The leader., 1903-04-29
ON THE WRONG TRACK
vARDAMAN VS.. LAMAR, GEORGE,
WALTHALL AND OTHERS.
Major Wash Gibbs, Of Yazoo, Con-
tributes a Strong Paper 10
the Campaign Discussion.

Hon. w. ID. Gibbs has contrib
uted the following article to the
literature of the campaign, which
will doubtless have great weight
with all thinking people. Major
Gibbs, who was one of the original
white line, true blue Democrats of
Yazoo county, represented his
county in both branches of the
Legislature after the yoke of the
carpet-baggers and negroes was
thrown off, and will be remem-
bered as a prominent member of
the State Farmers Alliance dur
ing the time that organization
fourished in Mississippi:
Maj. Gibbs speaks from his own
experience of 80 odd years of
dealing with the negro as factor
in the political economy of the
State, and his words, coming
from man as prominent as he is
in a county as full of negroes as
Yazoo, are entitled to the greatest
consideration.
"There is no excuse" says Mr..
Gibbs, and no palliation for a
candidate, even for the legislature
in white county, to stir up race
prejudice IN Mississippi. We
had enough of that from 1866 to
1875. 1t was only by great sacri-
fees that we restored peace be-
tween the races on the basis of a
promise on our part to protect the
negro in his civil rights as a cit
izen. Every State Democratic
platform since 1868 has promised
it. Lamar, George and Walthall
have all promised it in the U. S.
Senate. Our senators and con-
gressmen have boosted of our edu-
cational work for the negro in an
swer to the charges of our Re-
publican enemies. The white
constitutional convention of 1890
put free schools in the State con-
stitution and left the word white
out of it. The negro is a citizen
of the State of Mississippi, and
the United States, and unless
there is power among us able
to thrash the United States, cit
izen he will remain. If we wish
to deprive him of education the
free school of the whites must 60
also.
Under the act of congress of
March, 1870, under which we
were admitted into the union, the
condition imposed was that we
should maintain four months
schools at least, for all children of
the State. We have very proper
ly, by indirect methods, nullified
the fifteenth amendment and de-
prived the negro of suffrage I'M
der the forms of the State and
F ederal constitutions. He has
not kicked. We have put him
off the jury and he has not com
planned. Now they are raising
an excitement and stirring up
the animosity of the negro about
his little : picaynne schools.
What for? just for votes. A
base imitation of Roosevelt.
Roosevelt can appoint postmast-
ers and make them stick if he
wants them to, but there is no
power to deprive the negro of his
schools. You can excite him,
make him mad, and perhaps get
the votes of few prejudiced
people, but his schools and citi-
zenship remain as long as white
schools and white citizenship ex-
list and as long as white schools
and white citizenship exist and
as long as it is impossible to wage
war successfully against the Am
erican people. :.
Greenwood and Yazoo City
owe their fine houses and proper
ty to cotton made by negro labor
principally, now quiet and sub
missive; but byan attack on all they
have left to form a basis of hope,
suppose the negro were to~con-
clude to hunt a place, Louisiana,
Arkansas or Texas, where their
educational privileges are not call
ed in question, and should aban-
don Yazoo and Leflore? How
the people, poor and rich, would
howl with rage and get out their
guns to stop them; and yet that
is the logical result of all such
wild talk. How different such
talk from the statesman-like ora
tions of George, Walthall and La
mar in the United States Senate!
If Vardaman is right, these states
men, in stating The friendship Of
Southern people to the negro and
his education, were ignorant OF
the sentiment of their constit-
uents or misrepresented them;
and when George advocated the
principle of the Blair educational
bill, intended to give money out
of the United States treasury for
the Southern education of white
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