The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-02-07

him.
GREAT TESTING OF NATION.
Beginning by saying it was well worth
coming from Washington or even Cali
fornia or even the Philippines to look upon
the faces of the founders of the Union
League Club of New York. whose arduous
work In the stirring days of the Civil War
was well remembered, he said:
But length of days s little To have
woven thread in the fabric of life is some
thing. and that is something that you old
friends. have done. We know that our
country is great in numbers. in railroads in
all the outward evidences of great material
prosperity but happier are we in the reall-
zation that 1t is great in all that dgnified
and ennohles humanity
You and 1 must realize that 1t is great
to live to see the two sides that fought 80
long, so fercely, SO bitterly. at length come
together and fight as manfully for one flag
and one purpose. We ought to realize that
1t IS a great privilege to live to see the re-
fex action of our country exhibited abroad
In Europe and everywhere-lifting UP the
common people of the earth into the particI-
patton of life's truest, purest, greatest gifts
liberty. freedom and humanity; to live to
See our public service grown stronger and
purer and better to-day In its integrity and
Its devotion to the public interests than ever
before in our history.
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY
THAT old and trite saying. Eternal vigil
ance is the price of liberty now holds a.
new and eternal truth Eternal vigilance is
the price of good citizenship. There are
great problems to-day calling for the best
citizenship and the most devoted patriot
ism.
"One is the tendency growing I fear. to
dissensions between the wealthy and the
poor. under which wealth tends constantly
fn to ~ liz,
through legislation, thus stirring up a con-
fict and war upon the wealthy, based
upon envy and jealousy. Every good citi-
zen should make his protest and set his
face against It. and make 1t certain that
in this country of ours We shall have no
war of classes.
THE second problem is a tendency to
check the individual enterprise and develop
ment. The chance that every poor boy has
by his own efforts. his industry, his
ergy and his courage to rise as high as
man can rise is at the very foundation of
liberty.
Labor unions are increasing the prohibi-
ton against the better man making the
most wages and doing the most work he is
capable of. in favor of the poorer workman.
This is putting a premium on sloth and stu
pidity.
II make no war on labor organizations. I
believe in them. l believe that in the
struggle for life now with its growing
riches the laboring man is bound to organ
ize. 1 believe he is entitled TO do So and
am glad to see him organize to get his own.
But let US set our faces against the ten
dency to say to any American boy. You
shall not do the best you can
NEGRO SUFFRAGE FAILURE.
. "A third problem is one with which this
club might well be concerned. You have
heard the speakers tell tonight of the or
OaniZatiDu of reciO0pnt. NV cI N
and of their marching down Broadway be-
side them.
Within two years after the foundation
of this club the nation, by the Thirteenth
Amendment. provided that slavery should
not exist in this country. BY the Four
teeDth Amendment the Constitution recog-
nzed the black man and provided that all
men born or naturalized in this country
should be citizens. BY the Fifteenth
Amendment it declared that no man should
be barred from voting if he was a citizen
and eligible.
Those three amendments embodied
tho scheme adopted by thoughtful men for
uplifting those long held in slavery. Give
him citizenship and suffrage and equal
rights, and he will rise, they thought
Il fear we are compelled to face the con-
clusion that the experiment has failed The
suffrage has been taken away from the
black man in most of the States in which
ton. The black man in the South generally
no longer has practically the right of suf-
frage"
SOUTHERN FEELING CHANGING"
"a few nights ago black man holding a
prominent Federal office attended an Off
cial reception at the White House. There
has been no time since the war that black
men have not held such offices, including
during the administration of President
Cleveland. At such official receptions the
black men holding such positions have al
ways attended. including Cleveland's and
McKinley's. Yet when this happened at
President Roosevelt's similar reception it
was the signal for an outburst that the
white men of the South had been insulted
by the appearance of a black oficeholder
at an official reception.
81 do not want to argue this question. 1
only want to show you that the blacks
are meeting with a change of feeling in
the South. Have they not right to aspire
to an office. formerly unquestioned, but now
at is probably but n matter of time
white opinion will succeed in exclud-
ing the black man from Offices in all
the Southern States.
$50 the country has to face the fall
ure of the plan formulated at the
close of the war to elevate the black
man by comforting the suffrage upon
him.
1--WE can never throw mp the respon-
sibiIity for these people held in sInv-
cry for many generations. The
new question. What can be done for
them. now that the first plan has
fin HEIDI Is one that challenges the best
thought and the best patriotism of
our country"
UTTERANCES INDORSED.
For an instant after the Secretary of
War had finished, hush fell upon the audi
ence. Then the applause was fairly deaf
ening 1t continued for at least two min
utes, swelling all the time and finally broke
out into vociferous cheers.
In the dining-room, where supper was
served at the conclusion of the speech of
former Attorney General Griggs. who fol-
lowed the Secretary of War, the one topic
of conversation was the deliverance of
Secretary Root. He was looked upon as
the spokesman of the administration and
the defender of President Roosevelt in the
clamor growing out of the Crum appoint
ment
His declaration that negro suffrage had
proved a failure was not freely admitted
among the war horses of the Republican
party who were present, but generally tho
admission was commented upon as candid
and truthful.
CABLED FOR GERMANY'S PLANS.