New-York tribune., 1906-07-10

Greensboro. N. c.. July 9-Secretary Taft to-
night, before a meeting of North Carolina Re
publicans. on the eve of their state convention.
delivered speech that was generally accepted
as the opening gun of the Congress campaign
of 1906. The speech dealt with current political
questions. and. opening with advice to the rank
and file of the party in North Carolina and the
South particularly. referred to the achievements
of the Republican party in the session of Con-
gress just closed. The Opera House was packed
to Overfowing by a throng eager To hear the
Secretary. and hundreds were turned away be-
cause of the limited size Of the hall. Secretary
Taft said:
Republicans of North Carolina: When your
committee did me the honor to ask me
TO address the Republican convention Of
North Carolina they advised me that the po-
utlcaI situation such that if proper effort
were made at the coming election il would be
possible To carry the state for the Republican
party and that in that effort they felt they were
entitled TO the sympathy and assistance of Re-
Publ1cans throughout the country The appeal
had convincing weight with me, for 1 believe
that nothing that could happen in the politics Of
this country would work greater advantage to
tne country at large, and to. the South in par
tlcular than the breaking up of what has been
properly known as the Solid South / say this
in no partisan spirit, for / am not one Of those
VINO think that this result would necessarily in
crease the probability of the continuance in
power OF the Republican party The sOlidity of
cratic party certain number of COngressmen
and certain number of electoral votes has in
a measure furnished its own antidOte by re-
sITahihg many voters in the North who might
have left the Republican party but for what
they regard as the injustice and danger OF
Southern political conditions
The South has been kept solid by the spectre Of
Negro domination and by stirring up racial
prejudices and arousing unfounded alarm over
After a long struggle, the history OF which I
snail not repeat. the NeSro's vote made to
count for nothing in the Southern states Then
tile poltcal leaders OF the dominant party came
to realize the dreadful decentralization OF an So
ciety that followed in government If law was
nOuted and fraud was to constitute it's basis
They cast about to make the law square with
the existing condition by property and educa-
tional qualifications which should exclude the
Negro. They adopted amendments to state CON
stitutiOns, with the sO-called grandfather
clauses" intended to apply the new Qualffca-
tiOns to the Negro. and not to apply them to the
whites. 1t is impossible to frame law estab-
fishing an educational qualification for suffrage
which will stand the test Of the Fifteenth
Amendment and which will not ultimately Op-
crate, no matter what the qualification or pres
ent effect, 10 exclude impartially the Negroes
and whites from the ballot who lack educational
requirement. Government is established TO Sc
cure the greatest good for the greatest num-
her. A popular government attains this end be-
cause it is undoubtedly true that i'm the long
run the rights and happiness of every person
and every class are much more likely to he Sc
cured and safely guarded by the laws of the
country and enforced by the Executive il the
voice of every person class is given an OppOr-
tunity to be heard in the adoption of the laws
or the selection of the Executive This view
however Is Dredcated on the premise that the
person or class of persons whose rights TO be
protected by their own vote have sufficient in
formation and power of intellectual decision 10
enable them to learn and decide what their
rights and real interest are, and how they ought
TO be protected.
FUTURE FOR COLORED RACE.
When class of persons is so ignorant and so
subject to oppression and misleading that they
C1fV al ~
mental stature of manhood, then their voice in
the government secures no benefit 10 them.
policy. therefore, in the South which excludes
from the ballot lmpart1ally both the black and
white. when ignorant and irresponsible cannot
be criticised Conceding that the laws now in
force in this state and other parts Of the South
were intended. either by their terms or by their
mode of execution. To exclude the ignorant col
ored voter from the franchises with risor. and to
allow the ignorant white voter, though equally
untitled for the franchise. 20 exercise it, do not
think that this makes hopeless situation for
the Colored man or the political power that he
may III the future exercise. II he continues to
increase i'm intelligence. as under the publ,
educa tiCna institutions he is likely o do and if
ilOuStflallN ne becomes a power, as his progress
thus fer JuStileS US in believing that he Will the
men Cf the race who eligible To vote in &C.
cordanCe with law will increase. and their COM
mon sense and judgment and position in the
community will add weight to the vote they
cast. and viii secure more real influence for the
benefit Of their race than when the rieht OF
suffrage of the Negroes was wholly unrestricted.
The white people OF the South q huTlO-
EctleOOS people. much more likely TO cherish
qltOns and retain customs and opinions OF the
past than the peOple If the North Of more MIXED
desc ent Hence Il takes q long time u convince
the white people of the South. Intelligent clear
headed and energetic they are. that the cry
of Negro domination. often raised ny pOliti-
clans among them is merely for tba ri,rnosa 80
sOdiCying their vote the democratic side and
has no real justification in fact As long as (as
in the years Immediately following the war; their
agriculture lansuishcd their mines remained un-
opened. their factories We're few in number. ana
the prosperity OF the country seemed confined To
that part of It lying mouth Os Mason aud
DixO1's Line il was easy, by appeals 10 reeul-
lectiOns of the Civil War and the unfortunate
sequence % reconstruction, 10 n the ranks of
the Democratic army and maintain the sO'fditV
OF the South. But nov. during the last decade
an unprecedented period OF prosperity has come
for the fair Southern states Their great cotton
crop has vastly increased and the prices al which
II has been sold have been high enough to fll
the pockets of the farmer with well learned gcid
The iron and the coal mines have been opc, 4
and have brought forth wealth hardly dreamed
of quarter OF a Century ago Manufactures
have sprung up In every state, and the primacy
Of New England as the headquarters for making
cotton goods has been threatened In the pros
peTity which has dCseTyedly attended the enter
prise industry and energy Of the South the bit
teTness of old reCOlectiOns has passed into Obliv-
ion. and with the patriotic feeling inspired by
the sentiments evoked during the Spanish War
we have become again a thoroughly united
country
TREMENDOUS DISADVANTAGE
Under these circumstances, il is not 20 be
expected that the sensible, clear headed busi-
ness men of the South do not perceive the trc-
neudous disadvantage under which the Southern
states labor IN having only party with any
Voie- in their state governments, and IN being
herded together always the hidebeund support
OF the Democrats laFs. Of this eoentrys no