The Savannah morning news., 1904-12-11
WHITE SUPREMACY BASED
ON JUSTICE TO THE NEGRO
The Absolutely Essential Factor in Settling the
Race Question, Says Ex- CONGRESSMAN Fleming.


and the negro can live together on
terms of perfect equality under a free
government, yet it is equally true that
without some access to the ballot
present or prospective, some partici-
patton in the government, no inferior
race could long protect itself against
reduction to slavery in many of Its
substantial forms-and the South
wants no more of that curse.
White Majority increasing.
Negro domination is not possible in
.. the South for many generations, except
with an increased proportion of ne
groes of which there is no present
prospect. The census shows that the
previous numerical majority of the
whites over the blacks in the ten dis
tinctive Southern states was increased
by LOOP, 662 from 1890 to 1900 This in
| crease occurred to some extent in each
one of the ten states, except MisSis-
sippi; and Louisiana changed from
black majority of 1893 in 1890 to a white
majority of 1888 in 1900.
In a typical Southern city the death
rate in 1903 for white was II 40 per
thousand-for negroes it was q .5S per
| thousand. These figures are signifi-
cant. Nature exacts obedience to her
laws. She knows neither pity nor re-
venge.
Moreover, the immigration from all
Europe aids the whites; the negroes
| have no outside source of supply.
1.-The building of the Panama canal
with the inevitable industrial develop
ment of the South, will certainly ac-
| CELEBRATE and augment white immigra-
ton, and no doubt the census of 1910
and succeeding decades will show re-
| suits similar to those of 1900. Thus
is our margin of safety on the score
of numbers continually increasing.
Gives the Negro Justice.
'In the face of these facts, we can
afford to give the negro justice with
out imperiling white supremacy.
IF future years should develop
| enough race pride in the negroes to
| make them gravitate to one locality,
| they might gain ascendency there, but
| there are no signs of such a movement
now, and Georgia at least is in no
danger of such a catastrophe.
LAS regards developments of the i'm
mediate future under the present fed
eral administration, it is not in the
| power, If 1t were in the heart, of Pres
ident Roosevelt to do the South much
permanent harm. and for one, l do
| not believe he has any intention of
carrying his broad philosophy of
square dear to the extent of putting
black heels on white necks.' If he
should attempt 1t. he would fail.
There is nothing in the constitution
of the United States even as amended
that confers the ballot on the negro,
or on any one else. The gist of the
fifteenth amendment is that it prohib-
its a state from discriminating against
any citizen on account of his race.
Such a provision in the laws of Rus
STA would prevent the existing persecu-
ton of the Jews. Any state in the
Union has the right to keep ignorance
and vice away from the ballot box,
provided in doing so 1t does not draw
a line of race discrimination.
Georgia is Fortunate.
Georgia has been more fortunate
than many of her sister states. She
redeemed herself first after reconstruc-
ton, and has maintained her white
supremacy without violating the fed
eral constitution, in the language of
the day, by DISTINGUISHING the negro
and thus endangering her federal rep
resentation under the fourteenth
amendment. In her future white SUI
premacy she is just as safe as any of
her sister states. Their necessities may
have called for such laws. Our necessi-
ties do not.
"Georgians ought to have enough
common sense in the future as they
have had in the past, not to do a
doubtful and dangerous thing when
there is no need for 1t.
Besides, the so-called disfranchise-
ment of negroes under the state laws
cannot eliminate them as voters. A
large and increasing proportion will
always be able to qualify themselves
to vote. We will still be obliged to
have a white primary, or else fight
over that portion of the negro vote
that is qualified. The grandfather
clause in other states do not keep
out negroes; they simply let in whites
who would otherwise be disqualified.
our sister states will still have their
primaries.
ITO offer one OF these disfranchise-
ments laws in Georgia as a political
necessity or a permanent substitute
for white primary is a patent fraud.
Unfortunately 1t is a subject rich In
possibilities for the demagogue. There
In lies the pity of It."