The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-09-08
Suggestions Made by South
ern Negroes.
THEIR IDEAS PRACTICAL
Show Wrong Done in CHASING
All as Criminals.

and conservative negro business men, in
attendance of the National Negro Bust
ness League. to obtain some expressions
of opinion on the crime of lynehing, its
cause and the remedy and the crime Of
rape and its remedy. Bulked these opln-
ions favored education (moral as well as
nentaD and the requirement Of property
with the responsibility which that entails.
These negroes, of course, are stride with
Ere best educated public opinion in the
adherence Of the crime, but they regard
with the same uneasiness as do the far
seeing whites the growth of the mob
spirit in this country.
Charles Banks, of Clarksdale, Miss. is
a negro of untainted African descent.
whose rather remarkable story will be
told later He is a merchant and planter
at his home in the Delta. He said:
THE lynching evil is to be deplored. 1t
IS as much up to our race to stop it as it
is TO those who do the lynching. The
negro represent has no more sympathy
for the brutes that commit unspeakable
crimes than have the whites. The taking
of the law into the hands of a mob is
what we object to. The crime comes
from a british instinct and a depraved
character The remedy is to train the
negro race along the line followed by the
whites, unit We reach the point where
foman will be as safe in the rural dist
riots as in the cities.
We should make it so that the race
viii be actuated by a feeling Of right and
duty, and not through fear. Understand,
we have no sympathy for the brute.
but the law should not be taken out Of
the hands of the courts. Lynching for
one crime Will lead TO mobs for others.
Our race is no more responsible for these
crimes than are the whites for what has
been done by Guiteau and Czolgosz. The
white men who direct affairs in the South
are our friends and l believe they will
help US TO train the negro to be a good
citizen
w. E. Mollison, president of the Lincoln
gavings Bank at Vicksburg, Miss. is a
Fading man in his race. His bank has
capital stock Of $4,000. These are his
Views:
Il think one cause for the large
number of lynchings is the highly colored
end sensational reports which the news
papers make Of these cases. These re-
ports excite the ignorant TO the COM
mission OF crimes. Again. I do not
think every assault committed by an
ignorant negro has for its purpose rape,
but it has become the fashion to so regard
them. In truth. if properly investigated,
would prove TO be assaults simply for
robbery. OF course. education. mentally
and morally, is the onl yremedy possible
f. the suppression of any crime"
Prof Charles Alexander. instructor at
Wilberforce University at Wilberforce,
O.. is a hearty supporter Of the idea of
training the negro to work, upon the
hypothesis that it is only those of the
idle and vicious class who commit any
crimes. He said:
1T has been found that whenever the
crime of rape has been committed that
II the person is a negro. he belongs to
that irresponsible and ignorant class.
The very fact that there is an ignorant
and irresponsible class argues in favor
Of general education of the negro masses
and my belief is that when a more gen.
eral scheme is inaugurated and main
tanned with this end ir view. it will very
greatly reduce the number of criminals so
far as the negro race is concerned. The
masses should not alone be educated, but
and frugality Then, again. when they
are fitted for employment the means Of
keeping them employed should be provi-
ded Idleness breeds crime and to this
truism may be traced many of the crimes
for which negroes are convicted. The
unemployed sometimes become vicious
and crimes go hand in hand with vici-
business"
DR. R E Jones. Of Richmond. Va. one
Of the wealthiest delegates present at
the convention. who is now building
town for the colonization of negroes
within five miles of Richmond, when
asked as TO lynchings. said:
MY candid opinion is that the news
papers are largely responsible for the
spread Of the evil. by publishing and
celebrating on the details. This engend-
ers a bitter feeling among the people
and urges them on TO the commission OF
other lynchings. The best remedy, as
l see H. is TO generate a better feeling
between the native white people and the
- tro. The remedy for rape is to render
ne people more intelligent and this can
,uot be done in any better way than has
seen inaugurated by Booker T. Washing
ton. His methods seem remarkable and
highiy commendable. There are three
things which every man should possess
cleanliness. good behavior and money
and these viii go far towards correct
ing many of the evils now existing in
the race"
DR. Sumner A Furniss. a practising
physician Of Indianapolis. said that his
mind had undergone q radical change as
90 the race question within the last
twenty-f0ur hours.
II tell you" he said. you must get
closeTo the problem before you can fully
understand it. Since coming to Nash
VILE and hearing the addresses Of South
eru negroes and the mayor-elect and
seeinus negroes at work In all lines Of
service nv eyes have been opened and
] am very nearly convinced that the
South is the place for the negro. Why.
I have seen negroes here working at the
capenters and other trades, from which
they are barred in the North. NV visit
here has certainly been a revelation 20
me"
In discussing the lynching question. DR..
Furniss said:
The spread OF the race intolerance IN
the north is due in great measure to
the influx OF the undesirable and lawless
element OF negroes from the south. This
intolerance has again led TO many at
tempts at lynching, which are not due
entirely 70 the crime OF rape In fact.
statistics for the past few years show
that most 81 the iynchings and attempts
at mob violence are due TO other causes
than rape. I believe in the enforcement