The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-02-13
WISE ON
The NEGRO {
Makes Remarkable Speech at
Lincoln Day Banquet iii Grand
Rapids, Michigan
SUPERIORITY OF THE | Il WHITES Y I { {:
NV Associated Press. )

Isl 3l4 N d13y Associated PreSs) y!2fS
u GRAND lRAPIDs. MICH. Feb. 12-The
annual Lincoln day banquet under the
auspices Of the two Republican clubs t,e q
this city Seclipscd In point Of attendance
ana tho notable guests present all form.
er successes achieved BY the organiza.
Z tio,,. Baron Won stcrnburg, the German
AMBASSADOR, responded to the toast THE
German Emperor y Il
The last speaker OF the evening was
John s. WISE, formerly Of Virginia. but
,iow OF New York. He responded to tho
Btcss 1.-THE South and the Colored Man"
NJ Mr.. Wise said When Lln,'oln was as.
sa.siriatol he had said but LITTLE and done ne
1neut Or the position no would have taken.
II he B had fived upon tie question Of
negro Suffrage il y Il. III
Hhe was pre-eminently itted, py f hiaaL
rnccs By his knowledge Of the relations
be.ween the races IN the sou,l, and by the
cbIistlution pf his heart and mind, 70
d ri with the great problem. 4, 7. y.
tim f,sas SIrreparnble to The whole coun- Z
try North as well as South,
After his death the Republican party.
unrestricted suffrage upon Tie negro Z, NJ
"a guarantee Federal protection OF that
Tnirty-seven years have passed since
ECDnOltlOn OIL
posed. and tho fourteenth and fifteenth
amendments were adopted 10 make inc
pledge encctual TX ii 8e & , E n n
The white man In the North to. day Y, Is
Tia South than with my black man.
i North or South. The whites Of Maine.
OF A1assachu4etts, of Ciilo,s OF Iowa re-.
Es:d their white Southern brother as a
col,sc atS go or unconyciousy. reyolts
ag ainst any condition of suffrage making
It possible that men Of tEnirf own race
may be n dominated poll ticaliy pyis3h ne
Conditions do not display this prcJudice
IA prominently In tho North as in the
South, but It is Just as APPARENT = the re,
evan If not rs violent. !. u. I,
tween white men, which hind Z hem to.
gc:her everywhere and are not, weakened
by any arguments of humanity or phila n
tiiropy. Under the.surlace Of Al academ-
- arguments about the equality OF men,
1t is Just as impossible to convince the
majority OF the white men OF the North
thut laws which loginlly lead TO- a negro
supremacy in any State; are right as TO
convince a. majority OF Southern whites
tbht such laws are Just. 53i II Nd
I3.. RACE PREF UDlCE,
We must deal with the question as g We y,
~ cannot eliminate from 1t the domi-
mart factor OF race prejudice. We may
ever treat the prejudice IN the South as 3
negligible quantity. II the South, had
n2 sa,ss 81 fissl IN fhs 1e
ats Judgment, after careful study and
long residence in the North, that any
pal,y which should advocate q basls OF
s.t1 rage the logical ou:c5me ,of which
would DO the political domination Of the
negro In any state OF the Union, would
4 bs overwhelmingly defeated IN the North;
M me thing whichEwoull deteat,it .Wou ~.
be the racial sympathy Of whites f g,
whites-a sympat hy now s,undisturbed by
any counter pi ejudtce Of conflict between
tn: whites themselves. III 3sS s5. 81 II Il 81.
n,.in the light OF that study. 4 cannot
but recognize this Inherent, indcstructt-
bic, controlling pride OF race In the white
man from the genesis Of his history.
we can change the skin OF the Ethiopian.
I'm any proposition to surrender. or even
To divide his dominion Nth any other
race. his heart grows as black as the
s,sln Of tic Ethiopian his nature becomes
brutal. obdurate and desperate IN oppo-
sitlon. ~
REPUBLICANS RESPONSIBLE.
Tho Republican party IS responsible Tor
these measures it has seen enough to
know that there is but one way OF at
tempting to enforce them, and that Is by
n resort to force. 1t knows that the
south is no, strohs en9s 10
we'll that on this issue the North would
be divided. and that The party which
attfm2ted to enforce existing laws on
negro suffrage TO heir logical results
wo4ld be promptly hurled from power:
l am speaking OF the purely. political
aspect OF this matter: tho social status
OF the negro Is beyond Law or the power
OF any force. Fl
II this policy be rad,calIsm. am a
Radical; a Radical who believes q that
the Republican, party. having assumed
this great responsibility. has corres.t
poading duty. and that It's evasion q that
duty. or neglect to perform It manfuliy.
viii result, as II should result. II rs rs
destruction. q
I The Republican party ought to realize
that this question Of negro suffrage Is
lone5of the most important Issues now
before the people OF this country. It
ought to consider aud discuss it. be-
cause 1t created the controversy. and y
org hi to be ready to dGcide whether y {
viii now demand the enforcement OF these
laws which It passed, or viii recede from
that demand. s 90
j. is neither statesman|ike nor common
b s. ft &