Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-01-20
SOCIAL EQUALITY
Is Now the Great Thought of
the Southern Negro
Say Gov. Vardsman Of Mississippi in
His Inaugural Address.
a Remarkable Address from South on
Perp!exing Subject.

! Jackson, Miss, Jan. 19.-In his in
auSural address delivered, today, be-
| fore Il joint session of the Mississippi
| Legislature, Governor James X. Varda-
| man declared that the growing tend
| ency of the negro to commit criminal
| assault on white women is nothing
| more nor less than the manifestations
| Of racial desire for social equality. In
| strong terms he declared that cduca-
| zion is The curse Of the negro race and
| urged an amendment to the state con-
! stitution that will place the Gistribu-
| ton of the common school fund solely
| within the power of the Legislature
| Continuing his discussion of the negro
| question, Governor Nardaman said:
| AS race ne is deteriorating NOR
| ally every day. Time has demonstrated
that he is more criminal as a free man
than as a slave and that he is increas-
| Ing in crminality with frightful rapid
ity, there being One-third more crinli-
nails in 1850 than there were in 1880.
The startling facts revealed by the
census show that these who can read
and write are more criminal than the
illiterates, which is true of 10 other
element Of our population. | am ad-
vised that the minimum iliteracy
among the negroes is found in New
England where it is 81. per cent The
maximum was found in the Black belt
Louisiana, Mississippi and South
Carolina-Where it is 65.7 per cent, and i
yet the negro in New England is four !
and one-half times more criminal |
hundred for hundred. than he is in the |
Black belt. IN the South, Mississippi |
particularly, 1 know he is growing |
worse every Year You can scarcely |
pick up newspaper whose pages are |
not blackened with the account of an |
unmentionable crime committed by 4
ncgro brute. and this crime, l want to
impress upon you. is but the manifes-
ta,ion of the negroes aspiration for
social equality encouraged largely by
the character of free education in
vogue which the state is levying trib-
ute upon the white people to maintain
1.-THE better class of negroes is not re-
spoEsible for this terrible condition, nor
for the criminal tendency OF their race.
Nor Go / wish to be understood as ccnsur-
ing them for it. / am not censuring any
body. nor am L inspired by i'll will for
the negro; but l am simply calling atten-
ton to g most unfortunate and uncndur-
able condition of affairs. What shall be :
done about it?
My own idea is that the character of !
the education for the negro ought to be :,
If after years OF earnest effort E
and the expenditure of fabulous sums of !
money to educate his head We have only =
succeeded IN making criminal out OF G
him and imperlling his usefulness and :
efficiency as Il laborer. wisdom would !,
suggest that We make another experiment Il
and see if we cannot improve him by ed !,
ucating his hand and his heart. There .
must be a moral substratum upon which !
to build. or you cannot make a desirable r.
citizen"
The governor also declares that the
people of the nation should rise up and
demand the repeal of the fifteenth amend
I