The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1907-05-10
THEY ARE AFTER HIM.

1t begins to look as II the admln-
istration forces are not to have plain
sailing lin the effort to guide the G.
o. P. In the way it should go, or in
the way the President wants it to go,
at least. Says The Boston Globe. for
example:
In the coming Presidential contest,
1t is reported, an effort is to be MADE
by the opponents of President Roose-
welt to secure delegates from the
tions If necessary. 1t is believed that
on account of the discharge of the
colored soldiers of the 25th infantry
the colored men of the South Will en-
the convention opposed to any candi-
date favored by the administration. The
politicians naturally claim that the
Southern officeholders will antagonize
this movement successfully.
We do not often copy from an organ
Of the colored race, but as The New
York Age is one of the most infuen-
tial negro papers in the country we
make this extract from its columns:
The President has queered himself
with the Afro-American voters by the
policy he has pursued in tse Southern
States of placing Democrats in control,
as referees, of the interests OF Repuo-
licans, and of appointing Southern Dem
ocrats to Federal offices. so that 1t Is
estimated that 80 per cent of such in
Georgia are Democrats. scandalous
outrage which would be borne patiently
by no body of Republicans in the
country; by his extraordinary order dis
charging a battalion of the 25th In
fantry without honor, in the absence
of trial and upon presumption OF guilt;
i hxh fp los crn to n
which he placed the race in the wrong
on the lynching business and advised
1t in matters of education which did
not concern him or anybody else, as 1t
is a matter of personal choice. He has
also barred the race out of employment
in the insular territories of the Re-
public, while making places all the
time for Southern white men in that
their turn until Democrat occupies
the White House.
These are straws which may have
some bearing in determining the d.
rection of the political breeze. AL
though the negroes of the South have
little to, do with the election of the
national ticket they exert a potent in
fluence when it comes to the selection
of that ticket. The Republican dele
cations from the South are usually
largely composed of negroes, and each
year they are becoming less amenable
to the arguments. demands and brides
of the white bosses. If there should
opposition to Roosevelt it may be DIFF
icult for him to dictate a nomination
or force the convention TO select man
of his choosing. Naturally 1t matters
little to Democrats whether Roosevelt
remains on top or is turned down by
for trying to peep under the cover oc-
casionally.
What The Age says about the Pres
ident queering himself with the me-
groes by his course in the Brownsville
affair is true enough. We read a num-
Der of negro newspapers, and from
them we find that the feeling against
Roosevelt on account of that matter
is general. They take the position that
the soldiers were discharged simply
because they were negroes, and that
If they had been white a different
course would have been pursued. This
feeling is dominant and has been work.
ed up by leaders of the race to such
an extent that some of the most bit
ter critics of the President are found
among the negroes. From looking on
him as the special friend and wet nurse
of their race they have come to re-
gard him as but little more partial to
them than the hated Democrats are.
AS we have said, we are not specially
interested in the scrimmage, except as
an outside observer.