The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-06-25
NEGROES IN SESSION
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AD-
 voCATES EMIGRATION.
Bishop Turner Advances His Popular Plan to Move Race to Liberia. Montgomery Negro Replies |.
 to Detroit Black.

listened yesterday to speeches on the Af- rican emigra ton movement, agttated by the National Colored Emigration and Commercial Association, which began its three days annual session in Montgom- cry
 While the attendance was decidedly less than was expected by Montgomery negroes interested in the movment. the meeting was enthusiastic to high de- gree Near the close of last nights ses- sion of the Association, the speakers be- came very outspoken in their remarks and a rather heated colloquy was en- gagged in between Charles O. Harris a well known negro politician of Montgom- cry and Frank H. Warren. a negro law yer of Detroit, Mich.
 The prevailing sentiment of the meet ing was that conditions in America indi- cate that the negro will never, as race. be raised to a higher plane in this coun- try; that they are suffering injustice. degredation and insults from the white people of both the North and South; that the race has no future in America, and that It's sole salvation Is emigration to another country. Liberia being the most popular place.
 A Definite Purpose.
 The members of the Association. who are in Montgomery, although frank in their sentiments, do not appear to be in- consistent and unreasonig. They have definite object in view and to that ob- feet the members of the Association seem to be lending their entire efforts. num- her of the delegates are negroes well known and educated. Among them are Bishop H. M. Turner of Atlanta, the most ardent advocate of emigration among the prominent negroes of today; w. IT. Heard of Atlanta, President of the Association, who was for four years of the administration of President Cleve- land, as United States Consul to Liberia; Prof J. A. Crockett of Morris Brown C9llege, Atlanta. who Is sculptor or some renown and others.
 The meeting was scheduled to take place in Charlotte, N. C.. as announced in a speech by Bishop Turner yesterday. The reason he ascribed for the change of the place of the meeting, was subsequent developments of great importance 10 Ala. bama negroes which he thought would be beneficial to the cause of emigration What these developments were he did not say but the developments were frequent ly referred to in the hall as meaning the decision of the United States Supreme Court in the Giles case and the peonage agitation by the United States grand jury.
 The convention was scheduled to be called to order at noon yesterday in Dor sett's Hall, but it did not met formally until nearly 4 o'clock yesterday after noon. When the small attendance as- sembled at room, several members made informaai talks but nothing of any defi- mite import was done. The President arl- nounced that the convention would re- assemble at o'clock.
 About { o'clock President Heard called the meeting to order. Devotional exer- cises were observed. The President am nounced that before the reports of the President and the Secretary. which was tn formal order of business for the ses- sion. he would be glad to hear from any member.
 Bishop Turner Speaks. Bishop Turner said that he was down for a regular speech at the night session. but he would like to speak for few moments, giving the members an outline | of thought on which to work before the | night session.
 He began his remarks by deploring the | smallness of the attendance. He then re- lated an incident of a Senator from West Virginia, who asked him why he was ad- vocating emigration. He said that the Senator spoke against emigration for some time, and then, suddenly shifting, said: I'm saying this as a white man, but if was a nigger, I'm damn if ] wouldn't get out of America" | He then referred to the Jim Crow car law, rating 1t in the severest of terms. Bishop Turner said that he was not a | wholesale emigrationist
 l There are a lot of ignorant, worthless, loaing negroes in America, who would be a curse to Africa" said he. Let them stay in America and get lynched." | He then compared the proposed negro | emigrants to the Puritans of the days of | American colonization, saying that the | Puritans left Europe because they were not treated with equity and justice. and | that the negroes would follow in their | steps.
 He was followed by Rev. W. H. Davis | of Atlanta, who began a eulogy of Bishop | Turner He was interrupted by the old man. who said. Just save that until I'm | under the sod
 | Davis dwelt for sometime on the demor- alizing influence of white men on negro | women and urged this as a cause for emi- 1 grafton.
 | Delaware Lynching.
 President Heard then submitted his re- | port a document of considerable length
 which dealt with various phases of ques- | tons of interest to the negro. He called attention to lynchings of negroes. stating
 that it Is a growing evil, using as an ex-
 ample the recent lynchlng in Delaware. He said that Mason and Dixon's Line can
 no longer be termed the boundary for l negro lynchngs. 1t Is growing over the | entire country.
 The decision of the United States l Supreme Court in the Alabama case was | then called to the attention of the meet ing He declares that this decision seals the negroes doom as a political factor in
 America and he must emigrate In order l to vote. He said that negroes have been
 advised to continue to be hewers of wood | and drawers of water. He could hardly
 distinguish this from slavery as they were
 now being deprived of the power of voting | by legislative enactment and deprived of
 rising from the plane of slave by popu-
 lar sentiment among the whites. He re- l ferred to the Jim Crow car laws and the
 theatre laws, providing that negroes may
 sit with whites. He closed his report by
 a description of Liberia and the future
 of the negro in that country.
 The report of the Secretary. Laura P
 Lemon was submitted The report show
 ed increase in membership during the past
 year and that $26 OOO of the needed SlO0. ON
 for the chartering of vessel on which
 to transport negroes to Liberia Is now fir
 the treasury.
 The meeting adjourned until 8 o'clock
 last night.
 The special order for the night session
 was an adress by Bishop Turner on "Nc
 Future for the Negro in the United
 States the Government Should Help u
 Leave"
 The audience was decidedly larger a | this meeting than at he afternoon ses sion a number of Montgomery negroe ? swelling the attendance