The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1909-12-09
III jlsA6HISsTON,s sGIsS6A1s
s. I, laST SRsVICE. !. ~ q. Il g


harmony, mutual respect. and Justice
he Is performing patriotic servict
which it would be hard to overesti
mate. One Of the foremost white
educators now at work in the south
exclaimed. on hearing OF the detail,
of Mr.. Westinghouse recent tri1
through Tennessee: "Now 1 believe
there is going to be a revolution IL
! the south In favor of the Negro" o.
the fifty thousand persons who, &C
'cording to the estimate Of the spe.
cial correspondent of this newspaper
with Mr.. Washington attending his
meetings. nearly one-half were white
and In every case he was received
With an enthusiasm which would
have turned the head Of any less bal
, anced and sagacious leader.
Lest We be accused of exaggeratior
we would remind our readers that
Judge Floyd Estill, at Winchester
Tennessee, introduced Washington
the Negro, once a homeless and desti-
tute wanderer, as fine type Of the
true southern gentlemen; that Judge
J. H. Price, another typical southern
er of high position, classed Booker
Washington with the first President
with Thomas Jefferson, Madison
and Monroe, Lee and other Virginia
worthless, as among that states most
distinguished sons; and that Judge
J. NJ. Steen of the Circuit Court In
troduced Mr.. Washington with these
, WORDS:
1--WE believe that as the patriarcns
of old were inspired by God to lead
their people out of darkness into
light, to guide them on the right
road to right living and success, so he
who Is to speak to us tonight is in
spired to lead his race to higher, bet
ter things. But his message Is not
for you alone. 1t is not alone for
this city or this state. BY helping
You he helps us; by helping you he
helps every man, woman and child
in all this broad land of ours"
All OF this is enough to make any
man accustomed to the rawlings of the
frebrand lecturer OF the Tillman or
der, rub his eyes and ask whether q
revolution is not actually at hand.
Yet these compliments to MIR. Wash
ington by such men of prominence
ought not to surprise u.s. 1t is Just
the better self of the south coming
to the front. Men like the judges
we have quoted have come to gee
that if the races are to live in peace
and comfort, the Negroes, who are
who are laboring in Mr..
Washington's spirit, must be sus-
tanned and upheld. More and more,
too, men of standing are bound to
recognize the obligation the south
owes to the Negro. Speaking at
Brownsville in Mr.. Washington s
presence, Judge John R. Bond, of the
Tennessee Circuit Court said: Il
was born and reared here in the
south, and have associated all my
life with Negroes. I feel that as a
southern white man | owe debt to
the Negro l can never repay" His
gratitude was specially for the way
in which the Negroes protected and
cared for the white women and chill
dren who were left at home during
the war. But there is even a higher
and more sacred obligation than that
the duty of caring for the back
ward race because it is backward,
and Of helping it onward and upward
A man who would injure a defective
or crippled child must be an utter
outcast from society; the time WIFI
come when all nations will take q
similar attitude toward those human
beings who are handicapped, particu,
larly If, as in the Case of our Negro
their plight is largely no fault of
their own.
To this quiet but ever present ap
peal the true southern gentleman is
bound to respond because he has a
heart, because essentially he believe:
IN fair play, and because he is a1
American. Further proof Of this
lies in the space given to Mr.. Wash
1ngton's trip in South Carolina, ii
Virginia, in Mississippi, and now in
tennessee, by the newspapers 81
those sections. The Tennessee press
has yielded to Mr.. Washington it,
first pages and reported his speeches
IN full, even where the proceeding
called for four or moe columns. Al
Charleston, last winter, the prominent
editors joined the Mayer in welcoming
the colored orator; in Tennessee The
cditors have sat upon his platforms
More than tn; /, the Memphis Com
1nercial-Appe = has recently honorec
itself and its p ofesSlol by instruct
ing its correspondent to bear dowr
as lightly as possible on Negro crime
and to say as much as possibl. abLu
Negro bettermcnt. The Nashyjjt
BaLner ib aa).1;r jor1na| that II
dom : its bost to bc Just to the NH.,rt
and trying not to lay undue stress
upon the crimes Of the rascals wht
unfortunately disgrace their race
just as there are plenty of white mel