The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1903-06-13

those great words which the sons OF the
fathers would fain forget: We -holG these
truths to be self-ev1dent: mat az MI !
are created equal; that they are endoWeo
by their Creator with certain lnal1enaple
rights; that among these are life, nperty'
and the pursuit of happiness
The writer is intensely in earnest, po-
his appeal to the prejudice bound people |
of the country and he speaks for millions
of the race. There is, however, one dis
icism of Booker T. Washington. Mr.. !
Washington's teachings have evidently |
been misunderstood by the learned pro-
lessor, and he does the great advocate. of
There is no contradiction between the
Washington theories and the words or the
cultured advocate Of higher ed duea nnt
mean the abandonment OF any constltu-
tional rights. Nowhere in his writings or
his speeches has Mr.. Washington advised
ever advised them to hold on to every. one
now accorded and by the practice OF in ,
dustry and thrift to secure firm possess
sion Of all now enjoyed and the acknoWl-
edgment Of those denied, which the &C
quisition of wealth will surely give.
Let Washington speak for himself. In
one of his latest public utteranGes, a an
things he said:
"The Negro has lived for over two cen
|
from pulpit to rostrum, throug h the press
and in school, in legislative halls and on
many a battlefield, have been constantly
upholding the doctrine that the most CON-
piete development of each human being
can come only through his being permit
ted to exercise the most complete freedom
compatible with the freedom of others.
Under these conditions the Negro nat
urally had wrought into every fibre OF his
| being belief that if freedom is good Tor
one race, it is equally helpful and neces-
possible that the impassioned plea of Pat
| rick Henry, Give me liberty or give me
DEATH should have had no influence upon i1
| our black citizens. If the black man dld
not have in him that which spurred him
toward the acquiring OF those qtla!itles
| which you consider most essential, neither
the white man at the North nor the white
| man at the South would have any respect
for him or confidence in his future.
Patiently quietly, doggedly, persist
entity through summer and winter, sun
shine and shadow, by seitIs s@aatH, NY
must re-enforce argument with results.
One farm bought, one house built, one
! home sweety and intelllgently Kept, one
man who is the, largest taxpayer or mas d.
the largest bank account, one school or
! church maintained one factory runn1ng
| successfully, one truck garden prontaoly
cultivated, one patient cured by a Negro
office we'll filed, one life clearly lived
| these will tell more in our favor than all
the abstract eloquence that can be sum
moned to plead our cause n oi, our fhroaS
swamps, up through forests, up through
| the streams, the rocks, up through COM
merce, education and religion. .,.;a
! country it should always be borne IN
mind that, unlike other races, we not only
were forced to come into this country
against our will, but were prougnt hefe t ~
the face of our most earnest protest. Both
| as slaves and as freemen, we have strlven
to serve the interests of this country as
best we could. We have cleared forests
J builded railways, tunneled mountains,
grown the cotton and the rice, and we
have always stood ready to defend the nag
We have never disturbed the country by
G peacefui, faithful service and life.
"In the face of all this cannot believe
I will not believe, that a country that in
vites into it's midst every type OF G dreeS
| of the earth, and gives these corners smell
ter, protection and the highest encourage
ment, will refuse to accord the same pro
citizens I repeat here what have often
said in the South: The Negro seeks no
Special privileges. All that he asks is OPP
portunity1that the same law n,i wh1 t tbs IS
| one race be applied with equal certainty
| and exactness to the other. 49,.
| "And when I say this, repeat also that
which have said directly to the members
vention in the South namely, that any
| revised state constitution that is capable
being twisted 1n5G one is
and another when an ignorant black man
| is concerned, will not represent entire
justice nor the highest Safeguarding
premium upon good citizenship Tor poth
races, and wherever they fail to do this,
they are weak and are not in accord with
the best interests OF the state.
Il
which are not respected, which are tram
pied under foot and made to mean one
other thing when applied to an 2e1:
Which in the end the nation must
the penalty but there iGe is
there is sapping Of the growth of
human beings, in Kindness justice; ana
all the higher, purer and sWeeter thngs
in life No race can degrade another with
out degrading itself. No race can assist
in lifting up another without itself being
broadened and made more Christ-like
I'VE must not grow disappointed or de-
spondent Because forsooth, all that was
hoped for thirty-five years ago mas not
taken place just exactly as we wish or
had been planned IN Mans fe1 way rs MOI
ments and the golden rule were Proc11;alm9 n.
ed centuries ago. and yet with all its
growth and striyings, the Anglo Saxon,
citing him as an example, mas not; thl IN X
YOU will agreee with me, reached the
| point where he is living up to them IN
daily life. And yet, because, OF this tall-
ure, no one has yet been bold enough to
propose that we should repeal the ten
Commandments and the golden rule Ev-
all races rich and poor. black ana Whlte,
must have a standard of perfection that IS
cha and WHITE
towards which its people, must contnuaily
str !i,Te,o 100 for settling great questions,
l 81
gun, the torch, and by lynchings,, has
passed. An appeal to such methods is
unworthy of either race. may be in doubt
about some things connected with our
sure, and that is that ignorance and race
hatred are no solution for any problem on
earth. No one can ever lift up a race by
continually calling attention to its weak
should be judged in a large degree 6y ITS
best element, rather than by its weakest.
1T is hard to find those who can so far
control themselves as to discuss TINS SUD
! iect with complete absence of prejudice.
In most cases there is an effort to- prove
the Negro a devil or an angel. He is ne1-
ther but just an ordinary human Deng
I deplore the spirit and the disposition OF
any person who can extract seeming com
i fort out of the habit Of continually dwell
ing upon the mistakes and weak points OF
any individual or race, without trying 70
weaknesses. Anyone who is guilty of do
ing this lives among the briers, the thorns,
| the stubble and the stumps OF life: He
! who is not content with cold, captlous,
| negative criticism, but enters with body
and soul into positive, progressive effort to
strengthen and make more useful the
most unfortunate of Gods creatures is
groves and who is continually drinking in
| the sweet fragrance that comes from
beautiful flowers. @S s-~.z
| "Though often beset behind and before,