy, purely upon the grounds OF
race or color. Such an attitude would.
according to my convictions. be undo
metaFy wrong If, as you hold. the great
bulk of the colored people are not Yes
fit in point Of character and influence
to hold such positions, it seems to me
that it is worth while putting q prem
ium upon the effort among them To
achieve the character and standing
> which will fit them.
The question of negro domination
does not enter into the matter at all.
It might as we'll be asserted that whec
I was governor of New York I sought
to bring about negro domination in
that state because 1 appointed two COL
ored men of good standing and charac-
ter to responsible position-one of them
to a positions paying a salary twice as
large as that raid in the Office now
under considera ,ion-one Of them a di-
rector of the Buffalo exposition. The
: question raised by you and Mr.. - in