The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-10-01
TWO NOVEL VIEWS ON THE NE
GRO QUESTION.

Bishop Turner, of Georgia, long one
of the ablest lea of the negro race
honestly believes that the only hope OF
solving the race question is for the negro
to emigrate to Africa and there build III
great negro empire or republic. In
recent speech he touched upon the gen
orally accepted opinion that. the negro re-
public of Liberia is failure, and said:
''It was also proclaimed the other night
that Liberia was a failure and had play
ed out. l know Liberia, l know Mullen
burg Station | presided over an annual
conference there of ordained ministers,
and l am prepared to say that finer re-
public is not found on earth than Liberia,
consisting of $4,000 civilized and a million
and a half of heather people. MonrovIa,
the capital, with population of 5000, is
one of the most beautiful cities, as seen
from the ocean, that either England or
America can present.
1.-The State house, presidential mansion
cabinet departments, and score of cities
in the republic, and the ships that stand
in her various harbors, tell their own
story. and there is not bar-room in the
republic to curse and ultimately damn her
young men. If Georgia has played out,
then Liberia has played out, but l grant
that Liberia needs immigrants, and a
number of business men to develop and
bring into utilization her resources.
mean her gold, silver, diamonds, coal and
to till the richest soil on EARTH
He gave expression to another opinion
@l,,4 4ho llxy fed
opinion as to the relative intelligence OF
the negroes in America and the negroes
in Africa. For half century we have
been saying that, whatever else slavery
did or did not do, it brought savages to
America and converted them into race
far superior to their brothers on the DARK
Continent. Bishop Turner does not agree
with that opinion but thinks the Africans
in Africa are superior to Africans In
America. He says:
'The American negro, with new excep-
tons, is the lowest specimen of the At
rican tribes The superior African sold
us inferior Africans to the white men
We were slaves hundreds and thousands
we were sold to this country to become
the slaves of our white masters; but this
lower type has to return in numbers, to
civilize and Christianize the higher type
and the white man has to help us to dc
it, and God will see he does it, or the
nation that owes us $40, 900 900 for two
hundred years work performed and ser
vices rendered will commence to wane
and end in broken fragments like the Ro
man empire.
We print these two statements merely
for the information of our readers. The
negro question is too complex for US
For the people of the South-the individu-
al, of both races-the duty is for eacf
and every one to do the duty of the hour
to be Just, honest fair helpful. No man
can look into the future. Whatever 1t Is
to be just, honest, fair, helpful. No man
reigns in the heavens and over all men
The proper solution, whatever it is, viii
be helped by every man in his private life
doing the right thing in the right way
without being influenced by this or tina;
patent scheme for solving the race ques
ton. Up to date all the schemes war
ranted to work have failed. Bishop
Turner's seems impracticable. We advo.
cate no plan; we condemn none. We only
counsel industry and right-living and mu
tual fairness and justice as the need o.
the hour. of the future. the veil is i'm
penetrable.