The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-07

say so; but so long as he, observes the ordinary amenities of good sense and of neighborly behavior he is as free
 as S think m y a so.an anS ~tf of ike s as sns may ma be be- pardoned. may say that was born, in Sebastian County, Ark. and sou.h seas for aays the 0sss greater paas Of what active life--a life particularly active in reference to the educational and economic issues which affect the Montgomery. Ala. in- the heart of the Black Belt of the South. have agreed with me: many have disagreeo: but ! have never been able to detect Tn the ther trace of intolerance than one mirbt find fin any like community any where: no man could have as ms neighbors a more generous or con siasrsts rhs ssolpssiIed psIpIdd "southern minority. desires none of the appellaions oI martyrSom. It is inevitable that tne cause of our common progress e pro gress sauareiy inclusive of poth our popuIations) should meet misapprenens Sion and opposition. We propose sauareIy to join battle with this op- position upon every issue It may present. We wish the whole South 70 oo forward, not merely in the interest oS the negro or in the sole Interest or inc white man. but in the interest or the South and of our country.
 Those, however, who so desire are many in number. and are so far from being a defeated remnant of "brave southerners" that 1t would be pre- sumptuous for me. or for any one man, to attempt to represent them. They are. indeed, upon the testimony of one of athe Bouth's'' severest critics. "a minority no longer. Said pr. Albert Bushnell Hart, professor in Harvard University, in report of recent jour neys into the Southern States (The North American Review. July. 1903. pp. SO, 6t.)
 That there is an element in the South, numerous and outspoken. which distinctly hates the negro. would like to drive him out of the country. and, failing that wants to keep him in condition of economic dependence. is shown by the speeches, and articles of few recognized champions of white supremacy, and still more by the ex- pressions of a multitude of white men who live in the midst of negroes. The assistant manager on plantation, whose livelihood depends on raising a good crop, Is exasperated because the negroes do not produce more, and has nothing but i'll to say of them; but alongside this class stands a great OOuJ OA bhhhthB 0CaShCfh pcOpaos WHo seek the elevation of both races and especially of that which needs 1t most not only on philanthropic and religious grounds, but because they believe that the prosperity of the South depends on developing more efficient labor. There Is great cohort of plantation owners, large employers. progressive and pub lic-spirited members of bench and bar, enlightened clergy. college professors. thoughtful business men, who believe, as much as the negro hater. that the race is inferior to the white race, which jisclaims and abhors a mixture of the races yet which expects the negro to remain. to improve. and to help to build up the community. At present that element seems to be dominant in the South"
 yY4 deed. is not the assumption that the South." after forty years of the emancipated negro. Is still just bald ly and literally a South of Iynchers and Legrees the most terrible indict- ment we could bring against the neg TO. against the program of progress against the whole policy of emancina l. lions. Is not the kindly. generous. ana cooperating South (the South which everybody knows to be more activeIv alive today than ever) the noblest anI happiest Justification of the policy of freedom:
 Edgar Gardner Murphy.