The Washington herald., 1907-09-02
Roosevelt and the Negro

I tfAttNl INC washington Herald.
Coming from an ordinary individual.
perhaps Prof Kelly MiHer's article. pub
lished In The Washington Herald. would
have been ignored and relegated 20 the
limbo Of yawning oblivion. but being from
a man who is supposed 10 be an oracle
OF light, holding down big chair in a
university. for many years he has been
trying 10 lift hts unfortunate people from
poverty TO greatness by essays. and by
giving them the finest sociological adj
We've repeat that since these things are
true the article needs to be considered
After reading il carefully. one fails TO
see its purpose, or in what way il is 10
serve colored people for good. We should
feel very grateful if its author would let
/ flash Some more Of the fine niceties" of
his phil0sophic light and make plain
how this article is 70 help his people IN
the hill. Although his years in and out
Of the classroom have trained his people
to look up TO him for light, yet his latest
/ output is opaque. lie leaves us puzzled
/ 70 wonder whether the article is a
strike back al the President. or sim
/ ply an idle, meaningless fling 10 keep
/ alive reputation as a magazine writer
| advancing theories. We may also wonder
/ whether or not the article gives vent to
something akin to prejudice in the au-
thors own heart or is he seeking 10 keep
/ colored people infamed-and that, too. at
one of his psychological moments" Of
race war down in Virginia. where a col
| ored store has been burned and fifty coll
ored families ordered from their homes.
We hope, however, that none of the
above motives inspired the article. and
that it found its origin I'm something high
CT, though we confess that we need the
author TO enlghten US as 10 what il was.
Some years ago the author was advising
his people to move along lines of least
resistance; his latest will inspire some
thing different.
Prominent colored men need to learn
that the ultimate destiny of a race does
not necessarily depend upon the treat /
ment it receives from others. If we can
get enough of the mettle and grit in us. /
we shall rise. But il does not help us any /
to have the faults of another race pointed |
out TO us to dwell upon. We cannot az /
ford to lose the time
Faults and flaws are not good things to
hold up to colored people. and if they /
were, our enlightened leaders should ha /
the last men to hold them up But they !
make bad principles. There are colored /
men who frequently look for precedent
TO uphold a wrong We have heard them.
while trying to defend colored bank
bursting, put up the claim that white
banks burst also" They never stop TO
observe that there are hundreds of towns
and cities where there are no colored
banks, and that in the few places where
there are two or three, one is ALWAYS
liable to burst They never stop TO con-
slider that because a white man steals
a million dollars, it does not make il
rlght for colored man to steal one doll
lar.
The black race Is on trial in this coun-
try. It has yet to prove itself equal 10
al the high standards set by this Anglo
saxon civilization. A few .old war-scar-
req veterans" some other big Office !
holders, after their tenure of Office. in .
stead Of settling down to become. ora !
torical hgureheads-if they had gone 4,
west bought large tracts Of land. in
1uced colored settlers. starting towns and =
villages, now, some Of them might help :
20 make UP half dozen representatives ,
N Congress- and one of them might be !
sraeing chair in the Upper House. '
But since this is not true, with no hope r
n sight, It would seem far more plausi-
Die that Prof Miller could serve his