The Lafayette gazette., 1903-04-11

fact that white slavery was es
in that colony at the
same time, and that some of the
first families of that State to-day
are the descendants of redemp-
TONERS. These redemptioners
being white, were compelled to
carve their own fortunes, there
being no Freed mans Bureau to
assist them in the upward path
and no Northern philanthropists
to force education upon their
children. The Tuskegee pro-
fessor also dwells upon the de-
scription given by Julius Caesar
of the Britons at the time of his
invasion Of the island and draws
a comparison between these peO-
pie and the savages found by
Livingstone in Central Africa,
but for the purposes of his dis
cussiOn he overlooked entirely
the fact that the BritOn unaided
has arisen to the highest point
of civilization, and that the
savages found by Livingstone
are still savages except where
they have come under the domi-
nation of a superior race and
been civilized with the lash.
The whole purpose of Wash
ingtOn's address, aside from the
covert intention of teaching the
negro that he has been perse-
cuted as no other race was ever
prosecuted and was advanced
further than any other race ever
advanced under such circum-
stances, is to induce the negro
to live cleanly and frugally and
become masters of the soil.
When he has become the master
of the soil, Washington frankly
admits he does not know what
will follow, but he thinks the
negro should take the chances
of whatever may happen. Here
is the picture of the negro drawn
by the leader member of that
race during the period of slavery:
For nearly two hundred and
fifty years the two races re-
mained in close contact with
each other in the capacity of
master and servant. What was
the result of this contact on the
enslaved? l confine myself to
statement of cold, bare facts
when say that when the negro
went into slavery, he was a
pagan; when he ended his period
of bondage he had reasonably
clear conception of the Christian
religion. When he went into
slavery he was without anything
which might properly be called
a languages; when ne came out of
slavery he was able to speak the
English tongue with force and
intelligence. Moreover, when
he entered slavery he had little
working knowledge of agricul-
ture, mechanics or household
duties; when he emerged from
the condition of a chattel he was
almost the entire dependence in
a large section of our country
for a agricultural, mechanical
and domestic labor"
This is to state the facts of
history honestly and clearly, and
it is unfOI tunate that they are
stated nowhere else in the ad-
dress in that spirit. For exam
pie, he states that I'VE (the me-
groes) have never disturbed the
by riots, strikes or
lockouts.' Washington is aware
that his race has caused the
most terrible riots which have
ever occurred in this country, the
memory of which are still a
to those OF the older
He knows that in
these riots the whites were not
only fighting for their civilization
which was i'm minently threat
ened by his ''docile race" but
that they were fighting moreover
for their very existence. He
knows that the recent franchise
clauses of the State COnstitu-
lions which he condemns were
forced by the debauchery of the
ballot bv this Same 't6Oci1a raro,,