The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1903-03-13
Letter to President Roosevelt.
A San Angelo Man Takes Up the
Attitude of Mr.. Roosevelt on
the Negro Question in the
SOufh-Sone Hot Shot,

Az by the permission of the omnip.
otent you happen to ho,d II position
In which you have the power to be ol
benefit to 1900 600 people of Afri
can decent, write you in their be.
half.
address you as President, not as
man. AS an individual you have
an udquestionable right to pursue any
course you may s:e fit.
But, sir, as President of the United
States you have no moral right to d.
any of these things because you are
in most high place; being there it
is your duty to corssrve the welfare
of all the people.
Your course in the whitehouse indi-
Gates what you consider the proper
line of conduct for all citizsns to pur.
sue. NV, if any citizen is denied
the opportunity to follow your lead he
may think himself grieved. There.
fore, in setting an example for the
negroes to follow, you should, in the
name of humanity, consider we'll your
ways, and not encourage them to get
in path that will most certainly lead
them to destruction.
Thirteen million people of African
blood arc now surrounded and domi.
mated by 65OO0,000 white people.
These 100000 being in hopeless
minority as to numbers, and vastly
inferior as to intelligence and wealth,
live here by snfierance. 1t is possible
you may theoretically add to the ne@
groes large number of Northern
whites. 1 call your attention to the
fact that Northern tradesunions d,
not admit negroes; they constitute
the masses of the people. As the
negroes are not even allowed to work
for living in the North, it certainly
follows.tbat in the final count of the
nsgEoes. to..s5aas and torches" you can
from the trades, mines and factories.
This being true, it seems logical that
they should, and any friend of their in
the dominant race should counsel
them to cultivate good will between
the two races, and to accept coa-
sideration with true appreciation.
AS the power does not exist which
can prevent the exterminatoin of the
negroes on this continent, if it comes
to the attempt to force the white people
by "guns and torches" to yield any.
thing which they may wish to retain,
the friends of humanity and the negro
should seek other means to secure real
benefit, and not be led in their ignor.
ance to seek for chimerical benefit
which will result in bitter 's,ppoint-
ment aud disaster to them.
Itisfar better that 13, 100000 negroes
be allowed to earn food and raiment
by industry than that some few hun
dreds shall have the equivocal honor
of dining with the kind of white p.r-
son who naJ have some uuteior mo.
tive which causes him to sit at table
with the negro, to the negro's udo.
ing.
beg for you to prevent the useless
and inexpedient agitation of these
questions, as your predccesso, did
This only requires that, as Pres:d ,nt =,
you consider the White House rs the
official residence of our Caief M agis-
trate, and that you respect the reason.
able wishes of Il large section of CHI.
zsns, who desire that our negro pop.
ulaton be not lured to their dts rae.
tioo with your bauble of social equality
which in their ignorance they value
1t Is said that you have pors s,nal
etd to reach through the negroes. If
this be true, and you are willing to
ALLEVIATE the negro's neighbors and
friends from him in order that you
may crafty personal ambition, then
an appear to you will fall on d ,af
ears, and they are lost, indeed. Pre-.
sumably, this motive has actuated
you, as previous to the time when you
became a candidate for election to this
high Office, in none of your public
acts or writings did you make it man
ifest that you thought i. necessary for
the negroes to be mixed with the
whites socially, or that they would be
benefited by snch mixing. The only
hop, foe tho negroes i, that they be
taught to foster good will on the part
of their white neighbors.
This has been the keynote to the
uccessfuI theory and former practice
of that statesman a1d god clean
man, B ,ok'r L. Was.irgtoA. III
has labored for yea to teach The
negro to live decentIy. to create :
society of their own and To cnltivatt