The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-07
to get their mail at a town some thirty miles distant. Not Primarily a Race Incident.

to get their mail at town some thirty
 miles distant.
 Not Primarily a Race Incident.
 Whereupon. there arose a considerab ble
 clamor in the Southern press against
 President Roosevelt, not merely for the
 temporary closing of the postoffice at
 Indianola. but for the alleged forcing of
 rolored pCstmas;ers upon long-suffering
 white communities. The fact seems to
 he that President Roosevelt out of thou
 sands of appointments made since he
 came to office. has not named single
 new cOlored postmaster in any Southern
 State. A few already in office may have been continued, as matter of routine
 by the renewal Of their commissions. The
 papers on file in the Postoffice Depart
 mcnt show large number of eager ap- piicatiors from white people none what
 ever from negrncsl for appointment to the lndiannla postoIlce; and there is some justification for the theory that q part at least, of the agitation against Mrs. Cox was due to the zeal of the supporters of the various rival aspirants for the job. of white and black, but primarily n question of the dignity of the United
 States government as represented there by q branch of it's postal service.
 The Real Interests of the Negro. We cannot say too cmphatically tha l., in our opirion, as matters stand at pres
 ent, Federal offices are of no use at all to the negro race in the South. President Roosevelt has in the main acted upon this vie An exceptional appointment. like
 that of Dr. Crum. although absolutely Justified by the Presidents logic and to he commended on several theoretical grounds. does not work well in practice, because it creates a local irritation that imperils things that are of real impor- tance to the negro. Just now, in SeV-
 eral Southern States there is a strong dis position on the part of many white men
 to divide the State school funds, allowing to the negro schools only the amount of school taxes actually paid by the negroes kind. the hest conscience of the white Democracy of the South is arrayirg it. self; and t will win the fight for free and universal education of all the chil- dren of all the people. black and white. This question alone is q ia thousand times more vital importance 10 the negroes of the South than an occa sonal Federal of- nee, If pr. Crum of Charleston had been as broad minded and disinterested rep resontativc of his race as might have been wished, he would promptly have declined the col.ectorship at Charleston, thus using a conspicuous opportunity to mako it plain that leading negroes of the South would rather be of real service to their humble brethren than take fed eral office at the cost of making il harder for the best men of the South to help the negro race in matters where help is really needed
 Roosevelt, Payne and Party Politics. The South will of course some day see matters in their true proportions. and will then do justice tU Pres4uent Roose- l velts attitude. which has been SO free | from mere political calculation on his | own beh2it as to be truly quixotic He could with perfect ease have made his | renomination safe and sure by the simple
 eXpedient of placating the professional | negro politicians. Owing 10 the fact that | more than a third of the voting strength | of Republican national conventions comes | from the Democratic solid South" the | President took his political life in his | hands, so to speak. when he entered upon l the policy of appointing white Democrat Is l to a great many of the leading Southern offices. As for Postmaster General Payne.
 who Is said by the newspapers to be l seeking to control the Southern negro
 delegates to the next national convention l in President RooscYelts interest, it is strange that the one idea with which he l has long been most conspicuously identi- | fled should so often be overlooked. For | many years past, MT. Payne, as a promi- | nent member of the Republican National ! Committee, has tried to secure the virtual | exclusion of the South from national Re l publican conventions by a total change | in the method of appointing delegates to | the States. At present. tho rcpr esenta- l tation of each State is in accordance with 1 its membership in Congress- MT. Payne | would base representation upon the actual | Republican vote. Now. it happens that | South Carolina at the last election gave
 Mckinley only 3,57s votes. while Penn | sylvania gave him TIP, 665 and New York | about S22,0oo On the strict basis of the | popular vote at the last election. in a | Republican national convention of a | thousand members. Florida would he en- titled to 1: Mississippi and South Carolina l combined to 1; Louisiana to 2; Georgia to ! 4 or D; Arkansas to 6; Alabama to l. and 1 the other Southern States to considera bly | more. It would not only be an excellent thing for the Republican party, but also
 a very good thing indeed for both races | in the South. If sweeping reform could | be brought about in the makeup of the | Republican national conventions. The Hon. Henry L. Payne. Postmaster Gen. l eral deserves the highest credkt for his | persistent work to bring about such a l reform. He hopes to see it accomplish | ed in the convention of 1904-it would have been accomplished al Philadelphia l in 1900 but for a lingering memory of
 services rendered in certain quarters in
 1896.
 Breath Misapplied.