The Savannah morning news., 1903-01-28
CAPACITY OF CRUM
Is NOW BEING INVESTIGATED BY
SENATE COMMITTEE.
HIS COMMERCIAL ABILITIES
MAY YET BE DECIDED TO BE IN
SUFFICIENT.

Mcmbers OF tEc committee Cannot
But Compare the Standing and
Reputation of the Men who APP
penred before Them Against and
for Crum-QuestiOns of Fitness
May Outweigh Party Debts-Senn-
tor From New England Touches
the southern View.
Washington. Jan. 27.-Opposition to
the confirmation of w. ID. Crum. the
negro, recently nominated for collec-
tor of the port of Charleston, apparent
ly hinges upon the report of the Com
mittee on Commerce, before which the
nomination is now pending. There is
a disposition to obliterate party lines in
the committee. and deal with the can
didate from a purely business stand
point
With some of the Republicans
members of the committee. the fitness
or unfitness Of the negro to meet the
business demands of the office. and his
lack OF experience and association with
the business and commercial interests
of Charleston, may outweigh the appeal
that he Is a professional negro politi-
clan who aspires to be rewarded with
a Federal office in return for twenty
years loyalty to the Republican organ
ization.
The cause of Crrm was not strength
ened before the committee last Thurs
day. when the white citizens of Char
lesion were represented by Mayor j.
Adger smythe, now serving his third
term as the chief executive of that mu-
nicipallty, and j. Calvin Hemphill edi-
tor for many years of the Charleston
News and Courier. These gentlemen
were OF the head of the Citizens Com
mittee. which entertained the President
and Mrs. Roosevelt with the members
of the cabinet who attended the Char
lesion Exposition last spring. The
Piesident's now famous letter, anuounc-
ing his Southern policy and the selec-
ton OF Crum. was based upon positive
but dignified statements of Mayor
Smythe and Editor Hemphil, made In
| reply to request from the President.
Contrast Was offered.
Opposed to these two representative
| citizens of Charleston were two Wash
| ington negroes, p. b. s. Pinchbach,
lOIuleIiy OF LOUISIANA, ana with a
| commercial interest in the Louisiana
| State Lottery and other sporting enter
| prlses, operated almost exclusively by
negro patrons Accompanying Pinch
bach was w. Mckinley, a negro stock
speculator and one of the directors in
negroes savings bank, which failed
hopelessy a few days ago. The spon-
sors OF Crum did not create a very
favorable impression upon the MEM
bers of the committee especially among
those who are familiar with the per-
sonal characteristics of the men.
In view of the well known fact that
the President consulted Booker Wash
ington before finally concluding to APP
point Crum, ii was thought that WASH
ington would have been more desir-
BILE representative of the nominee be-
fore the committee.
A New England senator, who fig
ured effectively in preventing the con-
firmation of George Rooster, who was
appointed collector of internal revenue
for South Carolina and rejected be-
cause of admitted participation In a
lynching affair several years ago, is
one of the Republican leaders who is
opposed to the confirmation of CrtIm
In commenting upon the Crum appoint
ment with the Morning News corre-
spondent, that Senator stated that he
feared the President is, unintentional-
~. perhaps making mistake in try
ing to force negro federal appoint
ments upon such communities as that
of Charleston.
views of "A New EngIander.
1--WE would not tolerate a negro COL
lector of customs in our state nor
would we tolerate negro postmasters
in our principal cities and towns. We
cannot afford to revive the race issue
again. 1t was thought by many of
the leaders on our side of the chamber
that the race problem was gradually
solving itself, but the recent agitation
OF the negro question, by Republicans
and Democrats, some of IL without
justification, notably the outcry be-
cause two or three negro officials, fol-
lowed the annual custom of attend
ing one of the Presidents public re-
ceptions. This latter incident would
probably have passed unnoticed, as
similar incidents have passed during
the fifteen years / have been in the
Senate, but for such cases as the
Crum controversy and the case of a
negra postmistress in Mississippi
whose husband is also a federal office
holder"
There are other Republican senators
who are not enthusiastic over the
Crum nomination, and some of them
are disposed to base their objection to
him on the ground that he was once
rejected by a Republican Senate after
he had been nominated postmaster of
Charleston by Presdnt Harrison two
weeks after voting for Harrison's nomi-
nation at the Minneapolis convention