The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1906-12-01
talk
PITCHES INTO THE NEGROES IN
CHICAGO SPEECH.
SES PR0FANE LANGUAGE
Is Guarded by Forty Detectives, But
Meeting Passes OF Peaeeably-
Goes at the Negro Problem With
Hammer and Tomas.

States Senator Benjamin Il. Tillman
from delivering an address here Mon
| day because of the position he has as
| sumed toward the negro race, were
| unsucco ssful
Senator Tillman gave his address
protected by forty detectives in per-
| soDal command of Assistant Chief OF
| Police Schuettler. In anticipation of
| trouble number of policemen were
kept In nearby stations III reserve, but
| they were not called for. Six colored
policemen mingled with the crowd OF
backs and whites that blocked the
street in front Of the hail. to arrest any
| one who made a disturbance.
In the audience were many colored
people, but they listened to Senator
| Tillman's remarks good natuTYdly and
| although he was interrupted many
| times by those who wished to ask
questions, the meeting passed off with
| out trouble.
In leading up to his address. shall
| the United States Annex Cuba?' Mr..
| Tillman took occasion to criticise
Mayor Dunne's action in refusing to
preside at the meeting.
the annexation of Cuba" continued Mr.,
| Tillman, but In view of the fact that
could not discuss this subject without
discussing the race question, am go
| ing to go al the matter hammer and
| tongs Straightforward. like man.
| Therefore ! shall discuss the race prob
| lem pure and simple from an American
standpoint and not from Cuban stand
| point. Owing to my experience with
| the question and the diligcnt study |
have made of it, | believe | am better
/ qualified to discuss this question than
any other man in America. | am going
| to base my appeal on facts-not on
| theories
While discussing the fifteenth
amendment 10 the constitution, which
he declared gave the negro every right
that a white man had, he was inter
rupted several times by one of his lis
teners. who kept asking, How About
| Kentucky"
Finally, Mr.. Tillman seemed to lose
his temper and exclaimed: "Oh, shut
your mouth. Ycu don't know the
A, B, e of this thing. | forgot forty
years ago more than you ever knew
You make up your minds that equal
ity before the law, which the fifteenth
/ amendment guarantees Is right and
| should be enforced notwithstanding its
| result. If this law was enforced it
| would result in two states at least be.
| ing dominated absolutely by negroes,
! while four other states would be so
near beng governed by the negro that
there would practically be an equal
division of officers"
A voice: "How about the law"
Senator Tillman: The law? To
| hell with such law"
After telling in detail how the negro
is prevented from casting his ballot in
/ the South, Senator Tillman said
There is a great deal more to this
question than the little racket here in
Chicago"
A voice: How about the negro
judge?" tr2ferring to Judge Barnett
coloro1. the only Republican nominee
for municipal court judge, defeated at
the recent election).
Senator Tillman-"Wcll, l will tell
you about your negro judge and your
political machines putting him on your
ticket and bamboozling the people and
ignorant balloons into electing him.
and when, afterward, you fellows who
voted the ticket without knowing what
was on it, find a way to cheat him out
OF it.
NO matter what the people in the
North may say or do, the white race in
the South will never be dominated by
the negro, and | want to tell you now
that if some state should ever make
an attempt to save South Carolina
we will show them in their fanaticism
that We will make it red before we
make it black.
God Almighty made the Caucasian
nj ole hpv he.
the African, or any other race. The
Ethiopian is a burden carrier. He has
done absolutely nothing for history,
nor has he ever achieved anything of
great importance. There are no
great men among the race. Yet this
people has been picked out by the ia
natics Of the North and lifted up to the
equality Of citizenship and to the
rights OF suffrage. No doubt many OF
you have listened to the oratory OF the
greatest colored man of this country.
Booker Washington. He had a white
father, however, and out OF his brains
and his character he has gotten his
qualities from that father"
Senator Tillman then told his audi
ence of the attacks on white women by
negroes in the South and declared that
the people Of the North were in great
measure responsible for this state OF af-
fairs.
In conclusion, Senator Tillman said:
Now, as general illustration of the
injustice that is sometimes done,
President Roosevelt discharged three
companies of colored soldiers with
out a court martial, and in doing this
he punished innocent men for the
crime Of few. In doing this he tran
scended the authority of the law, and
he ought not to have done it."