The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-06-17
THE RACE PROBLEM.
4 Highly Interesting Letter from from
M Charles Francis Adams.

III ,rt,ro,,ph the blindness OF isiehu. 1 ~
Iilnes- dispatch Is permitted 20 p -
the following letter: # 5.as$ 3. ~. 81
NY Dear Sir: 7, Y, ), = =, ~
d 81 nave 10 acknowledge me Iecs "a
81 your Favor OF the \. = Z.
also the accompanying palnp s Y. III.
TO the Leopard Spots. % W .,,e , - IN
refer as sufficient answer 70 Ethe yi11s
81 had taken OF the lack Of self-d eyeiop! IN
capacity ginEthe African race 81 I. !.
Il good many criticisms and commtel1.ltt'ss
! on nv paper in the May Centur nave sa,
cached me. but none OF them. with me
execution 81 this pamphlet has seemed
TO call for acknowled gment. d.
~ our contribution. however, is thousns !.
$ful ana deserves most respectful cons ~
Grafton. III 7,
The race problem in this country IS
one OF the largest magnltuoe ana ny
greatest complexity. 1t can only ne = uc-
gcessfully approached In "a purely sciell.
tiflcg spirit. Philanthropy has nothing 10
do with It; the feeling Of common hu-
mainly has nothing to do with It; the
pa tronizing spirit which would raise an
oppressed race has nothing to do with T..
on the contrary. q 1t requires matter-of-.
fact. cold, scientific, historical invest'g4-
( ton. Infhat way, and in that way only,
am prepared to discuss II
Passing at once to the general subject,
Il will set forth. as succlncty as can,
my view as to- the nature OF the race
problem as y presented TO us and tho
great practical difficulty III & the way Of
its solution, With my present light, II
seems to me insuperable. Others believe
1 q way out or through can be devised.
hope they are right, and that am
wrong. 81 sss
The whole principle Of American civiliz.i
I alton and poIity has hitherto depended!
upon one theory-the belief that infusions
OF foreign blood could be, In the first
munity, and. finally. absorbed into It,
We have always worked upon that as
sumption. The African and native Amer.
lean have hitherto proved the only ex-
fceptions We have been able neither to
gassimilate nor, ter on, TO absorb either,
The Aslatlc. whether Japanese, Chinese
or Malay, would, In my judgment. prove
equally impossible OF either assimilation
or absorption, provided always the amount
to be asslmilated or I absorbed Is large.
K Negligible quantities. ii OF course, are not!
to be considered. 81 5
s That the African can be assImilated to
I the white American. even partially, is yet
F to be proved, That he should ultimately
+ BIO absorbed into the American Is scIen-
tihcally most undesirable II could only
be done through what is known as mis-!
; cegenatton,S and the result woula be a
bastard and mongrel race. The process
would be In Its result good neither for
the white nor, the black !, therefore,
throw that aside as lundosirable. IL possI.
ble In jamaica the black has a bsorbed
the white. The result Ia not encouraging.
The question, therefore, Is whether tina
+ ten million blacks In tms country can
be assmllated without being absorbed
{ that ls, practically made the same as tho
whites with no race conflict, The alter
native is that, like any foreign and indi-
NGestlble MAS In q body, WHISTLER polite
or human the black should be thrown.
on. That he cannot be thrown OF, !
think may be assumed, The African
does not wish to 60; lie cannot be made
to SO. He tis here TO stay--in some,
s Now, lfa the African had anywhere IN
the world eYlncad ~ self-sustaining and
ssIffdehYs9HnE Poweg When lst, hin
case, There Is no Instance OF it., in
AFRICA. the home Of the race: and Hayti,
San DomingoEand Jamaica are not en-
sIf it is suggested to the "A frican that
he should return to "A frica, or that he
should 5be!ake himself. ip large eomnnln n
where his race predominates, he a once
declines 30 to do. He prefers to remain
In Immediate contact wit the whites
he prefers II to Independence.
This fact, also, Ia; not encouraging. He
declines oven to attempt to stand on his
own legs.
cannot fassimilate eff to absorb Ia unde-
sirable. and, IN my opinion. an ir1na'sai-s