The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-02-07
PROBLEMS OF THE TIMES
INTERESTING ADDRESS BY SECRE-
TARY OF WAR ROOT.
Effort Of SOutherners to Prevent
Blacks Holding ONCE a Curl
GUS Development.

NEW YORK, Feb. 6.-Secretary of War
Elihu Root discussed the negro question and
labor unions tonight at the fortieth an
niversary of the Union League Club, which
was celebrated by a banquet to the men
who have been members since 1868. Secre-
tary Root was chairman. He congratulated
the veterans of the club upon having ''wov-
en- thread into fabric of the great life of
this country. There are he said, many
problems coming up to-day which the
safety of this government depends. There
are to-day situations of possible evils for
our country that call for devoted patriot
ism. First, division between the rich and
the poor, under which wealth controls leg
islation and poverty is trying to stir up a
war of classes. But every good citizen
should declare that never in this free land
shall We have a war Of classes.
''Fhere are some labor organizations
which fight against the better man doing
more work than the poorer man, and which
hold down the competent man to the level
of the incompetent and stupid do not de-
clare war against labor organizations; /
believe in them. The laborer is entitled to
organize to get mis- own.
After the civil war the great question,
What shall we do with the black man?
and the answer was give him citizenship.
equal rights and he will rise. Three
amendments were added to the Constitu-
ton and l fear we shall have to face the
conclusion that the experiment has failed
The suffrage has been taken away from
the negro and in many of the Southern
States the black man no longer has the
right of suffrage.
"A curious development has been seen
within the past year. President Roosevelt
has appointed fewer black men than Presi-
dent Mckinley did and there to-day
fewer black men holding office than when
Mckinley died. Yet loud. outcries are to
be heard in the South about President
Roosevelt's policy of appointing black men
to office in the South. Under previous Presi-
dents, Mckinley, Cleveland, Harrison and
back to Hayes's time, more negroes were
appointed TO office and nothing was said.
"A black man. attended an official recep-
ton in Washington at the White House a
short time ago. The black man, as an
official Of the government, had always at
tended these receptions. Yet the invita-
ton of the President to these men was the
signal for an outcry of a thousand papers
in the South that the whites were being
insulted.
II don't want to argue this question. 1
am certainly showing that we have to face
change of feelings in the South, where
the black man is denied the right to aspire
to the highest there is in American citi-
zenship. This right to aspire to the high
est dignity which was formerly unques-
toned is now questioned. In a short time
the white man will succeed in excluding the
black man from all offices in the Southern
States. We can never throw off the re-
sponsibility that rests on our people of the
welfare of these black people that we held
in slavery for so many generations Now
that the first attempt has failed, the Ques-
ton is what to do, and ii should take the
greatest thought of the greatest minds of
no