The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1903-06-25

costing our cities and manufacturing
towns and settling in communities in
our farming districts. Are there any
here that want to go out and buy a
piece of land in the Russian settlement
in the western part of our state and live
there ? Are there any that want to buy
a residence property in the italian or
Polish districts of New York or Chicago
and live there ? 1 do not think 80. And
yet it is only by coming in contact with
these people, by mingling with them,
by doing business with them that we
car teach them American ideas and
make them good American citizens.
We must either Americanize them or in
time lose our identity as an American
nation.
Another question which will require
the undivided and best judgement of
the American people to carry to a sue
cessful conclusion is the acquisition and
government Of alien people and territory.
This we are all agreed is an experiment;
adeparture from the established GUS
toms of this government and unless the
problem is wisely handled it may be a
source of danger to our institutions in
the future.
And still another question is the
negro; the race question. This at
the present time is without doubt para
mount to any other and is a direct
legacy left to US by the civil war. The
war of the rebellion made the negro a
free man. 1t broke for ever the chains
that bound him and conferred upon him
the priceless boon of American citizen
ship. That was all it did. While
slavery is done away with, the curse Of
slavery is still upon the land and it is
this that the people are now called upon
to meet and settle. 1t is generally con
ceeded by,every student of this question,
both north and south, that in dealing
with this question at the close of the
wal a great mistake was made in giving
to the negro the right Of SUFFRAGE. He
was not fitted for it. He was not pre-
pared for it and we realize today that it
will be a long time before he is. In the
meantime, what, are we going to do with
him? Every year the question be-
more and moro acute. Every
year the negro becomes moro and
more a menace to our future peace and
progress, until today the thinking men,
both north and south, look upon this
race problem with fear and apprehen-
sion. 1t will not do to sit idly by and
do nothing. It will not do to fold our
bands and cay This question will ad-
just itself all right after awhile That
is what the people said about the negro
aud other questions which finally let to
the war and deluged this country with
bloc l and tears. A war the cost of
which in lives and treasure, in misery
and suffering appalled, the civilized world,
Today the white people in the south
openly violate and abridge the tiftee 1tb
amendment of our constitution. Petty
race wars are of frequent occurance.
Mob law; rapine and murder are
of almost daily occurance. The shot-
gun and tissue ballots are both usedand
still the question is not settled. I thank
God hat the better judgement of the
people of the porth has prevailed; that
this question has been taken out OF
politics; that We realize that it will take
the united and most Intelligent efforts
of the people both north and south to
solve this question. How, the future
alone can tell.
My friends, I have endeavored to
point out to you briefly as possible
some of the questions that confront US
to-day as a nation, By keeping these
questions before US; by studying them
carefully and intelligently we may avoid
making the same mistakes in the future
that we have made in the past. How
these and other questions that are
bound to come will be settled l do not
know, but I have a blind answering
belief 10 the ability Of the American
people for self government and l believe
that they will meet each and every one
of these questions and settle them, and
settle them right. I am not a pessimist.
If either l am ar optimist for I try to
look upon the bright side of everything
and always hope for the best. But I
as well AS you have a deep concern for
the future Of this republic. Tt is as
dear to Inc as life itself a nd I would not
do one thing knowingly or willingly to
MAJ its glory or impair its greatness. II
our ship of state should be guided in the
future as skilifu]ly as it has been in the
past; if we avoid the treacherous chan
neIs AMI dangerous shoals upon which
other nations have been wrecked no man
can accurately predict our future great.
ness. We, as a nation, have placed more
milestopes along the highway of human
progress in the last century and a quar-.
ter than all the other nations did in a
thousand years, We are the brightest
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