The Washington bee., 1908-04-25

Q
/ be superior, and IN many cases as
sumed position entirely unjustiha-
bic in Christian brotherhood.
The progress that the colored race
is making furnishes ground for en-
oouragement that l think we will
have a right to feel. As they demon
strate their value to themselves and
to the whole community they earn a
position which is accorded to them
not because Of sympathy with them
1t is not sympathy but justice that
you want. When you compel a re
spect and appreciation of your value
as citizens, then you will get justice.
The only course you can take TO bring
about proper respect between the rae
es is to make it to the interests of the
white race to accord to the colored
race that position it is entitled TO
have"
Rev. a. J. Cary of Chicago, one
OF the party of colored men, inform
ed Mr.. Taft that the impression had
gone abroad that he was in sympathy
with the disfranchisement of the col
ored people in the South.
mot in the slightest" responded
Secretary Taft MY position is this,
that the Southern men are obliged to
keep within the Constitution, and if
they choose to do so under the Fed
eral Constitution they have the right
to impose an educational or property
qualification Therefore neither the
colored nor white race in the North
has a right to complain, provided the
law which is imposed shall be equally
enforced against both races. That is
my position"
eve don't object to that" said Mr.
Cary, "and we are ready to support
/ any man for the presidency who will
endeavor to see that this is done. OF
course, it is not done"
"Of course, it is not, continued
Mr. Taft 4 have said so before
and will reiterate it now. If yor
will read my speeches you will see
OF course, if you take a part OF {
speech and leave out two or three sen
tenceS, as some of the gentlemen VIII,
have not been quite as willing tc
bring out the truth as they might
have done in circulating parts of my
speeches, my attitude may be mis-
understood. If you will refer to m,
speeches at Brooklyn, Tuskegee and
Greensboro you will see that this Is
my position. don't want to criticisc
the white citizens of the South so
long as they remain within the Con-
StitutiOn, but in applying that rule
they have no right to make the slight
est discrimination with respect to the
ignorance of the white men as COM
pared with the ignorance of the col
ored men, for they both have to be
excluded on the same ground. When
they do that you have no right to
complain. I don't think you will find
that | am in the slightest degree lack
ing in accord with you on that sub
ject"
The members of the delegation nod
ded their assent, and the Secretary
continued: THE truth is, that they
are most anxious to get within the
law who realize that a continuance of
fraud and violence in the disfran-
chisement of colored voters where
white voters ought equally to be dis
tranchised, saps the moral foundation
OF the moral young white men. They
cannot be dishonest in one thing and
have the moral virus creep into their
veins in everything else I believe
they are coming to the point where
the law will be enforced equally
against both and where the colored
men who have property or education
will be given all the rights they are
entitled to under the law that is con-
stitutional. These grandfather claus
es are not constitutional, in my judg-
ment.
Then again, law may seem to be-
legal on its face and be enforced by
an election officer in such a way that
when a colored man comes up he will
put lot OF questions to him about
tho GO,,e+,R,,t.o., 49,