The Savannah morning news., 1903-02-14
wIsE.s ILLOGICAL SPEECH.

There is nothing to approve and much
to condemn in the speech which John
S. Wise of New York delivered at the
annual Lincoln banquet of the Middle
sex Club in Boston on Thursday night
on the negro problem. As Mr.. Wise
was formerly of Virginia, and is now
the counsel for the negroes of Virginia
in their fight to overthrow the suffrage
clause of the new constitution of that
state-the clause which shuts out ne
grOes from the ballot box-it was sup
posed probably that he knew something
about that problem that was unknown
to the general public, and hence was
invited to speak upon it.
In substance Mr.. Wise said that
conflict was approaching between the
white and black races in this country,
a fearful conflict and he wanted to
know on which side the white people
of the North would be found. He as
sumed, apparently, that they would be
against the black race. In explaining
how this conflict could be avoided he
said: The nation must say to the
South either obey the constitutional
mandate and let the negro vote, or sub
NIT to a reduction Of congressional rep
resentation.
How would a reduction Of congress
sional representation check trouble be-
tween the races? Would the negroes be
satisfied to be deprived of the ballot If
the South were punished for depriving
them of it? Apparently Mr.. Wise thinks
South should be told that she must
give the negro the ballot or suffer a
diminution of her power in Congress
and the Electoral College. If that
would settle the race problem the prob
lem isn't one that the nation need be
disturbed about. 1t is probable, how
ever, that Mr.. Wise's idea of the prob
lem is based upon his desire to win the
fight he is making for the overthrow
Of the Virginia constitution.
The race problem is something more
than whether the South shall give the
negro the ballot or lose representation
in Congress. 1t is whether the white
and black races can live together in this
country on terms of political equality.
If the South should be deprived of a
part of her representation in Congress
the negro would not be any better sat-
isfied to be without the ballot than he
is now. He would think the North re-
garded him as being well qualified
for the ballot as the white man. and
had punished the South for not giving
it to him. He would therefore keep up
continual agitation to recover the bal
lot and a share of the offices.
The only way the races can get along
together is for the black race to admit
that the superior race should rule,
should exercise political rights exclu-
sively. Abraham Lincoln, the emanci-
pator Of the negro, never intended that
the negro should have political equality
In his great debate with Douglas, he
said: 81 am in favor of the race to
which ] belong, having the superiority"
lie also said in that debate, Il have no
purpose to introduce political and social
equality between the white and black
races"
Without political equality the negro
would still have as rights life. liberty
and the pursuit of happiness. James ].
Torbet, assistant principal of the High
and Industrial School at Fort Valley In
this state. expressed that idea in a lee
ture which he delivered in New York
city on the same night that Mr.. Wise
spoke in Boston. In the course of his
lecture he said: when the white man
prevents my race from buying and SELL
ing among ourselves, from teaching and
preaching the Gospel of truth to the
hayward, from receiving and giving,
from living and loving, then he will
have prosecuted us. If he prevents
none of these things he prevents no
progress"
THE MOVEMENT OF THE MER-