The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1906-10-24
Tillman and the Race Problem.

oS~A~
tor Tillman admitted that lynching, as
remedy for the crime for which ne
groes are usually lynched, had failed.
He said that something else must be
tried, and suggested the European
passport system. According to this
system a person, before he can leave
his place, must have a certificate OF
good character and a bona flde means
Of support A person appearing in
any community without such certlf1-
cate is liable to arrest.
Of course the passport system
would have to apply to both the white
and the black people. That being the
case it would be so unpopular that it
would be difficult to enforce it. In
| deed, it is doubtful if the Legislature
of any State could be induced to pass
a law establishing the passport sys-
tenn.
But if sucuh a system were estab-
| lished would it aid materially in sup
pressing the crime aimed at? 1t is
esta ablished that the negroes that
commit the crime are always known
as crimianls or loafers? And wouldn't t
| it often be as difficult for decent and
self-respecting negroes to get the re-
| quired certificate as for the loafng
and criminally inclined negroes to get
| it? The movement Of negroes is very
general. In some localities the plan
| tations have almost been abandoned,
| but among the moving thousands,
there are only few to whom a GER
| tificate would be denied-that is,
few in comparison to the whole num-
| ber. At first glance it would seem
| that this Tillman plan would result
only in increasing the incomes Of JUS
tees of the peace, since, if it were
adopted, it would devolve upon these
officials to issue certificates.
! No doubt Senator Till1nan has given
the subject a great deaf of thought
| but it is a question if the consensus
of opinion will be that he has found
a remedy for the evil. The thought
he has given to the subject, however,
has been productive of one good re-
suit, and that is that lynching is not
| remedy. If that view is generally
accepted there will be noticeable de
cline. in the number Of lynchings.
There was a time when Senator
| Tillman would have led a lynchlng
| mob When he was governor of South
Carolina he stated he would lead
| mob to lynch man, white or black,
guilty of assaulting a white or black
woman. We infer from what he said
at Augusta that he wouldn't be a par
| ty to lynching now, for the reason
I that he doesn't think lynching is
preventive Of the crime that calls into
life the lynching spirit.
The other day the Atlanta Consti-
tuition printed a communication rec
| ommending better religious train
| ing for the negroes as a remedy for
criminal inclination. There is no
doubt that if all, or part, of the
money now sent to foreign missions
were devoted to the moral education
of negro children there would be
brought about a marked improve
ment in the negro race. The environ
ment of negro children, particularly
ir the cities, is extremely bad. From
the time a large percentage Of them
can crawl they live practically in the
cutters. All that is wicked and bad
comes under their observation. 1t is
not to be wondered at, therefore, that
so great a percentage of the criminals
| I'm communities which have large ne
gro populations are negroes. If their
environment were improved and they
were taught good morals wouldn't
there soon be noticeable decrease IN
the number of negro criminals?
And if lynching were abandoned
and the law enforced promptly IN
cases of all kinds Of crime, wouldn't
we have a better condition of affairs
than if we were to adopt Senator Till
mans certificate Of good character
plan?
It is remarkable thing that as
saults upon women are so frequent in
some parts of the country and almost
wholly unknown in other parts which
have large negro populations. How
can this be explained? A few days
ago we published a communication
from Col. Mercer, president of the
board of education, in which he SAID
he had never known of a White Wo-
man being assaulted in this commu-