The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-16

state In following the policy OF the gov
eminent perforce would best secure it by
adoptingathe same lines.
Child Labor.
There is quite a development of cotton
mills and mining interests in the state,
and in both of these, particularly the for
mer, boys and girls of tender age can be
used. The best interest of the state de-
mands that there should be Limitation
of age and state supervision of their
employment.
On the farm and in other outdoor work
continuance of labor Is impossible on
account of vicissitudes of the weather.
suggest therefore, that you introduce
graduated limitation of age, and also some
method with regard to the Introduction
of compulsory education, thus, not only
breaking into the possible continuity of
il door work, but also giving the adVan-
tages of education. At the same time
will caution you that a great many peo-
pie have gone to the mills to work be-
cause they have found by experience that
they can earn more money and DO better
there than they can elsewhere, and In
large families they can better take care
of themselves with their earning capacity
there than elsewhere, and it is very
serious matter for the state to assume the
guardianship as to how and when these
people shall work and direct and dictate
to them by methods of law as to whether
they shall or shall not work where they
think to their best interest.
In the rural districts and in towns and
cities there are many poor families,
many poor families with children. and
anyone familiar with the conditions or
such things would know that many of
them could do better in the mill than
elsewhere.
Biennial Legislatures.
Quadrennial sessions OF the legislature
are too infrequent to meet the require
vancng state, anr oftentimes too long de-
vancng state, and oftentimes too long de-
lay relief much needed by the people
FIFTY days for legislation for four years
are too short a time in which to make
proper investigation of conditions and ac-
oulre proper knowledge for the prepare
ton of statutes necessary for the care of
the people. / recommend an amendment to
the constitution of Alabama providing for
biennial sessions
The Negro.
We have in Alabama 100000 citizens Of
the colored or negro race. These people
are a part of our body polite, and our
duty to them and to ourselves is TO help
TO remove from their way every obstrue-
| ton to successful progress.
/ was born and reared in Barbour coun-
| ty; have been affiliated with negroes III
business all of my life, first as slaves,
| afterwards as free men; have worked
and am working, large areas of farm
| lands today with them the only laborers
and am familiar with all the environ
! ments attending these two conditions. L
| have always felt a friendship and Lively
| interest in their welfare, and these suS-
! gestions to you and to them will be with
| the intent Of kindness and the wish for
good.
| fe., "a
| friction now between the races than there
has been for years, and / believe that
this friction is growing. How to stop
, and reverse the current is question well
| worth our study and their attention
1t was an unfortunate experiment tile
| United States made to take negroes fresh
from slavery, never moments educa-
ton or information as to the principles
and rules of government, without knowl-
| edge or experience of freedom, with no
| conception of the power or responsible
| ties OF free sitzen and free ballot, and
with no experience in even governing
! themselves; their leadership being that
| of the carpetbagger, man new In our
midst, with unsympathetic and entirely
Shylock disposition, coupled with the
scalawag. the publican of the south, and
| hacked by federal troops lately marching
| as enemies This conglocerate of fgnor-
| ance cupidity, vice and power was in
! stalled in governmental province ard
made the ruling factor of this state.
In other words, in it's partisanship for
| the negro the United States government
by its then ministers made the negroes OF
! the south, the rulers of the south. This
| exprement was made in the face OF the
| fact that like experiments had never sue
| ceeded. The experiment was made at tnc
| dictation of men whose descendants still
in the control of the federal government
| have rightly sent the American army 10
! Cuba, a foreign territory, TO keep hlgh-
i err order of this class of men from accom-
plishing just what our negroes were, by
the federal government, encouraged 10
| accomplish in our own state the de-
| scendants of these men have sent D,Vo
| troops, one-third of the United States
] army, across the continent and ten
| thousand miles farther across the sea
to keep a higher order of men from ac-
complishing the same thing in country
| that they have owned for a thousand
| years, a people whose condition Is su-
perior to that class of men the same peo-
! pie made the ruling factors in the south.
! The 18th, 14th and 18th amendments. to-
gether with the United States army, were
| thrust under the negro of our state ami
over our citizens for the purpose Of Civ
ing the negro a status that from the very
nature OF the case was impossible for
, him to fill Experiments can be made
in a hot house, eXotics under forced con-
ditions can be grown anywhere, but t
must be as an Individual. 1t can never be
done as a genus or a race Stalks of cot
ton can be grown in Massachusetts.
field of cotton cannot. Exceptions can
he grown so that they will be the intel
lectllal and moral equal of any one, but
the race to which the exception belongs
has not vet climbed that ladder
The experiment made by the federal