The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1902-07-17
MR.. ROBERT WINSTON ON THE
RACE QUESTION.
Wilmington Messenger.


The current issue of the South At
lantic Quarterly, published at Trinity
College, contains an article by Rob-
ert w. Winston. of Durham, on IAN
Unconsidered Aspect OF the Negro
Question. Mr.. Winston says that
the white people of the South. after
taxing themselves for forty years to
educate the negro and give him asy-
lums and orphanages are undergoing
a reaction of feeling in this matter.
I'm fact" he says, 1.-the average
Southern negro has lost to certain
extent his Southern white friend"
He places blame for this upon the ne
gro's increasing worthlessness as a
laborer, whether on the farm or in
domestic POSITIONS; because he has
come to think idleness, vice and i'm
pudence stand for manhood and free
dom. Mr.. Winston declares that
through the negro's idleness and
worthlessness as laborcr, the aver
aye Southern farm has become unfit
to live upon, and in the towns and
cities the housekeepers have even
more worry and trouble from the
same cause.
The remedy for the growing hatred
of the negro by the white man Mr..
Winston places in the hands of the
negro. Let him give up idleness,
| impudence and vice and become ia
dustrious and honest and strive to
| better his condition and he will re-
| gain the friendship OF the whites. Ii
is gloomy picture OF the negro's fu,
ture that Mr.. Winston draws, unless
he will make up his mind to aban-
don his present evil habits. As tC
the possibilities of the negro as :
| law biding, industrious race Mr.
| Winston says:
| Now there are those who believe
that when the negro becomes edu
Gated and wealthy he will command
such respect as to win social place
among the white neighbors, and there
| are others who think that the negro
| is beast, and should. like the beast
be fed and restrained. Are not botl
in error? And if both are in error
where is the safe way between these
two extremes? What is the limit o.
the advancement Of the negro il
wealth, in education, in morals? II
has no limit. Ii he will now and al
once but heed the voice Of friendship
and proceed to do his duty in tha
state of life in which it has pleased
God to call him he will have friend.
by the million, and the extremist:
dare not touch a hair of his head
The negro can do his duty and h;
will do it. | voice but the true sen
timent of the South when | wish TO
the negro all things good and useful
short of social equality. May wealth
and virtue and contentment be hi
forever"
Mr.. Winston, we think, goes to al
extreme on both sides of the pictur
he draws. We cannot agree witt
him in his declaration of the grea
hatred that is rapidly growing amons
the white people against the negro
Did this feeling exist to the extern
declared there would be almost dali,
disorders and deadly conflicts between
the two races. While there is grow
ing sentiment against the continue,
paying of taxes by the whites to edu
cate negro children. we do not thinl
there is that animosity against tn
negro as q race. On the contrary
we think the feeling is friendly ant
becoming more so as the negro give
up politics. 1t is not as citizel
that the whites now oppose tn
negro, but as a voter.
Mr.. WinstOn's extreme views ar
ply probably in some personal in
stances and perhaps to certain entir
communities, but as a general propc
sition, we think he is mistaken