The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-02-20
TlLLMAN ON RACE VAR

South Carolina Senator Makes a Vio>
lent Address at New York Banquet.
New York, Feb. 1.-THE thirteenth an
nual dinner of the New York Press clut
was given Friday night at the Waldorf.
Astoria. William j. Bryan, Mayor Low,
shizoo Rondo. Japan: Walter Da,nrosch.
Senator Tillman. General d. e. Sickles
and John Schroers of the st. Louis West
liche-Post. President Joseph Howard, jr.t
announced the President Roosevelt had
sent his regrets at not being able to at
tend.
Senator Tillman's speech was the fea.
ture.
Referring to the negro question. he said
that President Roosevelt had raised a
subject that will not easily down. 1t had
brought forth a number Of comments from
prominent men of the north. After men
tioning a number of these comments and
the men who made them, he said:
You have had this subject, Roosevelt
Hanna, Ireland and finally Smooted. and
now it seems to me it is about time that
we had some one who knows something
about 1t say something. What are my
qualifications"
First, he said, he had been cursed by q
negro nanny Then, although he had
not served in the confederate army, he
had tried to join it and had been pre-
vented only by an accident that deprived
him OF his eye. Lastly, he had been upon
the ground and saw the ravages of tho
war. II know something OF what this
race question has cost this country. Many
of you who write so fippantly about II
know nothing about it," he continued.
"And If you write about so grave, a sub
ject when you know nothing of it, you are
no less than criminals. Mr.. Roosevelt was
very wise in saying it will take the best
thought OF both sections of this country
to solve the problem.
1--WE were compelled by the exigencies
OF the situation to use the shotgun and
the tissue ballots, and we used both.
Why? Because in the state of South Car
olina there were $1,000 more negro voters
than there are white voters.''
He said that they in South Carolina had
established their free school and that ever
since there have been more negro chill.
dren in those free schools than white
children.
do you think it was our purpose to
raise these negro children to a condition
OF enlightenment in order that they may
govern us?" he asked. by the holy God,
nor he cried.
"Three months ago" he Continued, ''the
president wrote a letter in which he said
that when a negro showed himself quail
fed to hold public office he was unwilling
to shut the door Of hope in his face"
Commenting on this, Senator Tillman
said that If the present condition of edu-
cation continues and the negro is to gain
control of the state of South Carolina
and the white become subordinate, the de-
plorable result would be that in a hun-
dred years the population would be half
mulatto. He had no practicable solution
of the problem, he said, unless it be that
the north take it's share Of the blacks, .if
you love them so WE'LL"
L ~ r Z - II FL N%
he continued. AT first oe1~ applause
greeted his u~tterances. bu: nward the
end an occasional hiss was seard, and
finally he was interrupted by a voice cry
ng: what about your nephew"
Senator Tillman was at the moment de-
Tending the summary measure adopted in
the south for the punishment Of negroes
guilty of crime, and especially against
u0rnen. After the excitement caused by
tat Interruption had subsidized, Mr.. Till
man said there was much more he could
say and would like to say. but that he re-
garded it as highly ina. propriate to re-
fer In public to family affairs.
Before concluding his address he took
occasion to assert that If the policy Of
raising the negro into power in the south
IS carried too far the result will be blood
shed. and its flow will be upon the heads
of those who have tried to force the white
population into subsection to the black.
This was not a threat, he said, but sim
ply a statement of what he knew from his
personal acquaintance with the conditions
in the south would be the inevitable re-
suit.