The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-03-06
Oh THE NEGRO
ANALYZED BY.PRESIDENfT ELIOT

Fl Al9N4Al-, | ~
| 4 Following Is ah address delivered by
President CHARLES w. Eliot or Harvard,
lin New York, Fcbruury t2, 1901. ut a
meeting lii tile interest Of tho Hampton,
Normal Institute. Mr.. Eliot said: 4
There Is no largerol grayer problem be-
tho prompt formation of u so.ind public
| opinion about tho right trcn tficnt o.
| backward races and Hampton possesses
| tho kcy-wortls OF tlisll great problem
education and productive labor. Tho sup-s
port or Hampton Institute depends d.
licctly OH pnblic opinion \, concerning 7, !, q
among Intelligent and publlo-splritod pco--
| pic, North and Soutli. Let these people
remain convinced that Hampton not only
| has becn. but is ard will be-, an effective
| INSTRUMENT for uplifting the two back
ward ruces 1t serves and let this con-
victlol be as firmly and broadly planted
| In the Southern mind MS III tho Nortterl1,
and tho vigorous lifo OF tho institute IS
assured. Therefore ask youi Intention
| to soino OF tho rescnlblances and some
! OF tho differences between opinion at the
| North and opinion at tho South concern
| Ing the negro. as5 a8 .st .li
Ir tho first place, Northern opinion and
/
Ito Keeping tho two races purc--that Is.
| without .ndmixture Of one with the other.
| Tho Northern whites hold this opinion
| quite as firmly as the Southern Whites:.
and, lnasmuch as tho negroes hold the
same view, this supposed danger Of
mutual racial Impairment ought not to
| have much Influence on practical nfcns-5
ures. Adm!xture Of the two races. so far.
| as It proceeds will be-. as It has been,
| chiefly tho result Of sexual vlco on the
| part of white men 1t will not be q wide
spread evil and It will not be ndvoca tod
as a policy or method by anybody worthy
Of consideration. IT should be borne N
on the mind OF the Southern whites that
their Northcra brethren are entirely at
one with them in this matter, In spite ~
certain obvious differences OF behavior
Toward the negro at the North and at
| the South &, SIS Il. III
WHERE NUMBERS COUNT.
Let us next consider some Of these Bdlf-
ferences Of pra ctlcal behavior. At the
North 1t is common for negro children to
| 70 to tho public schools with white chill
Isdren while cit the South negro children:
i are not admitted to white schools. This;
practice at the North may be Justly do
scrlbcd as s,,cially insignificant; because
1.-THE numbcrlof negro children is In most
places very small In proportion to the
number OF white children. In Northern
towns where negro children are propor-
tionally numerous, there Is Just the same,
tendency and desire to separate them
from the whites that there is in the
South. This separation may be effected
! BY public regulations; but II not. It will
bio effected by white parents procuring
the transfer OF their childrengto schools
where negroes arc few. The differences
of practice In this matter at @the North
and at tho South are the result of the
different proportion 5of NEGROES to the;
white population III the two sections.
Thus, in the high schools and colleges
OF the North the proportion OF negroes
! : always extremely small. 20 small that
1t may be neglected as a social Influence.
Put the prosperous Northern whites into
the Southern States in immediate con-
tact with millions OF negroes. and they
would promptly establish separate schools
| for the colorcd population, whatever the
| necessary cost. Transfer tho Southern
whites to tho North, where the regroes,
form but an Insignificant fraction OF tho.
| populations, and in a generation or two
| they would not, care whether there were;
q few negro children in the public schools
or not, ana would therefore avoid the ex-.
pense Of providing separate schools for
| tho fow colorcd children.
With regard to coming into personal
contact with negroes, tho adverse. feeling
Of the Northern whites is stronger than
that OF the Southern whites, who are
accustomed to such contacts; but. on ac-i
count Of the fewness OF the negroes at tho
North, no separate provision Is made for
them In public conveyances and other
places OF public resort. 1t would be in
convenient and wasteful to provide sepa-'
rate conveyances; and, moreover, race
Is not the real determining consideration.
in regard TO agreeableness OF contact
/ tn a public conveyance or other pubic
resort. Any clean and tidy person. of
dirty person, be he white, black or yellow.
Here, again, the proportion OF the negro
to the white population Is q dominant
consideration. On the whole there IS no
essential difference between the feelings
| OF tho Northern whites and the Sou therr
| whites on this subject; but the 1lnedu-i
| Gated Northern whites are less tolerant
Of tho negro than the Southern whites.
More trades and occupations are actually
| open to negroes In the Southern States
| than in the Northern.
POLITICAI. AND SOCIAL EQUALITY,
NORTH AND SOUTH.
| 1 come next to a real difference between
| northern opinion and southern opinion
| a difference the roots OF which are rather
hard to trace. At the North, nobody con-
meets political equality--that is, the pos
session of the ballot and eligibility to
public olice--with social equnlity-tia hat is,
| free social intercourse on equal terms In
the peoples homes, At the South, the
white population seems to think un-
anlmolrsly that there Is n close connec-
] ton between the two questions follow
| ing-shall negro vote or be a Letters
calricr2 and shall he sit with a white
man ut dinner or marry white mans
sister? At tho North, these two questions
seem to have nothing whatever to do With
1 eacl, other. For generations the entire
male population Of suitable ago has
j possessed the ballot; but the possession
OF tho ballot has mover had anything to
do with tho social status of the Individual
voter. In tho northern cities, which gen
orally contain great variety OF white
nationaitics, tho social divisions are nu-
lnerous and deep: and the mere practice
of political equality gives no sneans
whatever Of passing from one soclal ser
to another supposed to be higher. The So
cial sets arc determined by like edu'
cation, parity of income, and similarity
OF occupation. and not at all by the