The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-07-12
VIEWS OF THE MAJORITY
 IN ARBITRATION CASE

given them up. Everybody knows that Jufies award heavy damages when losses occur from the ineompetency of railway employees. The case of the Georgia rail- road was established by the evidence from that corporation alone. But besides the evidence of the Georgia railroad officials, the board of arbitration had before it also the testimony of officials of six other southern railroads All of them testified that experience extending back for years, embracing. of course, careful observation Tor long periods of all their firemen, justi- lied them in adopting and adhering to the policy of employing In part negro fire men. Never was a controverted fact more abundantly established by evidence than was the fact before the board of arbi- tration that the negro. when properly selected, will perform well all the duties of fireman. Some of the testimony was that negroes were more efficient than whites, because they endure better the heat of the climate. It further appeared from the evidence that more negroes than at present would be taken on as flremen by some of the companies were it not for a desire to train on each road certain number of firemen for engineers. No one of the companies makes negroes en. gineers, wisely drawing the line here, just as the people Of Georgia do when they elect to subordinate positions men whom they would not choose for supreme court judges-the politico-eeonomic ques- tion. If the negro is not competent to do the duties of firemen under the immediate supervision of a white engineer what Is he fit for? What are we to do with the 100000 negroes In the south? The able counsel of the firernen saw the ne- cessity of some reply to this question, and as l remember, he said they all should be sent to the fields. Of course, MT. Arnold has as high regard for the white farmer of the south, who works h h Is I. a.a1a r hnfr and n fl sure that he did not see all that his posi- tlon would imply Is the white farmer the only white man in the south with whom the negro is to be allowed to com pete? These white farmers and their friends, when appealed to for sympathy with these labor unions who wish to drive the negro out of other occupations should take notice of what all this means. For one, l should be glad If we never had had a negro In America. He has been the cause of unspeakable strife and blood- shed. He came, yet it was not his fault. He was brought here against his will and he served faithfully as a slave, es- pecially during the civil war. During re- construction days he played a sorry part. He was ignorant and credulous, and bad men, playing on his hopes and fears, pitted him against us in contest for so- cial equality and political supremacy. The white man won out, of course, and now
 
 races who grew up in the midst of that conflict became so bitter against each other that the young white man, with his superior intelligence, often finds it diff fcult to take dispassionate view of the situation before him. Still this Is what he ought to do. We of the south are in full control, and the negro, with whom We must deal, is here with us to stay. Thomas Jefferson was wise man. He favored emancipation, but thought 1t should be coupled with colonization of the negro abroad, because he feared a race war, as in San Domingo Other early southern statesmen thought likewise. Ab raham Lincoln, the south now recognizes as wise and good man. When he felt obliged, as military necessity, to issue his preliminary proclamation of emancipa- tion, sympathiZing with the south and fearing race trouble, he sounded, through his Secretary of State, Great Britain, France and the Netherlands, to know whether the United States could send freedmen to the British, the French or the Dutch West Indies. All these govern ments answered no. So did the Central and South American republics. All this appears in MT. Lncon's message to Con gross in December 1862
 The negro is here to Nay with us; there is nowhere to send him, and no money to transport 100000 of them, even If we could find for them a home. Can we, | then, satisfy the fears of Jefferson and Calhoun and Lincoln and live peaceably with the negro all over the south, in the black counties and In the white counties, during the long future that Is before us and our posterity? The experience of the last 10 years seems to show that we can, if only hereafter we continue, as hereto fore, to be just to the negro and allow him to work In callings for which he is fitted, and where he can get employment. If left to myself, I would strike out the conditions attached to the award of the majority of the arbitrators in the Geor- gia railroad case. We will not be doing justice to the negro If we allow one labor union become down from the north and exclude him from railroad work, then others to come and exclude him success sively from carpentering and blacksmith- ing and saw-milling and mining, etc.. un- til finally we shall have organizations in- terferring with even domestic service. 1 We all approve labor unions when they conflne themselves to their proper spheres. They have undoubtedly accomplished much good, but 1t Is difficult to see how public opinion at the south can approve their course when they come down among us to stir up strife between the races. The white man of the south has nothing to fear from competition with the negroes as we all believe the negro is not anywhere his equal. When idleness and crime are justly complained of against the negro 1t is strange that thoughtful men should aid In a movement to deprive him of work he Is fit forA This tends to take away from him all hope, all incentive to become a useful citizen, instead of burden on the community.
 This rapidly written communication has grown to some length but, seeing that an effort was being made in the Georgia | assembly to reverse a decision which I recently aided in rendering have felt q r,fx x~{xy aP II, 1 ons that influenced that award.
 HILLARY A