The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-05-28
THE TILLMAN LECTURE.

THE TILLMAN LECTURE.
Senator Tillman of South Caroline
delivered, in this city on Sunday night
his notorious speech against The ne
! groes. Of course, Mr.. Tillman in this
lecture merely panders TO the notoriety
that he has created with respect TO his
attitude upon this question. He is OK
! pected to rant and rave, and accord
ingly he does so. Those who hire him
to deliver this lecture hire its delivery
with a full realization of what it is
and what the public expect to hear. Ii
is a notoriety proposition all through,
and We have not tine least idea that
Senator Tillman means more than half
of it seriously. But his deep prejudice
against the negro and his contempt for
the race are genuine; still, what he
threatens to do and the extravagant
terms in which he expresses his con
tempt and disgust, must be largely dis
counted The lecture is, in fact, quite
an old one and is hardly to be taken Sc
riously in the present day and age. OF
course, the Southern whites are deter
mined to maintain the control of their
local governments, and the North ap-
pears TO have acquiesced in their doing
so, no matter through what methods.
either legally or illegally. The old
method, however, by stuffed or tissue
ballots, by the club, by the shotgun,
and by the Ku Klux Klan, are things
of the past.
With respect TO the erasure Of the
fifteenth amendment from the Federal
Constitution which Senator Tillman in.
sists upon there is not the least likeli.
hood OF this being seriously undertak
en-, much less accomplished. The neces-
sary action Of three-fourths Of the
States to the elimination Of that amend.
ment is practically an impossibility in
feasible politics. So there is not the
least use Of talking about that. IT is
quite true that in so far as there may
be a conflict between the fifteenth
amendment and the sixteenth, the
North would gain largely by the elm
ination of the fifteenth, provided the
sixteenth were TO 60 into genuine ef-
feet, which is aimed to restrict the rep
rcsentation in the Lower House of Con
suffrage from any class Of people, in
the same proportion as that restriction
is enforced. That is to say, if tho
negro in the South is disfranchised. the
which such State en-
joys in the House of Representative
would be cut down in the same proper
tion that the negro population of that
State bears to the total population of
the State. Under such a rule the South
would lose about forty-five Representa-
tives.
1t looks now as if it would have been
a safer and better proposition if in
stead of passing the fifteenth and six
teenth amendments, there might have
been one amendment applying to the
''all other PERSONS named in the body
of the constitution, and providing that
where these are denied the suffrage
there should be no representation had
dItion of misrepresentation for the
class denied suffrage should continue
until the States themselves conferred
the suffrage upon that class. This
would have provided a powerful incen-
hive for the Southern States themselves
to have conferred the suffrage upon the
negro and genuinely allowed him to ex-
crcise 1t. All that, however, is mere
matter of speculation--of "might have
been,' The present situation is quite
different; and there is not the least
likelihood that any change will be
made in it,
Senator Tillman is In great demand
as lecturer; he finds plenty of audi.
enccs eager to hear his denunciation of
the negro, his fiery vituperation upon
the colored race, So far as Northern
audiences are concerned, the whole mat.
.cr of hearing him is good deal like
attending a sort Of rarec. show: it does
not count for much as far as the con-
'ictions of the hearers are concerned. |
That Senator Tillman is sufficiently in !
earnest TO feel that he is stating his |
absolute convictions does not in the |
east change the attitude of his hear
IFS with respect to what he is saving.
So far as Utah is concerned, the
Americans here owe Senator Tillman a
lebt of gratitude and n warmth of rec
ignition that he perhaps would not re-
GIVE elsewhere, by reason of his inde
loyal and well-considered vote
or the exclusion of Apostle Smoot from
he United States Senate; but they
ave no need 10 share his preiudices
II denuncIations TO show their appre.
iation of that vote. For il Senator
'illman is entitled TO the warmest rec.
gnition of Americans here; and GER
alnly the immense audience that greet
a him in rho fhaoto- ~. 1