Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1904-07-22
Department Campaign Document.

AS the Republican platform has negro
plank which introduces the trace issue" into
politics, it is not surprising that the resources
of the Federal Government are being util.
lied by the Department Of Commerce and
Labor-whose former head is manager oil
President Roosevelt's campaign-to help on
the agitation Bulletin No. OF the De-
partment of Commerce and Labor, entitled
Negroes ln the United States" is plainly
campaign document. Ii is rehash OF facts
already published in the census reports to
the extent of 1888 folio pages. To witty dry
tables OF statistics there are introduced So
called studies of various aspects OF the negro's
position for use by political orators. Among
the rest is study of the NEGRO Farmer,
which shows IN many places the negrophile
bias of the publication. The bias comes out
10 the use OF slanderous phrases, accepted as
true by ignorant Northern people, but known
by Southern people to be false-the lingo oil
the ante bellum abolitionists who brought on
the Civil War. 1t Is stated, for example, In
this bulletin, published by means OF taxes
paid In part by the South, that "ss the worn
out farms Of the border States were aban'
doned for farming purposes they were utll'
lied as slave breeding farms; thus Mary
land, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky,
Tennessee and Missouri became the seat OF
an internal slave trade Of large dimensions"
In another place "the plantation system" is
spoken of as "being abandoned" In the border
States between 1850 and 1850 "for slave
breeding" The idea sought to be conveyed
is the thoroughly false one that the slave
owners in Maryland and Virginia con-
sciously and deliberately engaged in breed
ing slaves for the Southern market, just as
a Yankee might engage in the business of
breeding mules for the Western market.
This Is an outrageous statement. There was
no such slave breeding business In the border
States, a. anyone knows who lived In these
States before the Civil War. A prejudiced
theorlst reasoning from his own conscious
impulses, may suppose that the business
must have existed. His Idea Of human ma
ture compes him to think that no opportu
nifty of making money will be wasted. But
he fails to take account of the modifying in
fiuences of character and tradition in the
South, which prevented salve-holding there
from being the mercenary and cruel institu
ton he magines The "busness instinct"
was not developed among the planters TO
the extent supposed, and where it existed ii
was paralyzed by sentiments OF proprlety
and decency sustained by public opinion, by
personal attachments and by sentiments of
sympathy. AS a matter of fact, slaves as
rule were kept by their masters as long as
possible. Death and bankruptcy scattered
estates, it Is true but even 80, It was chiefly
the "bad niger" that was sold 10 the South
ern market Those who are aware OF the
feeling with respect TO slaves that existed In
Maryland and Virginia between 1850 and
1860 cannot but resent the injustice done by
BULLETIN No. 8" to the border States, even
though they perceive the political exigency
that calls II forth. -BdltO. Sun.