The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-17

tions drawn from the lunch incident.
 Many people of Charleston had spoken
 highly to the President of Crum. as an
 educated and worthy negro who had
 done great service in making the
 Charleston Exposition a success. His
 appointment was not intended in any
 sense to indicate any purpose to over
 ride the social ideas of the people of
 Charleston or to put a negro in in un- pleasant contact with the whites.
 If the matter had been handled in a different way, perhaps. without any un-
 due friction, the President might other
 wise have provided for Crum. We of
 the South must not forget that no Pres
 ident of the United States can take the
 position that no negro shall be appoint
 ed to any office. While consideration
 of social and economic conditions large-
 ly determine these matters In particu-
 lar cases. a President must nevertheless appoint some of the 1000. 900 of the
 negroes to places for which they are fitted. when the appointments are not
 detrimental to the public service nor
 offensive to the community in which they discharge their duties. Both Mir. Cleveland and Mir Mckinley appointed far more negroes to ofice than has
 President Roosevelt. Appointments of
 negroes to collectorships had been
 made before Crum's appointment-Gal- weston and Savannah. They did not provoke the resentment that grew up about the Crum assignment. and the President was perhaps as much sur prised as any other man that his action | in selecting Crum for this place was construed as an insult to the people of south Carolina, or as a forerunner of Q policy of putting negroes over white
 men. However, in the situation that
 grew up over the appointment. the President did not feel that 1t would be manly to withdraw 1t. and now that the incident is closed and the Presidents
 conduct is weighed In the light of all
 the facts, the time has come when tho Southern people should no longer view it as evidence of any animus to over ride the social customs of the section, or to humiliate them in any way. or to treat them in a manner different from
 what the President would the people of any other part of the Union.
 Did Not Inspire Reduction Resolution "Another unfortunate and unfound- cd ground for the misrepresentation of the President Is the charge so fre- quently made that he inspired the res olution looking to the reduction Of Southern representation in Congress.
 I did not get the statement from him. but did get it from persons high in
 Republican councils and close to him that the President knew nothing of these resolutions The desire for such
 reduction Is perhaps natural We have seen evidences of it among our owp people. like resolution, based upon the number of voters. was introduced
 in the last Democratic State Conven- ton in Alabama, and received some votes in its favor. Years ago William
 l.. Yancey made a campaign in Ala | lr,,n I,a
 white basis of representation in that
 State, and was successful. Conceding
 that such a proposition at first blush
 might seem desirable to many Northern men, yet the conse-
 quences of such reduction of representation of the South are
 SO far-reaching. so charged with harm to every interest. so hurtful to busi-
 ness and enterprise, so promotive of
 sectional ill-will. so different from the
 basis of representation in general and
 so pregnant with possibilities of vast harm to the negro that 1t Is not be- lieved the thoughtful men of the
 country will insist upon 1t when the | matter is properly weighed.
 Naturally the President of the Uni ted States must be guarded in his ut | terances on such a subject. Of course. l am not speaking for the President or with his authority, but simply giv- | ing my opinion after having had some exceptional opportunities of knowing MT. Roosevelt and of becoming &C., quainted with his sentiments and feel ings toward the Southern people when
 l say that his administration will he slow to countenance anything which is harmful to the South and that, in- | deed, the time may come when we will 1 find in him one of the staunchest de- 1 lenders of our section, against any | sectional wrong or injustice
 No one can be with the President i've minutes without being impressed
 with 'Ee absolute simplicity of the | man. his innate honesty, his high nor al. as we'll as physical courage; and
 his broad love for his fellow men.
 MT. Roosevelt is beyond the possi- | bility of political temptation. He
 must wield his high office for four years and then return to the ranks as
 a private citiZNn. His only ambition
 now is to merit R high place in the af-
 fections of all of his countrymen. I
 am sure that our people. now that they are beginning to understand the Presi-
 dent better. will meet in no laggard
 way his desire to be regarded as the
 President of all the people, and that our people of the South, no matter
 how much we may differ with him on | mere political issues, will, long before the expiration of his term. look upon
 him as a President who knows no
 North. no South. mo East no West, but
 as great American who loves all his
 fellow countrymen.
 A War Episode.
 During his stay in Washington Judge
 Jones spent much of his time with
 Senator John Daniel of Virginia. a friend since his boyhood. He told of
 an interesting episode in which Sena- tor Daniel figured. Daniel was on
 General Early's staff while Jones was
 on the stan of General Gordon, who
 commanded a brigade In Early's divIs-
 ion. During the fighting in the wild erness the two forces were operating
 close together Upon one of Gordon's
 brilliant flank attacks. young Daniel
 had been sent with General Gordon so
 as to report the result of the opeVa- -
 tions to General Early. At the same time Jones was sent of to carry dis
 patches to Early. Daniel. young and
 brilliant and daring and handsome.
 was great favorite with a Louisiana l brigade, which had presented him with
 pair of silver spurs. During the fighting on the day in question Daniel
 was very seriously wounded. Just be- fore sunset, as he was being carried back to the rear on a litter, Jones re- turned to the command and met him T will never forget the scene" said Jones. "It was the dusk of the even ing. As I saw Daniel stretched out there pallid from loss of blood I felt sure would never again see my friend
 alive. I bent over him and asked him
 what l could do for him. We knew