Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1903-02-13
Secretary Root on the Negro Problem

secretary MOOT on tne negro PROBLEM.
y speech made by Secretary of War
Root in New York last Friday evening
at the celebration of the fortieth an
niversary Of the founding of the I'm
ion League club. has attracted more
attention and caused more comment
than any recent public utterance Mr..
Root made the principal speech of the
evening. He dealt chiefly with the
present status of the Negro, and in
declaring the black man disfranchised,
and the old measures for his uplifting
a failure, his speech was of intensest
interest to the club, which has cham
pioned the black man almost from the
day it was organized. Mr. Root said
in part;
a problem with which this club might
well be concerned is that Of the Negro
You may have heard the speakers tell to-
night of the organization of Negro regi-
mcnts by this club and of their march
ing down Broadway beside them. With
i'm two years after the foundation of this
clIb the nation, by the thirteenth consti-
tutional amendment, provided that slav-
cry should not exist in this country BY
the fourteenth amendment the nation
recognized the black man. and provided
that all men born or naturalized in this
country should be citizens. BY the fif-
teenth amendment it declared that no
man should be debarred from voting IL
he was a citizen and eligible. Those
three amendments embodied the scheme
adopted by thoughtful men for uplifting
those so 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
conclusion that the experiment has failed.
The suffrage has been taken away from
the black man in most of the states in
which he composes the larger part of the
population. The black man in the South
generally no longer has practically the
right of suffrage There has been a
curious development along this line in
the last year. President Roosevelt has
appointed fewer black men to office in
the South than did President Mckinley.
There are fewer black men now holding
Federal offices than when President Nc
Kinley died. Yet there are now loud out
cries from a thousand newspapers North
and South, against what is called Presi-
dent Roosevelt's policy of appointing
black men 10 office. Under Presidents
Harrison. Hayes and Mckinley more
black men were appointed and nothing
was said. \ few nights ago a black
man. holding a prominent Federal office,
attended an official 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 always at
tended, including Cleveland's and McI<in-
leY's. Yet. when this happened al Presi-
dent 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 officeholder at
an official reception.
Il do not want to argue this question
| only want to show you that the blacks
are meeting with a change of feeling in
the South. Have they not a right to
aspire to an office. formerly unquestioned
but now questioned? 1t is probably but
n matter of time when the overwhelming
dominant white opinion will succeed
in excluding the black man from office
in all the Southern states. So, the
| country has to face the failure of the
| plan formulated at the close of the war
to elevate the black man by comforting
| the suffrage upon him. We can never
| throw up the responsibility for these
people. held in slavery for so many gen.
| erations. The question. what can be
| done for them, now that the first plan
! has failed. Is one that challenges the best
| thought and the best patriotism of our
| country"
Mr.. Root made no comment beyond
this statement of fact, and suggested
no remedy. A hush of silence fell
upon the audience as he closed and
then the applause was deafening
The speech of Secretary Root was
looked upon by all present as being
the views of the Administration and
the defence of President Roosevelt in
the clamor growing out of the Crum
appointment.