El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-11-24
ARIZONA FIGHTS
OVER COLOR LINE
Matter May Be Taken by
Negroes to the Supreme
Court

Phoenix. Ariz.. Nov. 24.-By tie
vote in the contention it has been de-
cided that there viii be no segreea-
ton as between white and negro chll-
dren in the public schools
Segregation in Arizona is thins OF
recent years. Until the last half OF the
present decade it was not thought OF
because the negro element in the
population was almost a cipher Since
then, however, there has been RAPID
Increase in the negro population unllI
today he is a force in politics and mas
a large church and social organlza-
ton So strong is he in phoenix thdI
until the election for delegates 10 the
constitutional convention he held the
balance of power in all elections And
II j even more significant that the
only ward in Phoenix dominated by a
negro is the only ward that voted 1oF
Republican delegates TO the constltu-
ticnal convention, whereas the WARDS
are nominally Republican in all cleo
tons
a few months ago Phoenix got be-
hind a legislative measure and secured
the right to segregate public school
children Of the Caucasian and AFRICAN
races The city then built splendld
school for the negro children and Sc
cured two teachers
Negro leaders here are with no ex-
ception childless They with one voice
spoke highly of the school and urged
parents to patronize 1T, but. at flrsI
to no purpose. For weeks the two ne
gro teachers employed by the city sal
all dav facing empty seats, while re-
ngiousIy each morning negro children
aarlied at white schools for admit
tamce and were refused
The negro however, at last learned
that if his race was to receive any
benefit from education, it would
among other ways, be as teachers.
Then IT dawned upon him that the two
teachers which the city had en-
Moved for his special benefit would
b., discharged unless their scho.;' was
p:.tronizec Then there was a notl"e-
able attendance and today the negro
scnuol in Phoenix is well patronize l.
There are still rlany, however, VINO
ohiec. i.ecause they are denied he
r:-h: to send their children to schools
with " ite children, and these have
M. city refused to con into the
fold they had consistently kept the
mater il, the courts and II IS highly
probable tnat the case will &C - the
SUPREME court of tie United States If
that bcdy will consent to hear it.
Now tat the CON entIon has, ey or
" lie vote Gin order TO enact
proposition into law in the convention
It must carry beaten the segregation
Idea. these negroes who oppose segre-
gar.au are more than over anxious %
fight O.: the question in the courts.
Therefore, by this act the convention
has I.ossibly given TO Arizona a heri-
tagc Of litigation which was by 20
manner OF means in the minds of sae
delegates when they voted as tn ~
Gid
The chief objection to the segrega-
tion idea that developed upon the
floor of the convention was that it
Eas properly a legislative function
md therefore, had no place within
tho constitution While friends of
aggregation admitted that this was
well taken, and that there is already a
iew =; Arizona. providing for segrega-
tioa, they urged that the presence Of
the provision within the constitution
would have a tendency to settle the
question once and for all and pave the
ray for that other big question which
Is sooner or later to make its appear
ance in Arizona-the segregation of
the white and the yellow races for
school purposes
During the last u months the Jap
anese population of the Salt River
Valley has increased almost a hundred
fold That would not mean much of
itself for there were only a handful
here year ago, but these tell of
more to come, from California and
even from beyond the Pacific
That this question, the segregation
Of the japanese is bound to come is
a foregone conclusion among most of
the members of the convention as well
as among a majority of the territory's
public men-