The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-11-16

lDcl:'llnn amt sound Judgment on the
part Of the white man; upon the part
Of tho hrgro it will be necessary for
the exercise Of more common sense,
and !ar greater appreciation Of his
moral responsibility.
Work While We Wait.
do not wish to be misunderstood,
nor do | mean to dccry suggestions
which are made and theories which
are advanced, for without theories
the world would not be what it is
to-day. The poimt which T must in
sist upon is that, while wc are wait
ing and hoping for some solution,
which time alone can bring, we must
not neglect our present opportunities
and present duties. The negro has the
advice, and we should protect him
when he needs protcctinn. ',ut at the
same time We should make him under
stand that rs citizen he has dutics
and responsibilities as well as the
white man, and the degree in which
he measures up to these will deter
mine his rise or fall. In other words
neither race should wait for some
thin" t" happen which may be too
l"nr IN the happenings hotl, should
strive for what is possible under pre-
sent conditions.
Deportation Discounted
Let lis for Il moment consider some
,,I lat, H. :. !,
vanrrd and see. however excellent
they may be, whether or not there is
any likelihood Of their brin" put in
to immediate effect Some say de-
port the negro, carry him back
whence he came. If this were posi-
bic it would certainly he Il solution
OF the problem, AMI the very best.
for il would be removing the prob
lem entirely. But, my friends, how
can il bc accomplished and when? |
am satisfied that we will all admit
that it would have been better for
the South haI the slave trade been
less profitable t" our New England
brethren in NrnrS gone by, and had
the negro never nrrn brought to our
shores and African slavery inStilu-
trd IN the South. We may be equal
~ satisfied that after the lapse of
few years the South would he bet
ter off without him. but let us in
au%uratc movement to remove him
and sec how many difficulties would
he Immediately encountered.
In the first place, the negro does
not want to go. and therefore. he
has no idea of going, if he can help
1t. In the second place, there arc too
many white men who do not want
HIM 10 go. IN theory we may Favor
his departure; but for too many years
the negro has been such an excellent
shade Tor the white man that many
or us believe we cannot succeed with
out him. Should this seem selfish
let II be remembered that SO long
as many States rr the Sunth have on
their statute books laws makin" il Il
criminal offence to cnticc labor from
one Stat" into another il does not,
therefore. seem probable that these
States are ready to compel all ne
gro labor to depart to distant shores.
only mention this to show that in
any scheme to Irl"r the negro we
must expect To reckon with this clc-
mcnt OF SELF interest, for il is dilr
cult /" persuade any employer nf Ia
bor that il is to his best interest 10
give up his laborcrs unless we can
Immediately supply him with other
and better labor.
In addition to this, the deportation
Of the nr9r" = only be brought
about as the rr:ui. Il national
movement, and such n,. mrnt will
not come until the negro problem is
better understood and more acute ai
the North than il is to-day. IN the
course Of time the negro. who is now
rapidly increasing in certain cities of
the North. may. by his failure to pro-
pcrly meet the expectations Of the
people of the North. and his own con-
sequence responsibilities, become such
hndrancc and menace that our
Northern friends will be ready to do
something more than simply give adj
vice to the South.
Let It's hope they will be ready then
TO act. and if it should be the conscn-
sus Of the opinion Of the country
that the ncgro's days Of usefulness in
hmnrion oro Dyor onl Il ;< l,.i pn,