The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1905-07-16
THE EDITORS MUSINGS


Every little while"-with apologies
to good Fra Elbertus, and whom, by
the way, has been snubbed most de-
plorably by the Portland exposition Of
6eals because he has seen iit To antie
his marital knot and return to the sym.
pathetic realm OF hachclorlom--then
will appear in these columns, material
representations of ethereal eonceits
which emanate from that wobbly sub
stance dwelling in my cerebral cavity, or
with the respect due my contemporary |
of the Afternoon wall, ete,--from my
cerebellum. do not suppose that these
mental perambulations win bring me
worldly rnown rs one "wcll up in thau.
maturyy"-l am diflidcnt In presenting
them, but realizing that the sixteen.foot
ceiling which graces my sanctum will
permit inspirations TO soar higher than
some of the eontriyances of our aeron
autic aspirants, | cling to the hope that
the offerings OF my grey matter may
prove readable.
Ny eyes rest on glaring headlines
which tell of negro, who, for the sake
of few paltry pieces of gold, wantonly
murdered elesen human beings, My
first. thought is to condemn, not only
this brute. but his ace. Recalling the
achievements of that estimahs man
Booker T. Washington, that old saw to
/ the effect that its not mans pree5g
ative to Judge" runs through my mind
and | am almost induced to sit on the
fence and whittle splinter, Notwith
standing. two arguments are presented
and | can not resist the temptation
of dwelling upon the much mooted ques
| tion of color. is assimilation possible
between the whites and blacks!" Gan
the good accomplished by the few. bal
ance the crime of the many!" Either
query is worthy of good sized volume.
rather than the limited spoce these col
umns afford The first causes the ,nind
! to revert To the motives which act dated
Abraham Lincoln 20 conceive the cman-
cipation proclamation. Lincoln was n
deep student-he was not the rough dia
mond, the crude man with high ideals
Just little beyond his comprehension
ns some persons fondly picture him. II
requires only the faithful reading Of his
many efforts to arrive at this conelu
sion. He gave the question OF color
more conscientious study than any who
preceded him cor those who have fol
lowed. Had he not been taken from Us
so suddenly the people Of this country
would have seen that never, at any
time. did he ever entertain the thought
OF encouraging negro equality. His pre-
eminent desire was to eliminate slavery
which he rightfully considered Diet.
riment to the progress OF the country,
secondarily he responded to the cry Of
humanity None but the hypercritical
today can take exception to Lincoln's
policy. He freed the blacks and like.
wise freed the country from a curse.
Could he have anticipated the indigni.
ties showered upon the people of the
South during the reconstruction period.
he would not have deviated one iota
from his purpose. The thought OF
I"slavery" was dominant in his mind, all
his physical and mental energy wa
concentrated toward obiterating this ap.
palling blight on our fair country. He
succeeded, but the cost-he died mar
tyr, the victim Of cowardy assassin.
. Some may say that what Lincoln did
or did not do is neither here nor there
50 far as the question Of negro equal.
ity is concerned. This contention is err
roneous. Lincoln had more to do with
the negro than any Of us, and he did
not advocate equality, nor does Presi.
dent Roosevelt. The chief executive has
ben harshly criticized for entertaining
Mr.. Washington and also for placing
negroes in Office in the South, as col.
lectOrs Of ports, as postmasters and in
: other capacities. Naturally the pro
tests Of the Southern people must be re
spected to certain extent. They are
reluctant to bow to the authority OF
. representatives Of people who were
their bondservants. But let US look in
! to the things that have led to President
ROoseyelts recognition Of Booker T
Y Washington. Here is man, he was once
an ordinary "nigger" as the expression
goes; today he enjoys the distinction
Of being negro. From the illiteratt
n son Of a likewise illiterate slave, he has