Evening star., 1905-10-29
RACE QUESTION ALIVE
Inducted Largely Into Vir-
ginia Campaign.

4
vote Of the state as 1t would no longer be
possible to have the race question play a
| part In the campaigns. Indeed, 1t has been
| proclaimed and believed all over the south
| that the elimination of the colored voter
| would so thoroughly do way with the race
question that the people would turn their
| attention to general national and state is
sues and that In such discussions the colored
| people would play no part The present
| campaign in Virginia gives ample proof that
this expectation has not been realized.
| When the fall campaign opened here 1t
was expected by many that the principles
| of the republican and the democratic par
| ties would be the keynotes of the SPELL
binders. Although only state issues were
| involved 1t was expected that there would
| be good deal of weight given to the claims
| of the two parties to the basic principles for
| which they stand. No accurate, figures are
| accessible to show the exact number of
| colored voters who have been disfran-
| chised by the new constitution of the state,
| but that number is In excess of 10O, 600. The
| democrats claim that there have been reg
| istered for the election of November about
%, 600 colored voters, but republicans are
not inclined to accept those figures as cor
rect They do not believe that the regis
| tered colored voters would aggregate any
thing like $1,000. Exact statistics to show
| the facts are not accessible. But whatever
| the number may be the great body of col
| ored voters who are practically sure to vote
| for the republican candidates in this, as well
| as in national elections Is ample reason for
| keeping the race issue alive.
! How there be danger of negro dom
| ination when the percentage of colored
voters to the whole number of voters in the
| state Is so small?" 1 asked one Of the dem
! ocratic leaders.
Negro domination" he replied, does not
| mean that the negroes of this state are to
| hold the offices and be in control of the
t-{n tha-A t1
great body of the colored people here whose
| votes, in the case of a close division of the
white votes, will decide what party is to be
| in power there will be negro domination"
That is the very general feeling among
| the democrats who have fought the Idea
| of permitting the colored vote to be in
| fuential in the affairs of the state. The
| fact is the great body of the white people
| of the state are not reconciled to the idea
| of permitting the colored voters to have
any prominence in politics. The republi-
| can party, SO far as its management In
| Richmond is concerned, and the condi-
| tions in the entire state are very similar,
| is not a mixture of white and colored peo-
| pie. The meeting in this city, at which
| Judge L. L. Lewis, the republican candt-
date for governor, and Capt. William P.
Kent, republican candidate for lieutenant
governor, spoke, was attended solely by
white people. There was not single col
ored man or woman there. They were not
expected to come and they did not.
negro NOC 0SIGTTSu 10.
In the addresses that were made the COL
ored voters were not referred to, except
to deny some statements in reference to the
colored race. Even when the DISTINGUISHING
clause of the new constitution was re-
ferred to 1t was in connection with the
statement that 1t affected 100000 white
voters, no special reference being made to
the colored people. Judge Lewis denied
in the most emphatic manner that he had
ever said anything to make him subject
to the charge that has been circulated that
about twenty-five years ago he favored mar
riages between the races. This charge was
published, and in spite of the denial by the
man who was said to have made 1t 1t has
Travelled over the state at the speed Of the
proverbial wildfre.
The feeling toward the colored people on
the part of a large body of the whites is
not friendly toward their promotion in the
community in any way that will allow them
any influence in political matters. In many
sections this feeling is intense. A great
many men. who formerly declared that edu-
cation would lift the mass of the colored
people to a higher plane of usefulness as
| citizens recOnsidering that idea. This
| statement is not made with partisan bias on
| the part of at least many of those who are
! animated by such feelings. 1t is repeated
! here merely to clearly show the feeling that
| exists and which is playing great part in
| the campaign now in progress. 1t applies
especially to what is known the 'black
| belt" and to those parts of the state that
| have considerable coored population. One
| hears on all sides that the younger gem
| GRAFTON of colored men and women, who
! have received a common school education,
| are not doing such work as is open to them
! as well as did the 'old time colored peo-
| pie. To very large extent the employment
| in this state that is open to the younger
| generation of the colored people is that
| which was open to their fathers. There is
| limited field for the exercise of ability
| gained by education, but 1t is very limited.
| 1t is not to the great BODY of the coll
| ored people who pass through the schools.
/ And yet the ability to read and write gain
| ed in the schools permits these people to
| claim right to be registered as voters.
All this feeling over the education of the
| colored people is now having a practical
| effect on the election, and it has been
| brought out and accentuated by plank in
the republican platform which declares in
| favor of free school books for all school
| children. The republican party took up
| its most important issue what it termed the
| improvement of the school system of the
| state. 1t claimed that, especially in the
| country districts, the schools badly in
| need of improvement, and one of the first
| things they wanted to do was to supply
| free school books, both because it was
| claimed that that was one of the progress
| sive methods adopted all over the country
and because, as whole, the books could
| be bought cheaper in that way. 1t is claim
ed many children are practically barred
from attending school because their parents
could not supply them with books.
Democrats Interested.
The democrats replied that they too are
| interested in the Improvement of the schools
of the state and propose in a practical way
to work out that problem. But they say
that while the colored people of Virginia
contribute in the way of taxes but $4,000
toward the school fund. they are given for
the support of their schools s425, 200, and
that they declare, is enough In other
words. the white people of the state. be-
sides contributing everything for the main
tenance of their own schools, pay $346 600
for the maintenance of the colored schools,
and If the expense of those schools is in
creased that increase will come from the
| white taxpayers. They also say that the
law now provides that the salaries of teach
ers shall be paid from the state funds, while
the school buildings and school supplies are
provided by the counties and requires that
pupils who are the children of INDECENT
parents shall be provided with books free
of charge. They say that the results from