Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1908-02-15
from more than a hundred rostrums
He is quoted further:

The greatest friend the South
ern Negro Is likely TO have is the
broad-minded Southern white man
who sympathizes with the colored
man ard knows his value to the
South Nor is Il unreasonable to
hope that the men who have already
sought 20 come within the law and
avoid violence will ultimately see
the wisdom and righteousness of the
equal enforcement Of the law OF eli
gibility against white and black
Secretary Taft said ne was confident
that. in the end, the fifteenth amend
ment will prove TO be a bulwark
equally beneficial with that of the
thirteenth and fourteenth amend
ments TO an unfortunate, down-trod-
den. struggling race. "
Here then is a positive declara-
ton. In declaring that the greatest
friend the Southern Negro is likely
20 have is the broad minded South
ern white man who sympathizes with
,ne colored man and Knows his value
90 che south. Secretary Taft elimi-
mates not only himself. but President
Roosevelt rs wen. Neither of them,
according to this phase of reasoning
could be termed OF classed as the
best friend of the Southern Negro.
But what about the Northern Ne
gro. Secretary Taft? What kind Of
white men are his best friends2
There race prejudice is as lacking I'm
many places among the Democrats
as among the Republicans. A man
is recognized as q man and the plat
form OF The Democratic Party is as
silent on The race question as is the
platform Of the Republican Party.
Who is The best friend OF the North
oru Negro, Secretary Taft?
In order to emphasize the truth
fulness of what The distinguished
statesman says. we desire to call att
teution TO- the fact that when the al
legged shooting up" of Brownsville
took place August rs. 1906. certain
colored soldiers of the United states
Army were placed under arrest and
turned over TO Che civil authorities.
a Texas grand jury composed me-
cessarily of white Texas Democrats
failed to- find a true bin against the
accused men for want OF sufficient
evidence and the soldiers were dis
charEd from the custody OF the state
officials. Althou-h the War Depart
meut by way OF Secretary Taft and
President Roosevelt did not have
one scintilla more evidence TO 20.
upon than did tte Texas authorities.
&C. proceeded at once 20 summarilyI
convict an of the soldiers of COM
panics b. G and ID of the Twenty
18th Infantry and without court
martial. as required by the Revised
Statutes. but by executive order pro-
cceded To demand that the soldiers
plead guilty. and upon failure so to-
DO Kicked" them out OF the army.
the alleged guilty with the admit
tedly innocent
Not satisfied with this the Presl-I
dent of the United States proceeded
TO call rhom liars, and murderers.
men who had disgraced the uniform
of The nation and he followed am oil
them into private NE with an exec
utive order barring them from ever
re-enlisting i'm the army or navy oil
OF the United States or from holdingI
civil or political Office.
I'm this 60 may be well to- state that
Secretary Taft heartily concurred.
and his message is now in the arr
chives of Che government at Wash
ington. President Roosevelt is im-I
petuous, but Secretary Taft is al
jurist. Further comment as TO the
relative degrees OF responsibility OF
the two statesmen is unnecessary.
Now. then. squared by Secretary
Tafts previous utterances it would
seem that the Black Battalion found
more Justice in a Democratic Texan
grand jury than it did in a Republi-
can President and a Republi-
can Secretary Of War. It seems too
that there We're more friends Of the
Negro below the Mason and Dixon
Line than there We're above it.
Still, under President Roosevelts
leadership the representatives Of the
South as allies have come TO the sup
port OF the Rooseveltian clans of the
North and as result if a vote IS
reached, his policy in this instance
~'il be sustained by the combination
OF the Negro hating interests artag-
onistic 10 our welfare.
Let us presume rhat Secretary
Tafts policy of leaving it to time
and the liberal minded white men
of the South had been adopted with
reference TO slavery. Wouldn't sla-
very now be in existence in this
country?
We do not need condolences. We
need remedies We need a Presi-
dent who will see as much beinous-
ness in depriving a tax-paying citi-
zen OF his right TO vote IN South