The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1903-02-06
THE NORTH AND THE NEGRO.

THE NORTH AND THE NEGRO.
The northern papers arenot taking
as kindly to President Roosevelt's
attitude on the negro as might beck
pected, and a number of them indig-
nantly resent his present method of
appointing them to public office. In
Massachusetts, where a colored man
was named for a position, the press,
without regard to party, waXed in
dignant. 1t seems to be the feeling
that it was not the Presidents dis
interested friendship for the inferior
race that counsels him to pursue his
present course, but that he is
actuated by the desire to control the
southern delegates at the next Ma
tional Convention. The New York
Evening Journal in a recent article
makes this point quite patent. 1t
says:
"Mr. Roosevelt, President Of the
United States, has declared himself
the negro's friend. That is a very
noble declaration. The negro has
hard place to fill in this world His
education began many thousands of
years later than that ofthe race with
which he completes. He is in very
weak minority-not only i'll numbers,
but in equipment. Hesuffers the dis
advantage of having filled place of
confessed and helpless inferiority.
His present so-called equality is the
result of commercial war and terri
torial rivalry-not a human justice
fully developed.
Therefore he who, sincerely and dis
interestedly, befriends the negro is
real man, unselfsh and humane.
"Mr. Roosevelt acts-when he does
act-aggressively and noisily. He
has declared himselfthe negroes friend
and protector. He declares that the
negroes must and shall have their
share of Offices Tin the South where
the objection to negro equality is the
strongest). The Presidents attitude
is noisy and aggressive as usual. He
appointed as postmistress in the
South a certain colored lady. She
was in every way respectable, and
worthy. But the people objected and
made their objection apparent. The
lady-with a tact which Mr.. Roose-
welt perhaps does not quite under
Standardized to oppose her inter-
ests to the wishes of an entire CON-
munity and abandoned her post.
Thereupon the President abolished
the postofice absolutely. Hesaid to
the Directing whites, You decline to
accept my appointee. You set your
ridiculous prejudices of race against
my will. You shall have no post
office That community actually
has no postoffice and the business
and social life of the place suffers in
consequence. That seems little like
Russia, and a little unlike America
but that is not the point.
"In another Southern community,
of large business interests, the Presi-
dent has appointed negro as col
lector, place most important to all
the merchantile interests. He has
put colored man in a place which
compels all the white merchants to
meet that colored man on terms of
absolute equality. That seems a very
fine and democratic thing-superf-
cially. But let us look at the matter
from various sides.
owe must be guided in practical
life by practical conditions. Wemust
pay attention to what actually ex-
lists.
"Mr. Roosevelt says in substance:
The law declares the negro Unequal
ofany other mar. Insist that he shall
be every mans equal. l refuse to
recognize any distinction of race or
color
eff that were true, it would be
be fanatic, but interesting and honor
able-however impractical. Butisit
true?
Suppose that a female member of
Mr.. Roosevelt's family became en-
gagged to marry a negro. Would Mr..
Roosevelt remember his views in re-
gard to absolute equality? Would
he apply to case near to himself the
fine generalities which he applies to
white men in the South?
"No, he would not. Every man
knows that, right or wrong, there
does exist a race prejudice in this
country.
Everybody knows that Mr.. Roose-
welt would absolutely forbid mar.
riage engagement between a negro
and member ofhis own family. He
wouldn not for one second hesitate to