The Washington herald., 1909-02-28


fund alone an amount greater than his
total Of taxes.
Regarding Negro Vote.
The South has never believed. and never
win believe. that the negro should have
been given the right to vote before ne
was fully equipped to measure to the re-
sponsi5ility OF suffrage. There are thou
sands Of Southerners who feel that II
Lincoln had lived he would not have per
mitted this 10 occur or would have re-
stricted it 10 conform with the South's s
views.
In order 10 meet the threatening ballot
Of the ignorant negro. the voters Of the
South we're forced to stand shoulder TO
shoulder They did this in the Ku KIux
Klan-their first move to prevent the
negro from prevailing at the polls. Later
the white Democratic primary was
evolved. In this primary the white
/ Democratic voters decided on man 10
be supported by al Democrats az the
regJaar election. For years this plan
was followed with satisfactory results
+ Then came a period OF agitation and IN
rest Such talk as flooded TIE North
about the force bin and the Foraker
fashion OF uniformed and irritating
speech spurred the South 70 activity.
To-day the majority Of the Southern
states have passed disfranchIsement laws
{ that seem successfully TO defy reversal by
the Supreme Court. Because there IS an
( educational clause in these laws the ne
gro ballot is for the present restricted
more than ever. and the uneducated
white man has only to prove that MS
grandfather fought in the civil war
The white primary and the fErther and
more recent attempt TO eliminate the Ne
gro vote are the two big forces 10 con-
sider in this evolution that may result IN
tbreaking the solid South Let Us in
quire into these separately First, the
white primary;
Little StateSmanShip There.
The white Democratic primary-an evil.
but until now perhaps. a necessary evil
+ has literally squeezed the South dry OF
( the sap Of craftsmanship. snd there has
/ sprung up horde or shrewd. short
Z sighted politicians who would sufHocate-
two az the time-under the cloak Of any
+ one Of those great men Who when living
were At home in the White House or for
merry strobe in the aisles Of Senate and
Z House had ard shoulders above their
{ fellows from other sections
The walls Of The SOU1h-s gallery. OF
+ statesmen are to-day fun tC overfiovi5g.
+ but her legislative halls are empty Let
rs say that the golden blaze OF an era Of
commerce necessarily dwarfs the intel
. loctusl renaissance, but also Jet us be
. fully frank and see the blight that the
white Democratic primary has put on our
political buds and so prevented their fun
. fruitage.
+ II what manner docs this primary show
I its power 70 rot the S9utn's statesman
ship an1 50 rob her OF her long held
power and prestige For example: IN
IA primary for the Democratic nouina-
tion the race is between Democrats for
+ selection by Denocrats-ard the result
3 means an election. In nine cases our 0f
( ten there is no iSsue-no platform save
+ Democracy-and. as in the two recent
I gu5eTnatOriaI primaries IN Georgia. the
( result is an outpoUring OF personal abuse.
/ vicious cartooning. and 4 flow OF bill
/ tngsgate that would make fsh-wife
+ faint from pure ecstasy; the physical de-
( iciencies Of an opponent are denounced
from the platform with all the vigor OF
ett aAAafaal I-A NNtflr AN-aNLL4UAN-
trust and
Not one step forward is taken IN the
1 path Of educating the people IN issues
that confront them. in the problems and
. perpieZities OF our more-Jhan-ever com
I pIicated machinery Of the government
Needs Of joint Debate.
I Imagine the difference r Republicans
and Democrats could begin 20 meet n
the South in joint debate in a race for
the governorship OF for a seat in Con
gress- Tariff. trust curbing. national
/ banking laws postal savings banks
colonial problems. canal conditions. for
eign relations. immigration. and a score
more Of interesting and vital questions
would be exploited. and in the minds Of
many young men there would be I'M
planted the seed OF ambition and knowI-
the South has been the home Of the
statesman as Virginia was once the
I mother OF Presidents
50 the primary. benevolent in its out
ward aspects and first intentions. has
driven the big vital issues out Of the
j peoples grasp and the platform IS made
the place for the airing Of vulgar jocu-
I larity and personal spite with q slim
filler Of patriotism a Ia fub-dub.
/ This brings us to the disfrauchise-
ment Of the negro. the very best and the
I very worst move that a Southern State
could make
Tf on the one hand the South has beer
I unfair TO the negro in disfranChisemelt
or the other. in our method AZ least
80 I--
Z iliterate white voter Not many unedu-
Gated Southern whltes-voters and soon
Y lto-be-votersT See where Georgia or Ala
hama OF South Carolina stands in per
i centage Of iIliteracy.
The educational restriction put on thf
I negro has proved 10 him a stimulus tC
acquire an education. And he is going tC
get Z. Often he may not be able 20 reach
10 calculus and Greek and Just as Otter
when he can he Is Obacxtous, but that IS
beside the question he can and vii
learn his three Rs; and while the negro
is fitting himself for suffrage. there
safely sheltered by the -gTand-daddy'
/ clause. is sitting the 1literate white voter
whistling and whiting and forgetting
that even gTandfathers though dea5
soon become great-grandfathers Will.
the grandson becomes Impossible as ar
ancestor
Must Educate Whites.
Logically. this means that within the
next fifteen or twenty-five years the
negro armed with his ballot and carrying
his educational credentials, viii inquire &
his vote IS ripe-snd il viii be And tht
white illiterate voter2 He has doubled
the South's burden-or rather by the dis
franchisemont Of the negro. the uliteratt
white VII have been made a double bur
den in his ignorance and lack Of ambi.
ton. for the method has not only kepi
the white man a a StSndStill. but he car
no longer count against a black vote
II is because this situation ia being
realized tIst tle diSfranchiSement sct
may be termed the best and the worst