The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1904-12-16
THE Solid SOUTH

Lib SULlU sSUUIH
Win Never be Broken as Long as
the Fifteenth
AMENDMENT STANDS as A Law
So SAYS Senator Tillman In an In
teryiew with Correspondent
csshe August. chroa..oie
in Columbia.
When I met hin here by appoint.
ment as hewas passing through Go.
lumbia on bis was to Trenton, Sena-
tor Tillman was in particularly good
spirits, and ohatted pleasantly and
entertainingly concerning the lessons
taught by the results of the national
election and the political future of the
South, Though when he touched on
certain phases Of the negro question
the corners Of his mouth went down
promptly and with marked energy,
his eyes flashed and bis voice deepened
into that tone OF intense earne stness
for which he Is so famous, says a cor
respondent Of the Augusta Chronicle.
Asked what he thought OF the
solid South," and whether he saw
any immediate hope Of breaking it,
Senator Tillman declared with em-
phaSiS that the solid South would
never be broken as long as the Fiji
| teenth amendment is allowed to
stand.
THE South is solidly Democratic
| not ir the broader sense that the
term democracy Is understood In the
politics OF the whole country" he
said, but in the narrow sense that
the AnglO-Saxou intelligence Of the
South solidly and always unyieldinRly
stands for white supremacy. Or
course, this situation Is unfortunate,
inasmuch as the resuli are intellectu.
ally sitting In the discussion of and
contention for the broader principles
Of government and of civilized life.
But there is no immediate hope of
changing these conditions. Every ef-
fort put forth by the m sguided
phiianthropists and vicious politicians
Of the North with their impracticable
notions about the equality of man. 10
break the solid South, only seals that
bond OF union as with hoops of steel,
and the problem will never be solved
until the North let's the South alone
to solve it.
IF these dreamers Of the North,
working In conjunction with their
greedy political brethren don't stop
m ddlng In this matter there will he
race war and terrible massacre. For
political equality means social equall.
ty, and social equality means misce-
genation and tue nongrelizing of the
people OF the South with the result
that the white Intelligence of the
South will degenerate to the level OF
those S uth American republics whose
history has shown them to be wholly
and invariably inca pable not only Of
elf-government, but OF acquiring
property, the distinguishing charac.
terist!c OF the white man, and un-
willingness to respect law and live In
a quiet and orderly manner.
Once let the wedge be driven In
just the least bit, once recogniz. the
political equality of the negro and
social equality will inevitably follow,
and the races will merge by marriage
between the better class of negroes
and lower class Of whites. Those
scoundrelly, tritiing white men who
have lost all self-respect will scfuple
to marry the daughters of negro men
who have a. quired property. Then
| t,a
there will be no stopping the mon
grelizng Of the white intelligence OF
the South. This In an upthinkable
condition, an impossible consumma-
tion
There is only one solution Of the
Inegro problem" he continued, 'only
one way Of eliminating the crime of
rape and freeing the land of the re-
sultant crime OF lynching-the COM
plete subsection of the negro under
stringent laws and police regulations.
as long as ne Is allowed by law to vote
and run aoout the country without
restraint there Is no checking the
crime which he commits. And the
North Is gradually coming to that
view of the NATTER
In this connection Senator Tillman
told of his experience In campaigning
In the West, and ntioned number
OF Illinois and Indiana towns which
will not allow the negro to live In
them.
The North is gradually getting
educated on the negro question; the
little taste these people have had of
Cuffy has made them less tolerant of
his weaknesses than the people Of the
South even. The patriotic intelli.
gence OF the North recognizes that
the South has great problem on it's
hands and is willing to let the South
solve It,"
The overwhelming defeat of the
national Democracy does not in the
slightest degree, In Senator Tillman's
opinion, reflect the North s agreement
With President Roosevelt's negro
policy. He attributes the Republi-
can success to the general prosperity
OF the country and the personal popu-
larlty Of Mr.. Roosevelt.
Senator Tillman is not feeling blue
about reduction OF Southern repre-
sentation. He said:
Il have talked to many OF the
brightest and most capable newspa-