The new age., 1907-01-26
EDITORIAL
TILLMAN AND THE NEGROES.

Discussing Senator Tillman's recent
speeches on the Brownsville affair the
Detroit News, a conservative, indie
pendent paper, says:
while it is easy to characterize
Senator Tillman as a blatherskite or
a fanatic, as has been done on pre-
vious occasions when he has vehem-
emily expressed the sentiments and
convictions which were the subject
matter of his TRADE in the senate on
Saturday, it is no longer possible to
overlook the fact that his utterances
are representative of an opinion and
a determination sufficiently wide
spread to constitute a most serious
menace to the social and political
tranquility of the nation.
However reckless and incendiary
may be the forms of expression he
chooses, it is not safe to forget that,
as to the fundamentals of the prob
lem that SO excites him, he speaks
with a many-tongued voice His in
temperance and unreason should not
be permitted to conceal the facts as
to the extent to which the south as a
whole is prepared to go to insure the
continued dominance of its ideas on
the race question.
1T is singular fact that, to date,
the very measures which at their in
ception were advertised as a panacea
for the difficulties involved have ap-
parently produced a notable increase
in the intensity of race feeling, and
in the frequency Of its violent out
breaks. When southern congressman
were pleading a few years ago that
their people be left alone to work out
their own problems as best they
might, and protesting against resort
to the fifteenth amendment in correc-
ton of the Acknowledgement provi-
sions of their new state constitutions,
the dominant party was clearly in
clined to listen sympathetically. With
such exceptions as Crumpacker, of In
diana; Mccall, of Massachusetts, and
a few other republican leaders there
appeared to be a distinct disposition
in the dominant party to at least
await the observation of such results
as might be achieved by the practical
elimination of the negro vote.
Instead of Increased tranquility al
the south and the abatement of the
intenser aspects of the conflict, there
has followed a period of disturbance
and of epidemic race wars unparal
leled since reconstruction days, anC
these outbreaks have not been con
fined entirely to the former slave
states. 1t is Tillman's value in thi.
situation that he utters frankl!
thoughts which are in many minds
and glories in declarations which
other men are suppressing, in thu
waning hope that some means o
avoiding a direct meeting of the issu,
may yet be devised"
While Tillman's sentiments may fine
many southerners, there are on tn,
other hand great many other peopl,
in that section of the country that d,
not applaud him or approve of mucl
that he says, while in the north anC
west, the sections of he country tha
Will dominate on any issue that ma,
arise, even, if it be necessary the ne
gro or race question. there are com
paratively few who agree with him
The north and west were and are will
ing to leave the suffrage question II
the south to the states of that section
and are making no loud or concerto,
protest about the practical disfran
chisement of the colored voters il
violation of the constitution of tn
United States, nor do they care hov
closely private social lines are draw
between the races; but the countr
as a whole will not quietly submit T.
seeing the negroes deprived of oppol