The Bolivar County Democrat. (Rosedale, Miss.) 1887-1969, 1906-11-03

cd by the gun. .
The North freed these negroes. 1t
elevs ted them to citizenship and pro-
claimed them the possessors of equal
rights with the whites. Previous to the
war. slavery. accursed though it was,
held them in subiection and restrain
ed the brutcs among them, and they
were manv, from violence Careless Of
consequences the North let them loose
and encouraged them to believe them
selves equal in everything to their fors
mer masters. After brief interregunm
OF carpet-bag government, the conquer
ors retired to their safe, pure, pro tected
homes, secure in the knowledge that the
law was amply strong to protect them
from assault and their women from dis
honor. They washed their hands Of re-
sponsibilitv; they left to the improvisl,-
ed, defeated, disl,eartened South the task
of making the newly freed worthy Of
citizenship.
Since then the North has contributed
largely OF money to educate the negro
1t has sent northern teachers, selt-sac-
rifcing, well-meaning persons, full of
zeal to lift the once oppressed race to
higher plane. 1t has syn,pathized with
and supported every scheme devised 10
benefit the negro and has lauded to the
highest skies every effort to create in
him social. political and financial aspi.
tations. To the protests of the white
men of the South who knew the negro
and had to live with him, that the meth
DDS chosen were wrong aud mischeivous
and would surely result in disaster. the
people of the North turned deaf ear.
The southern white mans exact
knowledge of conditions was discredit-
ed. his advice scorhet, his warnings un-
needed. Although lie had demonstrat-
ed repeatedly his fidelity to the restored
Union and had shown his willingness to
serve his country in the field when the
arose, lie was deemed I'M
worthy Of confidence i'll questions affect
ing the negro. He was told to sbserve
the law. when thela was made,to save
him or, what was n. thousand times
more important to save the dearest
thing on earth to l,im-women. Hew
told to contain himself, to be patient
and await the results OF long distance
northern tl,eorizing.
Now it has at length come to pass that
the deludge has broken and this prob
lem. long in the brewing OF it's malign
factors. must he effectually settled not
alone by the South but the north as
we'll VIC have had enough tleorozng.
philosophizing; its time to act. North
ern people are not generally aware of
of the fact, but it is nevertheless true.
that the state Of the mass of negroes in
South is SO debased, SO utterly, hope
lessly, fearfully lacking in moral concep-
tions that there exists in many south
ern states condition which this or any
other respectable journal would not
dare describe except i'll the most general
terms so loathsome and shocking would
the details be if truly and plainly
stated.
The fear of immediate and dreadful
death is powerless to control the brut-
al, degenerated negro when his passions
to
shallow to consider the consequences OF
his crime and the brute i'll him, once
awakened, reckoms nothing watever OF
future punishment. The force of exam
ple, even in it's most terrifying form
when frenzied mobs wreck vengence III
burning and sickening tortue. does not
impress itself upon this class for more
than a verv brief time. Its intellect Is
so inferior and it's imagination so ut
teriv diseased that the effect OF such
horried spectacles soon wears OFT.
1t is time for the North to bear hand
in the solution of the problem 1T has
literally shared in creating. 1t can 90
so ceasing to exploit the negro as the
white mans equal. 1t can do SO by
considering the mass of negroes in the
South as they are sentimentalists repre-
sent them to be. 1t can do by discon-
tinuing it's senseless fruitless attempt at
higher cultivation of the negro. Asiong
as the vast majority of the race III the
South remains as it is, the strong arm
OF white control must be strengthened
and enchouraged to exert ITSELF
What is now needed is less sentiment
and more common sense on the part OF
the North. All the money it has devot-
ed to humanitarian purposes and all
the sympathy and support it can sum-
mon should, in this grave emergency
which threatens North and South alik,
be placed, unrescrved!y and in the full
est confidence, back OF the better class
of white people in the South who alone
are possessed of a full comprehension OF
the true situation and who are compe-
tent to deal with it adequately and JUST
lv.-The Bcllman.