Evening star., 1902-03-25
ANNUAL FUNCTION
Meeting Of Congregational
Club Last Night.
RACE ISSUE DISCUSSED
REPRESENTATIVE LITTLEFIELD
REGARDS PROBLEM AS GRAVE.
An Address With Civilization AS
Theme-Speeches by Other Prom
inent Men-Business Session.


Of this city was held last night at the First
Church, corner 10th and G streets nortE-
west. The occasion was the annual meet
ing Of the Washington Congregational
Club, and the adherents to that faith In the
city attended in representative numbers
| Addresses were made by Representative
Charles E. Littlefield Of Maine Justice
Brewer. Gen. Ellis Spear. DIR. s. NJ. New
man and others. Senator John c. Spooner
Of Wisconsin was expected to be present
ana deliver an address, but letter to DR..
Gates, expressing his regrets at the neces-
| sity of his being absent, explained that he
had been suddenly called to New York on
| important business.
A business session Of the club was held
at 6 o'clock by the president, Dr. Merrill
| E. Gates. The principal business transact
| ed was the election of officers for the en-
suing year. and the following were chosen:
President. DR.. ]. l.. Ewell, dean OF the
theological department Of Howard Univer-
sity; vice presidents, Prof. ]. w. CHECKER
| ing, Rev. E. n. Kirby Gen. Ellis Spear and
Prof. G. ]. Cummings; secretary. Mr.: o. A.
l.. Merrfield; treasurer, Mr.. Alfred Wood'
| members of the executive committee, A. J..
SturteVant, ]. F. Johnson and A. Is. Chat-
field After hearing the reports OF the sec
retary and treasurer for the past year. the
| meeting adjourned to the parlors on the
second floor, where a bountiful repast had
been prepared by the Ladies Aid Society OF
| the First Church.
Dr. Merrill +. Gates. the retiring pres-
dent. was toastmaster. and when the Vlands
| had been disposed Of he made short ad-
| dress, introducing Representative Little
| field, who spoke en- "A Feature in the De-
veIopment of Civilization
Mr. Littlefeld's Address.
Ir his opening remarks the speaker said
| he desired to talk of the civilization as
connected with the Anglo-Saxon race IN
America. Other races, he said, had occu'
pied the world and left monuments to ind1-
cate what they had accomplished in art and
| literature, but the achievements OF the
| Arglo-S Saxon in connection with what we
| call civilization have conferred more ben
| efits upon the world than has the civil
| Zation of any other race that has lnhapte1
| 1. Prior to the sixteenth century, he SAID
| the word "civilization'' was not used gem
! orally. Shakespeare never once used the
| word in all his works. nor does he once
| refer to the idea of civilizing any people or
any land
| The race in America. Mr.. Littletteld de-
| clared was not wholly Anglo-SaXon. but
| composite and mixed with ether nat1onall-
| ties. The colonists from the different sec
tiCns came to this country inspired with d
| desire to conquer and CiviliEe new world
| They found here the Indians and pursued
| different methods in treating with them
He told Of the advance of the white man
| upon Indian territories from the eastern
| shore and the inceSsant retreat of the red
| men toward the west, until they met an
| other band being driven out by the ciVilizing
| forces from the Pacific coast The Indians,
| he said, were compressed between the two
| forces and now of that former horde of
| aborigines only about $4,000 remain In the
| United States. Mr.. Littlefiald said that al
| though the treatment Of the savages might
have been unjust, and perhaps was, yet it
| was the only way to accomplish the re-
| suits which justified the means.
The Negro Problem.
| In speaking Of the negro problem as one
| OF the questions in our scheme Of civiliZa-
| ton Mr. Littlefield said the slavery of the
| black man was the deprivation of liberty
| vouchsafed in the constitution of the Unit
| ed States. The production of cotton in the
| south required cheap labor. This was neces-
sary in order to handle it with profit. and
| the slave became almost indispensable to
| the commercial scheme. He spoke of the
| civil as 1.-The mightiest CONFUSION that
| ever rocked this country or any other"
| We had soWn the wind and reaped the
| whirlwind."
But the great war was ended and 1t
| threw upon the government 1000. 900 people
| of the African race They had been brought
| as savages from their home. and no efforts
| had been made toward their civilization.
| They were now freed and became what was
| termed peril to the commonwealth. The
| civilization of the white people had been
accomplished after centuries Of struggle and
| association with the greatest races of man.
| kind.
| by what right" demanded Mr. Little
| field "does the legislature of any state or
| the Congress of the United States create
| an equality between an ignorant and savage
| race and a Christian people with the civili-
| cation of centuries behind them?"
| He deprecated the giving of suffrage to
the negro at that time. and the fruitless
effort to create in him the ability to govern
not only himself, but others.
| 1.-The Ku-Klux klan,' said Mr.. Little
| field. with it's civilization behind it, in
| trying to suppress the newly created citi-
zen was the outcome of that mistake
Then came the tissue ballot and now we
| have the grandfather clause which vir-
| tually disenfranchises every negro in the
South If the elective franchise had been
given only to those who had the intelligence
to use 1t, the tendency In the south would
have been to increase Its representation by
| legitimate means. Today the tendency is
white man in control. The result Is di-
| rectly opposite to what was intended.
Of Tremendous Importance.
1.-THE negro question is one Of tremen-
dous importance.
The idea of deportation so often suggested,
could not be carried out. he said for there
is no authority under which we can deport
a citizen Of the United States. THAT
ne mesake Of the father OF the country, who
is working down in Georgia, Is doing the
most practical work. We must look to
| the practical education OF the negro as the
| only possible solution of the problem The
funda mental mistake was In enfranchising
the race placing in the hands Of those peo-
pie powers they were unqualified to exer-
else, giving them power over a civilized
race overpowered by war. It takes more
than generation or two, or three, even,
| to civiiize any people Fortunate will be
the generation that viii see q true solution
oil this problem -
The Philippine Question.
1r referring to the Philippine situation.
Mr.. Littlefield said: II
"It is not possible by legislation or by
education to create in any race the power
OF self-government 1t may be latent
power in some races that only needs the
touch Of the higher civilized bodies of men
to develop. l am not prepared to say it is
rot in the power Of the negro to govern
| himself. as some people have said. What
We know of the FiApino-what General
| Chaffee says in his report-ts that this ract,
excels In duplicity. treachery and the arts
| of savagery the American Indian. There
are ten millions of people dependent upon
us. Only few thousands of them can read
and write. 1 do not know what will be ac-
complished. 1 do not think 1t is giving
away a state secret to say that there is not
| a man In the House Of Representatives on