Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1907-01-18
THE RACE QUESTION.

Iesolutions IN opposuon 10 President hoose'
welt. In the course Of the speech be spoke
upon the trace question" as follows:
at Is useless TO deny that the race ques.
ton lies at the bottom Of all this" he said.
at is equally useless to say that these
troops were discharged because they were
negroes. II the negroes had been treated
the same way as white regulars were treated
at Athens, Ohio, the civil authorities would
have arrested those believed to be guilty and
the matter decided In the courts. In that
instance the War Department defended the
regulars, although they had committed muir
der, and 1t was declared the troops were the
wards of the nation, a very proper and right
position to take.
"The whole issue involved is one of race,
and the President is primarily more respon-
sible than any other man for the position
the negroes in the South have taken ON the
question of negro rights.
"He gave recognition to Booker Wash
ington In a social way. He did 1t knowing
he was flying in the face Of caste feeling
among 100000 OF Southern white men
Andtagainst the same feeling of two thirds
or three-fourths Of the Northern people. He
does not understand the negro or the deep
ana vital character Of the issue involved.
he made mess OF 1t In the first instance
and has made worse mess Of the last.
ale speaks by suggestion 10 his recent
message as q motive for crime. What
would calculate TO provoke the negroes to
crime more than those wordsf
"The well-known attitude Of the admin
istration ON the social question has been the
cause Of great and noticeable change In
the demeanor and action Of the negroes
throughout the South, and the greater ques
ton Of relationship between the races can.
not be much longer kept down." Mr.. Till
man said.
After predicting In the near future race
conflict to determine whether the negro Ii
equal TO the Caucasian, Mr.. Tillman con-
tinued:
"Broadly stated, the white people Of the
United States are face TO face with the vital
issue as TO whether the Caucasian race shall
share Its inheritance with the other races Of
the earth. In Cuba the question presses for
solution and immediate action. Shall that
island be governed by negroes or white
men Shall 1t be doomed TO the fate of San
TO Domingo, or shall 1t be saved for the
white manf The question Of protectorate
or annexation and of the future status of
the people there must be determined In the
near future That is only one phase OF the
question.
ION the Pacific Coast the relationship be.
tween the Mongolians and Caucasians 10
involved. The President announces him.
self as lavoring the policy Of absolute oblit
Grafton OF the race line, the granting Of TOLL
citizenship to the Japanese. The Ameri-
cans OF the Pacific Coast, as / understand
1t. are bitterly opposed to this policy, and
without regard to party lines. These Anne
ricans ought to know what is for their best
Interest, and they ought to and undoubtedly
will have sympathy and aid Of their fellow
citizens, North and South, In protecting
their interests. But these two phases OF the
race problem slns ,nso .nsignihcance along
side OF the greater and more vital question
oil the relationship Of the races 10 the South.
ern States oi The Union.
"In the six Southern States (South Caro-
lima, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missis.
sippi and Louisiana) 10 the aggregate the
negroes outnumber the whites and 10 two
OF them (South Carolina and Mississippi)
the negro preponderance is very heavy.
"Under the law these people possess every
right that white men have rs far as the
Federal Constitution confers rights, and the
fifteenth amendment expressly foroids the
enactment of any law which shall discrim.
inate in voting on account OF race or color.
Large numbers Of these negroes are dis
frsnchised at this time, but these laws are
only temporary and work no cure, and In
the near future enough negroes will be able
TO vote to make inevitable the struggle for
mastery between the races.
an Cuba the color line has been obliter.
ated and miscegenatlon Is 10 full blast. At
the North the same conditions exist, and
the large number OF mulattoes and quad
rooms with white blood 10 their veins who
have migrated there are the leaders Of the
doctrine of absolute social equality, encour-
aged as they have been and are now by the
President of the United States. Take this
from bis message on the Brownsville affair:
1T Is of the utmost importance TO all our
people that we shall deal with each man on
his merits as Q man and not deal with him
merely as a member Of given race; that
we shall judge each man by his conduct and
not his color
"And again: Every tarsighted friend Of
ward and upward should teach first, as the
most important lesson, alike to the white
man and the black, the duty Of treating the
individual man strictly on his worth as he
shows it,
"Consider the full import and meaning Of
these words and then consider whether or
not they are sincere and honest, or whether
In the ferver Of fight to justify an unwar-
ranted usurpstion Of power and exercise OF
executive authority, the President forgot
himself and said more than he intended or
means. To illustrate, is 1t possible or de-
sirable that all consideration Of race and
color shall be dismissed from our minds and
not govern our action; that racial instincts
implanted in Us by nature are to be ignored
and all men Of all races to be judged and
treated on the basis OF individual merritt
"Are men to be made over and the caste
feeling and race antagonisms of centuries
70 disappear in the universal brotherhood
Of manS Are there any Senators in this
audience who subscribe to this doctrine who
would have the Caucasian, highest and no
blest of the five races, as is attested by his
tory, descend to the level of others and