The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1907-01-10
Presidents Position
Farm vile tVa) Herald.

Farm vile tva) Herald. f
The Suffrage League tnegroes) oi
Boston, hos this to say about Presi-
dent Roosevelt's special message on
the discharge of the negro troops at
Brownsville, Texas:
"We denounce the language OF the
President in his official answer to the
Foraker resolutions as the most
extraordinary language used by a
president of a Christian republic.
One who is familiar with the tyrants
of the past would think it was the
language of Nero or the Duke of
Alva.
'1n his message melting race ha
tired and mob violence against TO-
10000 of innocent citizens, he has
shown himself to be mere politician,
and not great statesman.
'1n accusing all colored persons who
object to his unlawful and summary
punishment of 16O coiored soldiers,
without trial or courtmartial or
examination by a military court of
inquiry, OF desire to shield murderers,
the President misrepresents 10000,
900 OF as law-abiding and patriotic
native born American citizens as the
country possesses. y
RoOsevelt's message on this mat
ter is one of the strongest papers
that has ever come from the White
House. 1t reviews every phase OF the
question in mastery manner and
it mercilessly exposes the brazen at
tempt of the negroes of the North,
and some of those in the South, to
try to make it appear that the town
of Brownsville was "shot up" by
white men disguised as negroes, and
that General Darlington, of South
Carolina, was at the bottom, OF
| the whole matter because he was Il
negro hater."
Concerning this latter charge,
which has been repeatedly made, the
President says:
can effort has been made to dis
credit the fairness of the investigation
into the conduct of these colored
troops by pointing out that General
Darlington is a southerner. >
AS it happens, the efforts of the Of
ficer who comes from South Carolina
were confined to the endeavor to
shield the innocent men Of the COM
panies in question, if any such there
were, by securing information which
would enable us adequately to punish
the guilty"
The President then marshals the
facts in the case and leaves his oppo-
nents with not n leg to staEd on.
He shows that there was deliberate
conspiracy among the negro soldiers
and some of the non-commissioned
officers to shield the criminals who at
midnight had tried to murder in
nocent men, women and children.
"a blacker crime never stained the
annals of our army" says the Presi,
dent, than this attempt at murder;
and scarcely less black q crime, he
adds, was the conspiracy OF silence.
And yet the Boston contingent oil
the negro race says the President Gin
cites race hatred and mob violence
against 10000, 900 of innocent citi-
sens because he discharged murderers
and their accessories. And in saying
this, the negro spokesmen have
shown to the North what the South
has long known: that the negro as
a class is unfit to be soldier and
that as class he will shield criminals
of his own race. There are of course
u few-a very few-exceptions. But
the vast majority of the negroes can
not control a gun, and will not ex-
pose u criminal.
The negro and the North have
many things to un!earn.