The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-02-19
Rev. R. c. Ransom, of Chi
cago, Addresses Big Gath,
ering of Afro-Americans
Assembled to Commence
rate Birthday of Frederick
Douglass - Resolutions
Commencing Roosevelt
Adopted.

| t1Ves was filled with an audience which
| greeted with applause the remarks
made by the speakers, who discussed
not only the greatness of Douglass, but
| also touched on the question of the
| rights of the colored race.
| The speech of the evening was de-
livered by Rev. r. G. Ransom, of Chi
cago, who said in part:
Some questions may be left to time
to work out their solution and others must
pc settled. To dodge them or leave them
| for the future is cowardice and criminal.
We have never lacked for men Of courage
| in this country. When Fort Sumter was
| fired on We had them and the same can
| be said of the trust problem. So with the
negro question We have men who will not
| dodge but will settle it, 1t may be said
| greatness in spite of his environments He
| stood as the champion of liberty civiliza-
| ton and manhood.
| ''At the close of the Rebellion we sup
posed the status Of the negro mad been
fixed on the field of battle, and afterwards
IN the halls of congress. AS time has
gone, however there has been apparent. a
spirit of unrest on the question of the
civil status and political rights of the ne
gro. president Roosevelt has been most
falr' not as petty politician. and his ac-
the next convention, but to dispense the
law impartially for all the people.
Suffrage Amendment Falls.
Secretary Root in recent speech said
that the suffrage amendments to the con-
| stltutlon had proven a failure. The people
| the state constitutions by inserting the
| educational tests never intended they
| should apply to the white voters, but only
| to the negro voters. Roosevelt's frank
| ness has caused others to be frank. The
states now arrayed against the suffrage
| amendments are the very states which
| sought to disrupt the Union, and they are
| in the Union today only because 289 600
/ black men united with the white men forty
years ago to pin them there. Today the
men who sought to disrupt the Union.
| The South has never acquiesced in the
| results of the war. The South, say what
halls Of congress what it lost in the field
| of battle. In Georgia and South Caro-
lima today the negro is tied to the SOIL
1.-The The negro h has won his citi-
battle field. The man who sits in the
| White house today sits there because ne
was saved by the Ninth and Tenth caval-
| ~ When the Seventy-first New York
regiment flinched and faltered the Tenth
cavalry literally marched over them in the
| charge up San Juan hill.
Not Homogeneous in Color.
80 far as L am concerned 1 have no
brought no songs of the fatherland across
| the seas. This is the country of my father
| and his fathers. speak English. They
! say the negro is not homogeneous. You
| look around you in any audience like this
tonight and you will see that something
has been doing along the line. We are
homogeneous in everything but color and
some Of US are homogeneous in that.
We have exercised the elective fran
chlse for thirty seven years, and we have
in the public schools 1000 600 negro boys
and girls; 80, 900 school teachers, and they
are studying and teaching from the same
books the white boys and girls are. Do
you mean to tell me that these 1000, 900
children are not worthy to use the rights
of citizenship?
cover $36, 900, 900 in taxes are paid by the
negro and We have 100000 homes which
we have bought and paid for in a gen
GRAFTON: We are doing right well for a
race which forty years ago was in slav-
cry.
Industrial education will never solve
the negro problem. In the South this
means a peasant class for the negro. If
the negro Is ever to be builded into man
he cannot be nodded by industrial edu-
cation. We are told the negro ought to
be left in the South because the South
ern people understand him. Well they
had us once and it didn't turn out as
we'll as 1t might. The trouble with US
is we are not assertive enough. Some Of
our leaders should be more aggressive.
II am free, to admit that the negroes
of this country would be better off if
they divided their votes, especially in the
South. There is something the negro can
do. All that legislation known as Jim
Crow legislation ought to be fought out
in the supreme court. Every time that
the negro has gone to the supreme court
he has got a black eye
Negroes CIassed With Dogs.
I'VE are taxed for public parks and yet
in the South have seen a sign over the
dogs admitted here The only way
negro can enter the park is by pushing
baby carriage containing white child
or driving a white man in carriage.
They say they don't want negroes in the
park for fear they will spit on the grass
and kill it. All Of the matters that re-
late to our civil rights should be brought
up to the supreme court. Meetings like
this and resolutions will not settle the
question. We have got to get together.
courts and until we do this there will
be no settlement of this question. The
great mass of the American people be-
Iieve that the negro should be permitted
to attain the highest development he
can attain"
At the conclusion of the address by
Rev. Ransom the following resolutions,
presented by ]. Q. Adams, editor of The
Appeal, were presented and unanimously
adopted:
They Indorse Roosevelt
Whereas. President Roosevelt, in the
appointment of DR.. w. H. Crum as coll
lector Of customs IN Charleston, gave
practical proof that he meant just what
he said when he said: Il cannot consent
the door of opportunity is to be shut upon
any worthy man, purely on the grounds
of race and color" and,
Whereas, the senate committee on COM
merce (of which our own Senator Knute
Nelson is a member, but who was absent
when the vote was taken) to which COM
mittee the nomination Of DR.. Crum was
referred, has reported adversely on the
presidents nomination.; and,
Whereas, the nomination will now come
before the senate of the United States for
it's action as a body; therefore. be it
Resolved, That we, representative
gathering of Afro-American citizens Of
Minnesota, assembled for the purpose of
reviewing the memory of the great Doug
lass who would be doing battle along the
same lines were he alive. and who,
though dead, is with us in spirit, most
heartily concur in the noble sentiments
uttered by President Roosevelt and in
dorse his manly stand in regard to DR..
Crum: and be it further
Resolved, That this aSsemblage does re-
spectfully but most earnestly request our
Moses e. Clapp, to stand by the president
and vote for the confirmation of the nomi-
nation of DR.. Crum whenever the matter
is brought before the senate in whatever
shape.
Resolved. That copies of these resolu-
lions be properly prepared and imme-
diateIy transmitted to President Roosevelt
and to Senators Nelson and Ciapp.
f. L. McGhee. who presided at the meet
ing, appointed the following committee to
prepare and transmit the resolutions;
j. @. Adams. ]. H. LOOMS, DR.. ]. e.
Porter, DIR. w. T. Francis. Rev. M. w.
Withers. Rev. J. Strong, Dr. Val D. Tur-
ner, DR.. o. d. Howard, Rev. d. E. But
Ter; George w. Lowe, J. H. Hickman, B.
r. Durant and Harvey B. Burk.
The programme included addresses by
Gov. Van SAINT, Grant Van SAINT, Mrs DR..