The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1905-02-14
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
DELIVERS AN ADDRESS
tcontinued from hrsl page

/ N'i+tNiAAtA'fFt s4l+AAt iAtt htfta+' !
light as ID was given him 10 see the
Light though j is nov clear to all
that iae triumph n the cause Of free
dom end o. be union was essential
/ 20 The welfare Of mankind. W. are
POW one people. pc PIE With fall
lings when we alust not blink, but a
people with great qualities in which
we have ne right feel just pride.
The Raee Question.
All good Americans who dwell in
the North must, because they are
good Americans, feel the most earn.
es friendship fer their fellow coun-
trymen who dwell n the South. a
friendship all the greater because it is
a the South hat We find in its most
acute phase one 0f the gravest prob.
lens before our people; the problem
OF so dealing with the man of enc col.
or as 10 secure him the rights that
no one would grudge him If he were
If another color. To solve this prob
lem It is, of course. necessary TO edu
cate him to perform he duties, a
failure TO perform which will render
rim a curse to himself and TO all
around him.
Most certainly all clearsighted and
generous men In the North appreciate
the difficulty and perplexity of this
problem, sympathize with the South
in the embarrassment of conditions
for which she is not alone responsible
feel an honest wish to help her where
help is practicable. and have the
heartiest respect for those brave and
earnest men of the South who, In The
face of fearful difficulties, are doing
all that men can do for the better,
ment alike of white and Of black. The
attitude OF the North toward the ne.
gro is far from what ii should be and
.here is need that the North also
should act in good faith upon the prin.
ciple OF giving to each man what is
justly due him. CT treating him on his
worth as a man, granting him no spe-
cial favors. but denying him no prop
err opportunity for labor and the re.
ward Of labor. But the peculiar cir
cumstanees of the South render the
problem there far greater and ia:
mere acute.
A Difficult Solution.
Neither | nor any other man can
say that any given way Of approach
ing that problem viii present in. our
time even an approximately perfect
solution. but we. can safely say thar
there can never be such solution at
all unless we approach r with the
effort to do fair Treatment for Others.
Our effort should he 10 secure 20 each
man, whatever his color, equality Of
opportunity. equality of treatment bee
fore the law. AS a people striving TO
share our ac+ ons in accordance with
VIZ great law 81 righteousness we can
ROT afford 10 take part in or be in.
afefsut 20 Tho upnr zion or nal
.roa uent Of any man who. against
crushing disadvantages has by his
own indrsiry. energy, self-respect,
ant pe~scee~arc struggled upward
49, "a pos4RheYhch would Gu
title him O The respect of his fellows,
If onlys Vie slSn were of a different
hue.
Must Give Negro "a Square Deal"
Every generous impulse in US re-
volts at the thought of thrustng
down instead of helping up such n
man. To deny any man the fair treat.
nent granted to others no better
than be is TO commit a wrong upon
him-a wrong sure 10 react in the
long run upon these guilty Of sucn
denial The only safe principle upon
which Americans can act is tina. OF
"all men up" not that of some men
down" If in any community the level
Of intelligences morality and thrift
among the colored men can be raised,
1T is humanity speaking, sure that the
same level among the whites will be
raised 20 an even higher degree:
and 1t Is nc less sure that the debase-
ment Of the blacks viii 10 the end
carry with It an attendant debase-
ment Of the whites. =
No Abridgment Of Rights.
The problem is 50 TO adjust the re.
lat'ons between two races Of different
ethnic type that the rights of neither
be abridged nor jeoparded; that the
backward race be trained so that l.
may enter into the possession of true
freedom, while the forward race is
enabled 10 preserve Hnharmed the
high civilization wrought out by its
forefathers. The working out of this
problem must necessarily be slow; II
ia not possible in offhand fashion %
obtain o. 70 oonfeF the priceless kpoHs