The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-10-18
A COLORED PREACHER
FR01r ALABAMA TAyKs TO A
 WESTERN NEWSPAPER.
Utters Some Wholesome Truths and Says tho Negroes of the South Have More to Show for Their Work than Those
 in the North.

According to pr. W H. Nixon of Selma, Alabama, who is one of the lead CTS in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and member of the faculty of Payne university. the peonage system has met with an early death, and there is no danger of it's spreading to other States than Georgia and Alabama, where white persons have recently been con- victed of holding colored people fin a state of servitude. Dr. Nixon arrived in pes Moines on Monday, and spoke at the A. M. E. Church in this city last night.
 Discussing the relations of the colored and white people in the South, Mir. Nixon said fin part: We have confusion strife. lynching, burning and haying in the South. It Is quite natural that the people of this section should make in- Quiry as to the causes of these disturb ances. and I want this portion of the country to know the true condition of my race in the South. The whites of the South have faith in our people, and honor and respect an honest, upright, | industrious negro, and take delight in employing, paying and recommending our men and women who strive to prove themselves worthy of their confidence l and have proven themselves to be trust | worthy. To urge social equality in the southland means to engender strife.
 "1'he lynching and fiaying is not the work of the better class of our people | who are the victims of these crimes. l The ones that suffer are the careless l and indolent of our race who strive to l make a living without work. T am not unmindful of the fact that we are charged with many things of which we are innocent, but which. unfor- | tunately, get into the papers and we are the sufferers. We want to keep in mind the old saying: 'Falsehood travels from Maine to California before truth | can get his boots on
 The Southern people of our race, as a rule. own more property than their brothers in the North. The eolored man of the North generally has more ready cash about him than we of the South, but here the major portion live in rented houses, while our people in the South own their homes
 This race conflict will continue as long as the younger element of both races continue prejudiced against each other. It Is rare thing to find one of the old slaves in the penitentiary. on the rock pile, or in trouble of any kind. And we seldom find the old slave owners in trouble and they are rarely mixed up or identified with the degrading infamies that are constantly heaped upon our race.
 Whenever a community suffers shame
 
 nameless crime, 1t can be traced to the younger element in both races. To pre- vent such dire catastrophes the fathers and mothers must give greater attention | to the rearing of their children. Our boys have too great a latitude. They should learn to work and be made to earn an honest living. Our people must learn to put tn money into banks and stocks and bonds as other races have done. Our doctors must learn that the people of our race in the rural districts are sick and dying and need the attention of a physician as much as in the cities. Upon completing their studies our physicians all rush to. the cities, and the result Is that our people in the rural districts are without medical advice and care, "Our teachers must learn this lesson also. There is work in the rural dis tricts as we'll as in the cities.
 'The peonage question in the South is serious. Happily for. us, Governor Jones of Alabama, my native state, has dipped this great evil in the bud and our race has many friends in the South who have assumed the same attitude as the Governor. Our friends outside of the States of Alabama and Georgia,
 where these crimes have been dlscov- cred and punished, need have no fear of the spread of the slavery epidemic. Both races are using the pulpit, pew and press in opposition to this crime and there is every reason to believe that it | has died an early death.
 | Professor Counsell of Normal Ala bama, a prominent man of our race. recommended to the Governor the par don of those whites who had been con victed of the crime of peonage and sem | fenced in the courts. In so doing Pro- lessor Counsel incurred the displeasure of our race.
 "The colored people of the South are in the best condition to-day they ever were. Regarding the proposed transfer of our people to Africa. will say that we do not take kindly to it, and person. ally. if such an undertaking Is attempt ed. l want to be the last one to close the gate.
 "Our people are getting an education, and do not know a single person in my district. above the age of F. who can not read and write. and @ number of the old slaves have mastered the intFi- cacies of the alphabet, and nearly all of them are now able to tell the time of day by looking at the clock, instead of the sun, as has been their lifetime GUS | tom. While our people have been disfran- chased in many parts of the South. they have not been debarred from securing an education, buying property and saving money"
 pr. Nixon says that Booker Wash ington is doing a grand and great work for the colored people.