The Bolivar County Democrat. (Rosedale, Miss.) 1887-1969, 1907-06-29
CHAS. SCOTT MISREPRESENTED
ON Immigration QUESTION
Read the Following Extract From His
Speech Delivered at Louisville,
Winston County.

l grant you, but knowingly, intentiom-
ally and with malice aforethoug1lt BY
many others.
| On the threshold of a discussion
| touching this important matter I want
to mention several things and try to imv
press them on your minds with some
what of vigor and emphasis.
First, want to say that am now,
always have been and always will b
unalterably opposed to an undesirabie
set Of immigrants, no matter where they
come from. As much as we need labor
in all that part of the State which Is
wholly or largely dependent on free
negro labor, we had better see our fair
fields relapse into wilderness rather
than bring within the borders of this be-
loved commonwealth the criminals, OK
| malta, or anarchists, or scum of the great
| European cities
Right here / desire to say another
thing. If am honored by you with the
sacred commission for which / am nov
an applicant, so far as the influence or
power of the Governor may extend under
State and national laws, / want to say.
| to you right now that the door of this
great commonwealth will be closed tight
and fast against undesirable immigrants
of all sorts during my gubernatorial term.
| l would be lacking in candor right here
unless I further stated that the immi-
grafton laws under the constitution Of
| the United States are matters solely
within the jurisdiction of the National
Congress, and such being the case, the
authority of the Governor in that re-
gard amounts to little or nothing. New
ertheless, my opponents are trying to
inject it into this campaign as q false
issue, something that has no place in the
discussion, but / think it proper, in view
of the conditions, to discuss the matter
| fully, and now repeat that whatever
power or influence the Governor may
have in the premises shall be used. If I
am your chief executive, in trying to ex-
cludc from Mississippi undesirable inn
migrants of all sorts.
Having stated SO much IN . general
way, I now declare myself boldly and
candidlv as being cordially in favor of
the RIGHT SORT OF IAIEGKATION.
That is to say, honest, earnest, indus
triousr law-abiding white men and wOm-
en-, especially farmers. We need immi-
grants of this sort in Mississippi, not to
come into competition with the white
| people of Mississippi, whether farmers,
merchants, salaried men, laborers or 9TH
ers, but to take the. place Of the ind0-
| lent, vicious, criminal negro, unfortunate
| ly growing more indolent, vicious and
criminal year by year, month by month
and day by day. We have in Misisssip-
pi, you will remember, my fellow citi-
zens, something like 100000 negroes, as
against 100000 whites. History teaches
us that the free negro has never worked
since time began unless there was some
controlling influence or power behind hmm
| to make him work. In other words, he
| will not work unless the white man
makes him. History is simply repeating
itself today in Mississippi and Through
| out the South, and SO we might as we'll
recognize the fact that the negro will
cease to be an industrial and agricultural
| factor in our midst. He will gradually
| leave the corn and cotton fields of the
South and go to the oil mills, saw mills
and other plants, and to the railroads
and cities and towns, and Will finally
pass beyond Mason and Dixon's line, be-
coming disseminated throughout the
whole country, North and South, East
, and West, thus solving at one and the
same time the race question and the
labor question: SO far as the negro con-
| trolls the labor question This accom-
plished, Mississippi and the whole South
WILL DdSS StIt1lely OA " llldO SIcdt uc0-
| tiny pointed out by the finger Of God.
| We should do nothing to hasten the
movement that I have Just mentioned
All sudden revolutions are accompanied
with more or less friction and loss. and
| if these 100000 negroes were suddenly
withdrawn from Mississippi, widespread
bankruptcy and disaster would follow.
But as they gradually leave us we must
take time by the forelock, so that we
may have intelligent, industrious and
law-abiding white farmers to take the
place of these indolent negroes, in order
that our fields may be properly culti-
voted. Another thing, my countrymen,
| want to mention right here. Kespon-
sibility canopies the earth. The doctrine
of noblesse oblige extends wherever civ.
ilized man has placed his foot. And so
long as the negro is with us we owe it
| to him, to ourselves and to the God who
made us both, to treat him with justice
and to see that he is protected in life,
liberty and property. But as he leaves
us we must take time by the forel0ck
and provide other and better labor of .
| desirable kind to take his place, as
have already stated.
On this subject of immigration beg
to remind you that ! stand fairly and
i SQuafely with the naulonal DemOcral1&
party, and with every Southern states
man of national reputation, SO far as I
am advised l also call your attention
| to the fact that four Southern Governors
today are using every legitimate means
to secure the right sort of white immi-
grants for their respective States; and
Hoke Smith, who was recently elected
Governor of Georgia, laid aside all Of
his private business immediately after
he was elected, without waiting for his
official term to commence, in order that
he might go to Europe in person to in
vestigate labor conditions there in the
| interest of the State of Georgia. Nov,
one word with reference to my personal
experimentation along this line. I want
to say right here that have neve<
brought or desired to bring to Ml1lfns;
sippi any of the criminals OF scums q
| the great Italian cities, nor any c<&1
undesirable immigrants Of any ki11 z
had about $500 acres Of ine 1n14 +
went uncultivated for -four Y41l +
unable to sell the Land a