The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1907-01-23
NEGRO ADVISES HIS RACE
GIVES THE WHISKEY PREACHER
AND TEACHER A WHACK.
D. w. Davis, an Industrious and Re-
spected ColOred Farmer, Writes
Letter Full of Sound Adj
vice to His People.

heIteF ruiz OF Sound Adj
vice to His People.
Dawson, Ga, R. F. d. No. 2, Jan.
lS'-Editor of The Dawson News
Wlll you please give me space in your
well read paper to speak to the peo-
pie of Terrell county, especially my
race? have been in the county
thlrty wears, and l know it's people,
black and white. The white people.
with big hearts, have given us every
chance to improve our condition, but
so far only few of my race in this
God-blessed county have grasped the
opportunity. When | was a boy the
white people advised us to go to
school, buy homes and the like, but
II seems that only a few followed
the advice.
1t has come to where | must speak
out, as | have children and want
them to come up as | have. | have
never had any trouble only in think
ing of my race and how they are
passing through this world. We
were put here for something; we are
taught to serve and glorify God, and
II is up to us to prove ourselves by
denOuncing sin. We must learn to
love all men and to obey where
duty demands it. A great many of
our people have lost sight of hui
manity, have gone wild over money
and don't know what to do with it
after they get it. The white man
has advised nnA ~ h. s.,
disguised. He doesn't know what to
do with u.s. My people have been
swept from a lofty hill of would
have-been happiness to the valley of
desolation. There they grumble and
complain and say the white man is
that and the other, which is very
untrue. The white man is no him
drance to us in this enlightened land,
and as soon as the black man learns
to teach his children how to be
peaceful, honest, just and fair to all
men we will have a little heaven
down here But we cannot as long
as We have teachers and preachers
and so-called leaders of our race who
endorse the sale of that damnable
and cursed stuff called whiskey. A
preacher who will in any way in
crease the sale of whiskey is wholly
unfit for any pulpit and ought to be
condemned. A teacher of our schools
who will help to continue its sale
is a dangerous character and ought
to be sent to the woods, for our
children must be taught by precept
and example. That is where our
troubles began. Parents must teach
their children at home, around the
fireside The teacher must teach in
the school room and the preacher
must teach in church. Until this is
done we as a race will never do what
God made us for.
If the black man would stop right
here and settle down to work in a
business way, stop running to town
every time he wants a drink (and
that is often), take the money he
spends for whiskey and spend it for
cotton cloth to hide the many naked
children, put the money on his own
wife he puts on others, spend the
time he loses in teaching his children
how to live, how to love one another
the right way, how to make home
/ happy and how to be respectful, keep
wives and daughters off of wagons
every Saturday going to town, vote
against the sale of whiskey, help run
down every evil in the community,
go to Sunday school and to church,
help the wife to keep home clean,
stop trying to get ahead of the white
man 1--WE never will-we will be a
success to ever get up to him), stop
driving the white mans mules to
death every time he can get one
| Ct tell you he is tired of it, and l
don't blame him) stop getting every
thing the white man will let him
have, get what he really needs, try
to always clear some money regard
I less of the amount of his earnings,
stop trying to out-dress all others,
teach industry (Which is the capstone
under which lies every mans sue
/ cess) he will take a long stride for
ward in his own self-respect and in
the confidence of the white man.
YOurs for humanity, J. w. DAVIS.