The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-02-28
AN UNFORTUNATE MOVE.
Bringing Up the Negro Question in c,

SrtngInG Up the Negro Question in CoA- Washington Special to Savannah News. The injection of the negro question into the coming campaign for members of Com gress by bringing up the Jim Crow car pro- vision in Congress is considered exceeding " unfortunate by the most far seeing and Ievel,headed of the Democrats. It Is an apt illustration though. of what some Washington wit has said. that the Demo- cratic party is like a nergo brass band; ev- cry body wants to play Inc cornet.
 There was not the slightest probability thai either the House or the Senate would pass law requiring separate street cars For the two races in the District of Colum- bia and if by some miracle such a bill should get through the Congress at this time, t would afford the one best possible opportunity that President Roosevelt is look ing for to Feinstate himself into the good graces of the negroes. He would prompt ly veto the bill with ringing message to Congress, which would make every negro in the United States forget all about Browns vile and shout loud for Roosevelt. It may even be considered most probable that Rep resentative Burleson from Texas was right when he declared that if a secret ballot could be got on the question there would not be five votes against it, but everybody in that House knew full well that on such question there could be no such a thing as a secret ballot.
 Representative Sims. a wise man from Tennessee, who Is a member of the District Committee, and Democrat of the staunch. est type as well as a Southerner of the old School expressed the views of the far-see- House debating such question We might debate this question from now till dooms- dav.' said MT. Sims. and 1t would nut change a vote. Every Republican would vote against 1t and every Democrat would vote for it. So let us put through this Street railway bill. and some other timo when we are on general debate and have more time let us thrash out the negro ques- tion even If we have to thrash one another out"
 It was found. though, when the final vote was taken that not all the Democrats voted for It. Four Northern Democrats vol sd against if. and a number of others did not vote at all.
 If there was no chance to pass it. what was the use in bringing 1t up? is the ques. ton being asked, and the answer lies only in the remark about every mans wanting to play the cornet.
 The unfortunate part about 1t is that for once since Abraham Lincoln issued his emancipation proclamation, there appeared a chance to get the negroes in at least some of the Northern states out from under the spell by the continued demagogy of the Re- publican party wherein they have been fooled into believing that the party does Republican leaders themselves have reauZ- ed that all over the North the negroes are beginning at last to see that the Repub- licans are no better friends than the Dem ocTats and that they must hold the power they have, which is the balance in a nun ber of districts. casting their votes for or against the ones who seem their friends And it has been pretty 9enerally agreed among the negroes of many of these dis fricLS that they VIII vote dBAlnSt Nne fe- publican ticket. not because they love tho Democrats but because they are beginning to get on to the hypocriicy of the Repub- licans.
 In these Northern districts there are thousands of negro voters yho do not vote at all. They will not vote the Democratic ticket because there Is a deep prejudice against tho Democrats especially in the minds of those negroes who have gone into the North. TlSey will vote the Republican ticket if they vote at all. But this year they had about decided to stay away from the polls; that Is, unless the price of votes is considerably raised and that will not be the case. for the Republican barrel is not going to be big this year. This Jim Crow" business. which is all an effort to plsr the cornet. may send every one of them % the polls to vote the Republican ticket. because the Republican members who stood up and proclaimed the rights of the black man and denounced the South for i'll treatment andN all that sort of thing will have some mighty thunder to go before the negroes on in their districts next sum- mer and fall.
 It was an interesting debate of course; any discussion of the race question or Df any other social question by the Congress of the United States is interesting. espe- oially If 1t is by a great number of men, Northerners on one side and Southerners m other.