The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-01-01
RACE PREJUDICE BUT
NOT HATRED IN SOUTH
Senator Johnston Discusses the Negro
Problem in All Its Bearings Civ
ing the Race Full Credit for
All accomplishments.

Boston. December Ex-senator Joseph
Forney Johnston of Alabama, the success
sor of the late Senator Pettus, and whose
commissions in hand insure him a seat in
the Senate until 1915. made notable adj
dress tonight at the Algonquin club, the
largest club in Boston. The distinguished
southerner discussed the negro problem
with unusual frankness.
Senator Johnston said in part:
Il have been requested to say some
| thing tonight on the negro question.
feel some delicacy in doing this. as my
information only covers period of about
so years. During the war between the
| states the men who seemed most capable
of directing the movements of our armies
were those remote from the front, and
/ their judgments became more infallible
according to the squares of their distances
! from the firing line
When we consider the present condi-
| tion of the negro we must admit that our
efforts in the recent past have not been
rewarded as we had hoped small per
| cent of them are pursuing an upward
! course, the remainder are either stations
/ ary or descending toward lower levels.
| Prof. Du Bois, one of the ablest of Amer
lean negroes, says: Laziness and pro-
miscuous sexual intercourse are the be-
setting sins of the lower class; that we
are diseased and developing criminal ten
denotes and an alarming per cent of our
men and women are impure
Tendency To Crime.
THE tendency of the negro TO crime is
| one of the chief causes of the tidal wave
! now sweeping over the south. compelling
White men to put aside their hostility, to
sumptuary laws and accepting prohibi-
| ton to check this tendency.
| Bulletin No. Of the last Census shows
/ the enormous disproportion of crime be-
| tween the white and the black man. 1t
! is shown that the negro in the gulf
| states is six times as criminal the
| white man. 1t may be said that the ne
| gro does not get justice in the south, Sut
! the same bulletin shows that in Pennsyl-
| vania the same ratio is shown: in Ohio
! he is eight times, and in Michigan ten
| times the criminal that the white man
! is. and in the whole north there are II
! white prisoners to 10000 white inhabi-
| tants and 60 negroes to 10000 colored in
| habtants. So our courts cannot be i'm
| peached and the northern courts escape
| censure The consequences of criminalty
| and immortality are shown in decreas-
| ing birth rate and increasing death rate.
THE efforts at education that have
1
ciently moral and Industrial lines. and I
| am persuaded will have to be modified.
| Racial Accomplishments.
What has this race accomplished?
| They entered the race of life with the
| white men according to the scriptures.
| If the men of Massachusetts of this
| day are not ready to accept the state
! ments of that great boolS-the revelation
| of God to man, the book that inspired
| Pilgrim IN n ha hair
| homes and people and seek settlements
in the new world, and to meet its dan
| gers, hardships and privations so cour-
! ageously. If the men of this day prefer
| TO believe in evolution. then the negro.
| being nearer the primordal CELL is more
| ancient than the white man.
Now compare the careers of these two
| races. See the continuing procession of
| illustrious lawsivers, statesmen authors
| divines, soldiers, scientiests artists, in
| Ventors, of the white race conquering
new worlds in every field unfolding the
| laws of nature and giving government
and laws to the great nations, and in all
the history of the black man. for 400
| years, show me a single man of that
| race. of the full blood, who stood at th.
head of any pursuit in life. 1t is said
| that the door of opportunity has not been
| opened to him. When the white man
| finds door closed he does not wait for
someone to open. but unlocks it himself
or tears ii from its hinges.
No Race Hatred.
rs there race prejudice in the south?
Yes, but not race hatred. There is no
spot on the earth where the Anglo
Saxon comes into contact with the brown
or black race that he does not dominate
IT, Take India. where Great Britain, with
less than $1,000 soldiers, has governed SoO.-
100000 of these people one-thrd of all
the inhabitants OF the world. for 130 years.
is II thinkable that $1,000 soldiers, or 1.OOO,-
go soldiers, OF any race of people on
earth, could govern and dominate the
soOoo,00o of Americans in this country?
us there no race prejudice in the north?
If not, why do not the races intermarry?
why do we not find a single negro in
the Senate or House at Washington or
governor of a single state in the north?
Our national administration is certainly
not unfriendy to the negro and vet
after 40 years. do we find single one in
the army or navy. commissioned Off
Ger having the smallest command of
mea2
Unfathomable Chasm,
Mr.. Meredith Townsend, whose book
on Asia and Europe. now in its third
edition, after 80 years of the study of
this problem in India, says. the chasm
now between the brown man snd the
white is unfathomable; has exisSed in
all ages and that no white man saar-
ries a brown wife without an innate
sense of having been false to sonse
unintelligible but irresistible command
and further, there is no corner of Asia
whore the life of a white man. If .un-
protected by force. actual on poten-
tial is safe for an hour. AMI that
there is no Asiatic state Which IL it
were prudent would not eAl el him
at once and forever; and tat after
130 years the prejudice is de-. u than
ever and the objection u n.e ,ar-
riage stronger than of ole.
Now. / suppose every stuaelt - his
tory will admit that the brown man
is intellectually infinitely superior to