The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1903-01-08
As was 10 81 Exrxc,rp.

~ was naturally 10 De eAptctcu setn1
OF our esteemed Republican contem-
poraries fiastened TO butt into the In
dianola affair. A typical comment Is
from The Leavenworth Times which,
under the heading. HE Did Right" says;
The President after consultation with
the members of his cabinet has decioep
to teach the people Of Indianoia, MISS ;,
a lesson The lawless element OF tne
place threatened the postmistress until
she was forced to resign. Inc feslshs-
tion has not been accepted and the At
torney General will take the matter up
while the postoffice will be closed until
the people come to their senses.
Ali this because the postmistress nap
pens to be q colored woman Inc pest
people in the communities where such
outrages take place do not endorse them.
1t is the lawless,, the roughs and the
touxhs who engage in them, but II IL
up to the decent people to enforce the
laws and put down such characters. N
the community will not do so the gov
eminent must, and the President has
adopted a policy which will be warmly
endorsed by the people OF the country.
The Kansas City Journal INDUCES in
half a column Of ponderous platitrdes
to the effect that ''the South needs a
little just such discipline" and tells US
that when "the question Of the enforce
ment OF federal law is involved. vast
majority of the people Of the country will
back the President in whatever action
he takes. 1t Is the legal province Of
people of Indianola, to say who shall
handle the mail at that place." with a
good deal more, all Of which We sup
pose was to be expected from newspapers
which are rarely known to miss an oc-
CASTOR to show their animus towards
everything Southern.
If The Times had considered 1t incum-
bent on 1t to try to get at the facts 1t
might have learned that its comments
are neither just nor truthful. There is
not a particle of evidence that the wo-
man had been mistreated by the lawless
element" or any other element, for that
matter. 1t is not fact that she was
threatened because she happens to be
a colored woman" nor dees there seem
to be any evidence that she was in any
danger whatever.
The opinion of The Journal that "it is
the legal province of the government to
say who shall handle the mail at that
place" may be technically true, because
the government has the appointing power
and can appoint whomsoever 1t chooses,
but an administration with proper regard
for the rights and wishes of the people
of any community would not appoint a
postmaster who is obnoxious to those
who are most Immediately affected II
is the people of the town, not the Presi-
dent or the government whose wishes
should be consulted and ne undesirable
person should be appointed to a position
where the appointee comes into such
intimate contact with the people as 1:
the case with a postmaster in small
town.
We deny, too that the government has
any right to close the Indianola office
We admit that it has the legal and con
stutional right to retain Mrs. Cox anG
to protect her, but 1t has no more righ
to close that office than to close tbs
Office in New York or Boston. All thi.
talk INDUCED in by The Journal ant
Times about teaching the South lessor
is the veriest poppy-cock. 1t is tn,
President himself who needs to learn
lesson and If the people do their solemn
duty next year they will teach him on
that will set him back few years.
The truth of the matter is that eithe
the President is afraid of the negro ele
ment of our national population, or h
wants to humiliate the Southern peopl
or-else he has natural prediction 70
dark skins. We think the former Is tn
true reason for his actions, and his cours
in the case of DIR. Crum Is evidence o
it. He is afraid of the negro infiuenc
in the North, and proposes to placat
that element and bid for its support b!
pandering to 1t. He knows he cal
expect no electoral votes from the South
and he is not sure Of the delegates from
this section in the next convention unles
he gets them through negro influence
He has antagonized the white element o
his party in the South in order that h
may bind to his support the negroes o
all sections. That is the explanation o
his course.