The National tribune., 1909-08-05
ONE VIEW OF THEeNEGRo PROB
LEM.
Capt. John T. CampReirs Method of
Solving II.

LEM.
Capt. John T. Campbelrs Method of
Solving II.
What shall be done with the negroes in
the United States: Something must be
done or the serious pr6bem will solve it
self. The negroes ares here and here to
stay. They did not come as 1ntruders or
self-invfted guests. as all others did, but
came as prisoners. BY the exigencies
of our great civil war. as a. reward for
their aid in winning t,lat war, we made
them equal citizens by our laws, but not
in the administration of these Jaws. They
are now one-ninth of our population.
Their increase outruns that of the aver
age of the Nation. They are rapidly
growing in knowledge. civilization, and
the acquisition of property. This fact
seems to widen and strain their relations
to the whites. A. ignorant slaves they
stupidity endured coarse, wanton insults.
As they become educated and refined. Il
pride and self-rcspect necessarily results.
and they resent insults and discourteous
treatment. This resentment provokes the
dominant race to increased insults. The
bars between the negroes and whites are
put up higher now than at the close OF
the civil war, and they are growing
higher and stronger. The whites do not
object to their presence as servants, but as
equal citizens they are obnoxious. Their
contact as servants is much closer than it
would be under political and social equal
ity.
Social equality is term much used, but
seldom defined. 1t is difficult to define ii
sharply The law does not specify social
rights and obligations. These are vOlun-
tary and changeable, sometimes suddenly
If black and white meet and each
gives half the road to the other, that Is
political equality rs far as it goes. II
each salutes and greets the other civiliy
that is social equality as far as it goes.
If white family makes a party and In
yites blacks and whites indiscriminately
to attend it, that is social equality as far
as it goes. If part of the. whites decline
to attend, or to be introduced to the
blacks, or in any way to recognize them
that is social inequality as far as it goes
and, right or wrong. the influential ele-
ment in the locality decides which color
must retire Nine times out of ten it VIII
be the blacks.
Public and private opinions. when
manifested by the same individuals, art
often as different as day is from night. ]
have known of instances where some ac
tion or movement was proposed to each
individual separately in locality, anc
three-fourths approved it. When called
into a public meeting and motion made
voted no. and the other fourth remained
silent. l have been one of the individ-
uals. Not knowing how many had been
interviewed and expressed private ap-
provaI, was afraid to mark myself fol
disapprObation of the others by voting my
private views. What was true Of me was
true of the great majority; We each actec
from the same motive.
Personal Experience.
I lived several years when young in :
strong Quaker settlement. They took the
Declaration Of Independence literally
They believed all men were created equa
and put their belief into PRACTICE. While
among them l got entirely over my preJu'
dice against sitting at the table and eatint
with negro. Only eight miles distan
was a solid settlement from Kentucky.
taught schsOi there one, Winter. There
was a negro family in that .neighborhoO,
with five children, three o. school age
These We're not alIowedto goito my school
tho / was very willing, indeed anxious
that they should, and so expressed myself
to a few persons. Tho people were shock
ed-yea, disgusted, at my st8nd, and thu
report stared on its round, growing as !
went till it soon became compound lie
sponsible. My views were so exaggerated
4 knew them not when thsy returned
While in that neighbprbooa, under IL
pressure, my aDti-negro prejudice revived
but never so strong as it originally hat
been. That is the way the Southern peo
pie convert the Northern people who set
tied among them. Returning to tn
Quaker settlement, my pro-negro senti
ment revived, and this time became con
scentious conviction ; and 1 have kept TIL
faith ever since, tho often under very try
ing circumstances. The negro woman il
the Kentucky settlement did work all owe
the neighborhood and was obliged TO TAX
her children along. They played VIII
the white children where they went, bu
it would never do for them to go to tn
same school and learn to read from tn
same book as the white children.
Then, why shall we respect such SILL
and unjust prejudice? Abraham Lincol
answered that question in his great de
bate with Douglas in 1858. Doagla
charged Lincoln with desiring negro socia
equality Lincoln denied it. Dougla
said if it is wrong to enslave them, it
right to free them. To free them an
maintain that freedom it is necessary t.
make them equal eli zens. and equal cit
zenship implies and leads to social equalit
| (and his logic was correct). Lincoln re
piled that there was a universal preJudtc
| in the United States against admittlG
the negroes to political and social equality
IL
| i'll founded. could not be safely disregarde'
| fand his logic was also cOrrect). Ina
prejudice still exists and is of late year
| increasing. The negroes of Spiinghelt
ILL.,, were not allowed to participate wit
the whites in the Lincoln Memorial exer
cises. While the people are celebratln
the birth of Lincoln they are repudlatin
the great cause on which his fame rests.
In some parts of our Pacific states, tn
Chinese are under a stronger ban than ar
the negros there. When we have educate
and refined people, it is far worse t
wound their feelings by cOntemptnou
treatment than it is to SO treat brutallZe
slaves Their lot is very hard. Wh
that is white would exchange places wit
th,, mast favored Of them? Only thos
who have their confidence know how bi;
terly they feel.
The SOutherner and tie Negroes.
;. 1t has become the expression in I'll
North TO say: 1.-The Southern whites III
derstand tire niger They can maIiae
him. Let them alone" Oh! we are ,
| allow the robber to deal with the ROBBIE
, Ordinary fools, even ought to know no
that would result. The spirit of the whit'
in the South is to down the negro and kee
him down. This spirit is well illustrate
in an episode OF some 10 years ago. Bool
; er Il. Washington iectured in Ind,anapol
and put up at the Hotel English. A gra:
widow was doing chamber work in th;
hotel, and was discharged for some reast
ii at that time. She gave it out to the pre-
that she was discharged BECAUSE she r
: Washington had slept sin.s That lite
. tad N 4