The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-10-19
RACE QUESTIONS IN AFRICA.
A Prophecy Of Coming Struggle Be.
tween Black and White.

two white races south of zambesi.
says the Pail Mall Gazette. The domi.
nant question IN the south OF tho
Dark continent is no longer the pre-
dominance Of Boer or Briton,. but OF
white or black, and whether II materi.
alizes in the form OF vast armed or
political struggle the outlook Is al
most equally serious. ~
To begin with, there is south Of the
Zambesi to-day native population OF
10,000.000 and a white population OF
under 100000. Moreover, the blacks
not ony shoy no signs of dlminuitlon,
but are steadily increasing and al
much faster rate than the whites
Probably for all time the natives In
South Africa must enormously pre-.
ponderate, a result which the white
man himself has and is still doing
much to promote. For In the olden
days tribal wars. TO say nothing OF
pestilence and famine, served largely
to counterbalance native proliflcness.
These checks to native increase are
now removed. War no longer peri.
ndically ,decimates the populations.
while the white mans arts OF civi.
lizatlon have deprived both famine
and pestilence of their former power.
Consequently the native IN an CIT
vironment of peace and plenty hes
paid a cordial obedience, to the divine
admonition to increase and multiply,
while the white. whether by neutral
increase or immigration. has added
to his numbers but slowly. Thus we
are faced today by the broad fact that
pitted against a limited white popu.
latlon is practically unlimited and
virile black population, which. under
the influence of civilization and edu.
cation. Is becoming each year n more
formidable element, aud, If unrc,
strained. must inevitably undermine
the very foundations of white su.
premacy.
There are two great factors at work
among the natives of South Africa to.
day the one political. and. at pres.
ent, although growing, limited I'm It's
expression; the other quasi.religious,
that Is TO say frankly nationalist, ami
operating Throughout the country. This
last is essentially anti.whlte, and ag
ovinced by it's most recent cbulitlon
In Natal. may yet he responsible for
deluging South Africa in blood. TIE
outlook Is gloomy and depressing
enough, but in direct proportion to
It's menace IL the hope for the future
good relations OF British and Dutch.
There Is one CLEAN of sunlight
through the blackness of the horizon.
For, bitter as Is the feud between
the two white races today, rivalries.
iealonsles, and differences of all kinds
will bo swept away by the growing
realization that only by presenting a
solid and united front to the oil.
coming hordes of superfcially civil
li2ed blacks can they hope to escape
nnnlhilatlon.
OF the two ways In which this
struggle may be carried on. open war
IN spite of the suffering II would en-,
tall, would be fraught with less peril
to the white man than the political
pressure of black power upon the ma
chinery of government Something Of
the serious nature OF this question
may be gathered from the present
state OF things in the Southern States
OF North America. But the dlfliculty
presented by the relatively insignili.
car' numDer OF negroes In the United
States will be as nothing compared
with that which will face the white
races of South Africa when confronted
with the enormous black population
south OF the Iambesi
To-day the majority OF these natives
are In n semi-savage condition But
we must accept the fact that a day
Will come when they will have
emerged from that condition and have
attained the degree OF civilization
which prevails among the negro kin.
dred in the United States. Indeed, the
process of evolution Is already i'm op.
Grafton. The native peoples are awak.
ening from their slumber of centuries,
and there is no more remarkable feat.
ure of their awakening than the al.
most Unsuitable thirst for knowledge
which consumes them II Is a sig,
nillcant fact that during the last
decade 60 per cent. of the children
annually attending school in Cape
Colony have been colored, and only
40 per cent white; while in a recent
Cape Government Education Report
the actual number of children receiv.
ing education In the public schools
OF the colony were 91,3l3 colored and
G0,S49 white Cape Colony and the
territories are literally peppered with
notive schools the territories alone
having several hundreds, while the cry
OF every native petition to govern
ment Is olive MS more education"
The native schools are manned by
aboriginal teachers, men who have
passed one or other of the Cape UNI.
versity qualifying examinations, ana
who display no lack of intelligence IN
their work, but who have undoubtedly
become infected with that polticore.
ligious movement known as Ethiopi,
anism, which has done, and is stin
doing, more than any other influence
TO inspire the native with national.
istic spirit of covert hostility to the
white men as all intruder upon the
gAH ~ the hIaoly ,onag