The Van Buren press., 1904-09-24
Studying the southern Negro.

Studling thc southern Negro.
j. ID. FaXton of Boston, Mass.
spent yesterday in the city, say
the Little Rock GaZettee of reCen
date. Mr.. FaxtOu is a man Of con
siderable prominence in the liter
ary aud sociological world, anC
his articles some years ago in thu
Arena Magazine on the child laboI
problem in the South, in relation
TO the cotton millindustry, attract
ed considerable attention. Hit
present trip to the South is fol
the purpose of investigation ano
the preparation of series o.
articles on the negro question. II
an interview Mr.. Faxon said:
ii have been South number o.
times and. although my traditions
and environments were such as tC
lead me to suppose that | would
he biased, ! rather pride myself IN
the belief that ! am not, | do not
presume to say that, in my oc
casional visits to the South, have
been able to gain the proper per
spective in regard to the relation
of negro and white, but | do say
that my views on the negro ques
ton have undergone radical
change. After all, the negro ques'
tion is largely a matter of fperspec'
tive. For example, the average
American looks Oh the cultured
Indian, Chinese or japanese with
h certain degree of curiosity, aud
he is accorded social attentions
far above the average American
whose education may be as good
or better. The variety, the novel
ty of the thing, causes the in.
creased interest. In the North
the same thing holds good. There
the negro is infrequent. Little is
known Of him, and the perspective
Is naturally all wrong. When the
isolated instance of negro Of
extraordinary ability and mental
ty presents itself-say, for ex
ample, the case of u college stu
dent who takes high honors a'
Harvard or Yale-the genera
public forgets that this is nothing
more or less than an isolated in
stance, aud in no way q criterion OF
the race as a whole. This one
man is singled out AS an instance
of what the race as n whole caI
do, aud they decry the social de
cree which does not permit his
fellows to mix and mingle on terms
of social equality,
"However, North or South, Eas'
or West, the spirit Of racial pride
aud supremacy IL, beneath tn,
veneer Of sentiment and prejudice
very Much the same. The creates
test of this fact is the SOLITARY
question which you may put tC
Rny Northern man, no matter how
partisan he may be: would yol
like to have negro for u son.in
lawf Up to that one question The
NEGRO lover as yon call bin, ma,
have admitted that he believe,
the negro the white mau's eQua
Dnd stated quite frankly that h,
would be willing to dine with him
1t is there that they all balk, and
IN baking, their whole argumen
for social equality falls to tn,
ground.
"But to return TO the matter II
hand. have spent several month
IN the South, and have visited th,
states Of Georgia, Alabama, Mis-
sissippi, Louisiana, Texas aud Al
kansas. In Alabama, thanks 4
the school of Booker Washington
aud the numerous of1shoots fror
this mans institution, the negr0e
are IN q fair way to greater pre-
gress along practical lines tha
any state ia the Union. At tn
same time, in what is known as th
black belt Of the state his ignol
nnce and poverty is perhaps NOR
dense and apparently hopeless
than IN any other state, IN Ge0rgi
the industrial educational gerl
has Just taken root. Thus far III
state IL suffering from n surIeit &
negroes educated along advance
lines who can hud no possible on
Jet for thersnpertluous knowledg
and who are, IN consequence, dp
grun,led, aud dissatisfied wit
their lot, The Mississippi negro
ignorant and largely given over {
eriminality, As result he is olte
meted out a switt aud uulawfu
punishment.
"In Arkansas. however, ! fin
less crime than IN any other stat,
The negro seems 10 be well salts
fed, aud there seems TO Jea bette
mud more harmonious relation b,
tween the two races than IN nn
Souiheru state. lam pIherM n los
80 understand this difference, ia
the reason that Arkansas and Mi
sisssIppi are 80 close together an
the IDEAS aud habits OF the peopl