Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1903-07-02
SOUTH PROPOSES FEUoALIsM.
A Deliberate Attempt to Foist a So.
cal System on the Nation.

CIaI system on the Nation.
INDEPENDENTLY position taken
is not only that the inferiority of the
negro shall be insisted on, but that
there shall be no recognition of those
negroes who escape the fatality and
become intellectually and morally
equipped for citizenship. Not only
shall the negro be debarred from any
recognition of his manhood by the
south itself, but in his case merit and
manhood shall not be recognized by
others. He must not only hold no
state office; he must be debarred from
federal office-totally, absolutely and
forever. The president of the United
States must sympathiZe with and par
ticipate in these prejudices, and the
whole people must acquiesce. The
north must aid in suppressing every
ambition of black man to rise above
a mental position.
At this point the problem ceases to
be local and southern; it is national
lied. We are forbidden to treat an
intelligent, decent. educated black
man as we would treat an intelligent,
decent educated white manor even
as well as we would treat a british,
debauched white man. The negro
must remain mental, although our
equal in all those respects which con.
stitute manhood and intelligent citi-
zenship Bluntly we tell our south
ern brothers that we will not be par.
ties to any such arrangement. 1t is to
renew, in another form, the demands
made in slavery times, that we en-
gage in negro chasing,
In other words, we find a system Of
feudalism about to be fastened upon
the nation, instead of slavery--a so
cal principle but one degree ahead Of
human bondage. In fact, in some re
spects this feudaliSm is worse than
slavery for the latter brought the
two races together in such a way as
to ameliorate the condition Of the in.
ferior. Feudalsm, on the contrary
simply subjects the vast mass of the
working population and keeps them in
a perpetual class to which hetterment
is forbidden. Meanwhile the superior
race, the dominating lords, accustom
themselves to manners and to logic
that unfit them for cooperation in
federal republic. Precisely what is to
come of this negro problem we do not
undertake to forecast; but this is one
thing we are fully assured of. that the
negro must be given the rights of
common humanity, the right to better
himself, socially and economically.
The wise men of the south. the nohler
element must take hold of this Ques.
tion with determination.
With the establishment of a great
feudal system and the perpetuation of
an incubus of ignorance and brute
force every citizen has something to
do. The future of America must be
given, not to backward looking but to
forward looking; not to the revival
of medieval social conditions, but to
those larger conditions signified by
the Golden Rule We do not intend
TO create as a fixed social factor
mental class north or south. or to
perpctuate condition of compulsory
poverty and hate The negro question
will have 70 be settled on this basis.
Let the southern people exercise hu.
mainly and put into practice the
common principles of social economy.
They must get along with the negro;
they cannot get on with a hrutaIized
and impoverished negro They must
open the road OF hetterment to every
man, black or white, who will become
fitted for advancement and repute
The real problem is always, not
whether any one is our equal, but
whether we ourselves are equal to the
task OF enlightened altrulsm and
Christian civilization