The National tribune., 1906-11-29
THE RACE ISSUE.

The very worst feature about tbs
race hatred which Senator Tillman am
those associated with him are preach
| ing is its un-Americanism, its coward
| ice ana its pandering to vile passions
and prejudices.
No matter what any one may think
about the Negros, no matter how badly
at times certain individuals of the race
may act. the fact remains that The
| Negros are here: they constitute one
| eighth of our entire population: they
| were brought here without their will OF
consent, and they form most valuable
part of our industrial population.
| In this country, with all its magnif-
cent resources, there must be all the
| time crying demand for labor to de-
velop its riches and its possibilities and
all human experience teaches that the
Negros. as class, are among the most
valuable laborers of any in the world.
They are needed every day and every
where in this country and if their re
moval were possible it would be resisted
even t. the point of war by those who
need their services and will not allow
themselves to be deprived of them.
In no manner could a man brin:
down bitterer enmity upon himself than
by going into the South and attempting
TO take away any large number of Ne
gros, thus depriving planters and others
of sorely-needed labor Such being the
case, how absolutely wicked and sense
less it is for men like Tillman, who
assume to be leaders in the South, 20
cultivate a race hatred, to preach vio-
lence and wrong toward these humble
and useful laborerS and to continually
disturb the country with preachments
of race war. 1t is so egresious, wicked.
inhumane and fatUous that it is diff
cult to maintain temper in discussing it.
If the Negros are as ignorant, as
helpless, as incapable as these men say.
how wicked it is to preach war upon
such poor. defenseless people.
It is revolving to every mans sense
of American fair play. justice and phil
anthropy. The whole spirit of our peo-
pie, and 1t is one of the proudest fea-
tuYes of the American spirit, is to lif
and educate the lowly, to help the ig-
norant and incapable and to raise men
and women wherever they come within
our influence to a higher plane of
Christianity and light. 1t IS for this
that the broad-minded people of the
country give millions every year to send
missionaries and spread the Gospel.
The fact from which we can no more
escape than we can from the law Of
gravitation is that there are 10.000,00o
Negros in this country. No matter what
any one may think about them. these
Negros cannot be killed; they cannot be
deported they cannot be gotten rid OF
in any way even If we wanted to. No
body who has any work to do wants
to get rid of them. This being the case,
it is our duty as Christian people. as
people processing the highest humanity,
to exert ourselves in every way to en-
courage these poor blacks to lift them
selves up; to become more valuable
factors in producing the National
wealth: to become better workers in
every department of activity; to live
moral. clean, Christian lives.
While we should sternly repress all
outbreaks, all outrages and crimes, pun
ishing with the utmost severity every
infraction of the law, yet everywhere
we should extend a cordial, helping
hand to those who are trying to lead
better lives, who are sober, industrious
men and women and who are bringing
up their children in the right way.
There can be no argument about this
1t is our plain. obvious duty which it
we're criminal to neglect. Senator TILL
man and his like are wicked, cowardly
demagogs who are conspiring not onl?
against the good of the country, but
against all Christianity and humanity
They are confessing themselves COW
ards and incompetents in advocating
murder and maltreatment instead Of
rigid and thoro application of the laws
of the land, which can be made sufii-
cient for every evil of which they com
plain