The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-18
FORAKERO WHAT NEGRO HAS DONE Proposed Solutions of Problem
 Will Not Do MUST OUTLINE NEW PLANS Says Protection of American Gitizens Is More Important Than Trust
 Busting and Cuban
 Intervention.
MUST OUTLINE NEW PLANS

Chattanooga, Tenn, october 1.-The So- ciety of the Army of the Cumberland met in Chattanooga today for it's fourth ana nual reunion. This city has been declared its permanent annual meeting place. Sem ator Jos. B. Foraker, of Ono, was the orator of the day. Three thousand peo- pie heard him speak in the auditorium The Twelfth cavalry band of Fort Ogle- thorpe escorted Senator Foraker and members of the society to the auditori- um. General Gates P. Thruston, presi- dent of the society introduced MT. For Aker, referring to him as political hero. The audience frequently applauded Sena- tor Forakers speech, which deftly dealt with the political and racial questions growing out of the civil war.
 The sessions of the society will close Thursday evening with a banquet off cers are to be named at morning busi- ness session and the afternoon is to be spent in an auto tour of Chickamauga Park, which will conclude with an enter tainment at Fort oglethorpe including a review of the troops in the Twelfth caval- ry.
 OtTdSSiC VI SiNli war
 Senator Foraker reviewed at some length the great struggles of the civil war and some of the results growing cut of that conflict. He then continued;
 "It seems incredible that the government that is all powerful to accomplish the long list of splendid achieVments men tioned-that is all powerful to do, the works that have been wrought at home and abroad-is yet, nevertheless, incapable of protecting at home, on our own soil, under our own flag. in the enjoyment Of all his constitutional and political rights, our humblest citizen. It is our boast and has been for forty years that we abolished slavery and lifted the negro dp out of degradation to q plane of equal ity. With the encouragement and in- spiration thus given him the black man Las during these forty years made d great deal of progress. The 4.5O0,ooV of negroes of 116O practically owned nothing. Nearly all of them were owned by some- body else.
 Little Could Be Expected.
 Without any preparation for freedom and the assumption of their responsibili- ties of citizenship they might be expected to make but little advancement, even with everybody lending them a helping nand; but particularly so, having to con tend as they did against all the prejudices and hatreds born of their previous condi- ton. And yet while we have seen their population barely double, We have seen them accumulate property which they to- day own in their own right, to the amount of more than s5000O0,0O0 We have seen them, while struggling up out of poverty, yet seeing and finding education until where probably not one man in a thou sand could then read write today less than half of them are illiterate. We have seen them establish schools and colleges and universities of their own and suc- cessfully conduct them.
 ''They have their bad classes as every other people have and many more prob- ably than they should have; all of whom. must be rigidly dealt with under the law just as other criminals; but as a people they have ever been loyal to American institutions and loyal to the American flag. In every war through which the country has passed, they have so far as we have permitted them to do so. borne an honorable part.
 MiIitatlng Against Them.
 And yet, 1t would seem as though this very loyalty and patriotism and progress they are making are today miti- Rating against their happiness and their