The news & observer., 1903-12-27
they think of his performance. II

=, they think of his performance. /
.efiects no little credit on the distin
guised body in whose presence he uttered
his foolish sentiments about "the stron!
arm of the government" being used u
curb the press, that he was promptly re
buked. Thos. Jefferson, who the Baptist:
| say got his ideas of government iron
| them, is on record as saying if he hat
| to choose between government without
| newspapers, or newspapers without gov
ernment, he would take the latter alter.
native.
| Intelligent observers of the progress o.
events must know that a movement has
been ON foot for several years to make
Trinity College Radical and Trust SEN
mary, an anti Democratic school. Bas
sett is not the first of the faculty tC
antagonize the South's position on The
negro question. His article is simply the
| flower Of which Minis and Kilgo's utter
| ances were the bud. They have beer
speaking of the lack of freedom in the
South; Bassett simply tells what t
means. The Charlotte Observer of date
| livered by Prof. Minis. of Trinity Col
lPSe, ut IL NdiiuCipite Ch''SN
sity, in which he said
In the first place, the South has
suffered from extreme conservatism.
AS opposed to radical and destructive
spirit, one should choose extreme
conservatism every time, but that Is
not the alternative presented.
We can never expect to be free
people until we vote as we think.
There is no worse tyranny than the
tyranny of party. There is an imper-
ative demand that we have indepen-
dent voters who will dare to think,
and having thought to act. 1t may
be necessary, in view of the perplex-
ing negro problem, to make a distlnc-
tion between local and national poll
tics but the independent voter WA
do this.
A sort of ''foregleam," you know. The
Observer of April 2S 1896, contained the
following:
Rev. DR.. ]. c. Kilgo, president of
Trinity College, was one of the speak
ers at the religious congress in Wash
ington on the evening of the 21st inst.
and is thus reported by one of the
Washington papers:
Rev. ]. C. Kilgo, d. D., spoke on
Religious Education and Social Re-
FORMS" Dr. Kilgo believed that re-
form is necessary, and that pessimists
and optimists are alike too radical
in their views Of the conditions OF the
day. Everybody had solution for
all the evils and therein lies one OF
the greatest difficulties. "There IS
;,,f f1a y np
Kilgo. "The slave of the South Is
still in shackles. To execute the
needed reforms the twentieth century
will demand a greater than Cromwell,
a greater than Lincoln"
The only thing about this that both
ers us is that We don't know what he
meant.
''The slave of the South is still IN
shackles,' says Kilgo 'It may be neces-
sery to make distinction between State
and National politics" says Minis. Not
even a black skin and a fiat nose can
justify caste in this country" sayE Bas'
sett. 81 believe the time will come when
there will be an insurrection and blood
will run in the streets, and torches put
to our homes,'' echoes Massee lately from
Ohio, in talk at the Tabernacle Baptist
church, Raleigh. We suppose the Obser-
yer can understand now. Its obtuse-
ness in 1896 may have been due to its
old-fashioned Democratic notions, of which
tie following is sample:
Loyalty to the platform of the ma
tional Democratic convention is the
supreme test of party fealty. If this
test is not recognized, what is the
use of party organization? How can
party hope to accomplish results?
A man who denies the validity of
this supreme test Is a political Qua
err a mugwump. an Utlander. He
cannot wear a party uniform and
drill in the ranks. And bolter is
worse still-a traitor.
The News and Observer stands upon
this doctrine, and those who cannot ac-
cept it, simply exclude themselves from
Democratic fellowship. Freedom Of
thought has never that a man could be
a Baptist and repudiate the supreme test
of fellowship. Nor does it mean that
man can be a Democrat and train with
the Radicals.
Booker Washington may be the greater
than Lincoln and Bailey the greater
than Cromwell" which Kilgo looked for
ward to in his vision of seven yeas ago.
But when it come sto arraying white
folks against the News and Observer tor
warning them of the schemes on foot to
destroy the Democratic party, that is
quite job