The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-31
EXCUSES MIR. HEFLN
FREsBYTERTAN SINISTER JUsTI.
 FTEs THE CONGRESSMAN.
Dr. sfagg of Birminghsm Says There k fs Nofhihg Excerutienaf in the sf rnc.dent--Nearc Treated
 Right 4f

Bfrminghams March 30.--(Special. )-- pr. J ". Stagg. pastor. of the largest Presbyterian Church In Birmingham and in North Alabama. today gave out ing by Congressman Hefiin of negro in fwashinEton, in which he says that the incident really amounts to noth-
 srhe Incident reaily amounts to nothing" said Dr.. StaEg. '"rhe coun- try is talking about 1t because Mir, Hefiin happens to be member of Con- gress from Alabama. What he did has been done thousand times in the South. and has always been provoked by the inscience of the negro who does not understand that liberty Is not H. cense.
 But suppose that we substitute a white man for the black man. and white drinking, swearing man, on a street car In the city of Washington in the presence of ladies, or a lady as the press reports insist upon having 1t. Under such circumstances any man is tustifable. whether he be born in the North or the South, in remonstrat- ing with him as Mfr. Hefiin did. and if necessary. pitch him off tine car. Then If he nakess q motion toward his hip pock ct. shoot him. Regardless of race 5or color. the offense justifles the ac- ton.
 You can find no better example of the precedence of the North, over the South in problem that doesn't belong to the North than In the speech deliv- cred by Mir. Carnegie last November at Edinborough, in which he laid down three laws for the survival of a race, wherein he said that the ability to propagate a race, desire for wealth and e oT the three lines on which every race has survived in the history of the world When he undertook to apply this academic deduction to the negro in America he found all his rules true but he did not discuss relative wealth. relative propagation. relative desire of education. which if he had discussed he would have found that the African if compared with the Anglo-Saxon is an African sti1l.
 "whereupon Lord Roseberry. accord ing to that strange Scotch custom. had very few words to say in introducing Mir. Carnegie and a great many words to say in bidding him farewell among which were these. That the philan- thropist in building libraries and help ing the charities of the world was great. and like the shoemaker would remain great. by sticking to his last. ,
 TBuL WnSn.i NIT. CATne6le, or anyone else, says that the race problem is on the laps of the Gods he will be met by every sensible man. such as Lord Rose berry is. with the reply: It Is in our hands.' All of (which means that Mr. Carnegie combined with Booker Wash ington. and the two plussed by the millions at, Tuskegee. can't stop the American people from insisting that soldiers at Brownsville. Texas. must act like soldiers and that a negro rid- ing on street car at Washington must act like a gentleman, and when a ne- gro curses on street car lie must be kicked off ffe
 In concluding his interview pr. Stagg related an ahecdote in regard to Dr. Hummer formerly one of the great preachers of Presbyterianism A ne- gro porter on a car. according to the story, attempted to assault Dr. Plum mer, who demonstrated with him. A lay member who was seated near pull ed a gun and started to shoot the ne- gro. Give the gun to me. my son." was the reply. of the minister.