The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-05-08
A Newspaper With Clean-Cut Opinions.
THE NEGRO QUESTION.

The race problem--call it tn
negro question if you choose
very much alive and is growing il
Importance as the days go by. It i
aquestion that will, ere many years
call for proper solution by the mas
ter minds OF this country.
But it has, as yet, not even ap
preached a proper solution. Th,
movements made looking to that enc
have but tended to increase thu
prejudice naturally existing be
tween the white and black races
The forcing OF blacks into officia
positions north or south is by nc
means step toward the solution,
reviying race prejudice and Great.
ing race hatred. The same thing
might be said of the threat to re.
duce the congressional representa-
ton of the southern states on the
ground that in that section OF our
country the negro is being disfran-
chised or in other ways deprived Of
his vote. Such a move would hin.
der and delay the proper solution OF
the race problem and kindle anew
the prejudicss existing at the time
OF the abolition Of black slavery.
Thinning men OF today are gradu-
ally coming to admit that the cause
Of present conditions lies in the fact
that when black slavery was abol-
ished in this country q sad mistake
was made in placing the ballot in
the hands Of the negro and at one
stroke of the pen attempting to
make him the equal Of his more in
telligent white neighbor. The wri-
ter hereof fully believes that this
moYe was an error, and most seri-
GUS one. The negro at that time
was not the equal Of the white man
in intelligence, nor is he his equal
today, and human nature dictates
and will continue TO dictate that
white supremacy be maintained in
this country as q result Of the in
equality Of the races. The negro
should be given the ballot when he
has demonstrated that he knows
how to use 1t intelligently, and not
until then. The same rule should
apply to the white voter as we'll.
An illiterate man. white or black,
knowing not the meaning Of his vote
and realizing nothing Of his respon.
sibility as an individual citizen,
should not be allowed a vote. Pres.
emit conditions in this regard de.
mand an educational test, and once
the voter, be he white or black, pass.
ses that test, he should have all
necessary protection in the exercise
OF his franchise, north or south.
AZ pportioning congressional rep
resentation in some Of the. southern
states, the entire population. white
and black, is invariably considered
Yet when election day comes few
colored voters exercise their RICH
TO vote. Thus it is in some southern
districts casting . total vote Of 40,
900 to .5O, 900, the congressiona
representation is the same as tina
Ia northern congressional district
where the vote is Ave times as large
ia other words, present condition
make II possible for g. 600 to 400
persons inc rsain sections q th
country to have the same voice ant
influence III the moulding Of nationa
policies and national affairs as hay,
zoo, 900 10 $50, 900 persons residin,
lsewhere.
The INJUSTICE Of this condition j
apparen lend e will press TOR solu
siod sooner orla later. et the frs
important step toward that go