The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1910-05-19
Negro
Suffrage /
WAS DlSCUSSED by ABLE SPEAK
EliS BEFORE NATIONAL Me-
..-- GRO COMNIITrrEE,- a.
DiS't!lrlanchisement II
Is held responsible for discrimina-
ton in division Of public school
funds and Morrill, fund is Suid'tO
. be disproportionately allotted.

New York. May 16-Disfranchise-
ment and its resultant determinations
against the Negro were discussed at
the second annual meeting of the Ma
tional Negpo Committee, which con
cluded three days session here Sat
urday night
Among those who took part. in the
discussions were DR.. w. e. B. Dubois,
of Atlanta University; Dr.. Horace
-Bumstead,- former president of Allan
"a University; Justice Wendell Phillips
Stafford, of the Supreme Court Of the
District Of Columbia; Hon. A. E. Pills
bury, ex-attorney general of Massa-
chusetts; Moorefield w. Story, Bos-
ton; Mrs. Ida B. Wells Barnett, Chi
ciga;. Rev. John Haynes Holiness
Clarence Darrow, the socialist lawyer;
Rev. DR.. R. G. Ransom, Of New York;
Congressman Bennett. Of New York;
Prof. Albert Bushnell Hart, Of Har-
ward University; Prof. Franz Boaz.
Dr. Du Bois, in an address telling
Of some of the many determinations
disfranchisement has caused. traced
the history of Negro suffrage, it's cur
tailment, and of the shameful lack of
public school facilities for the colored
children of the South. He said that
the colored voters came into power
in South Carolina in 1868 and that the
first and greatest gife of Negroes to
South Carolina in reconstruction days
was the public school system. This,
he said, was not only, done in South
Carolina, but in nearly every south
ern state, where disfranchisement now
reigns. He said that a double sys-
tenn Of education was maintained in
the South, and that the average
amount spent for educating colored
child was far less than that for whites,
He cited the fact that the average cost
for educating a white child in South
Carolina was $10.34 in 1909, while on
@.s O. Was spent on. the colored
child, u,H He cited. instances where col
ored people built out of their own
funds public school houses and other
wise contributed toward the educa-
tioh Of their children, and this, de-
spite the fact that they paid their
share of school taxes into the public
treasury
Dr. Bumstead called attention to
the fact that colored agricultural col
leges which received aid Under the
Morrill, Act were dscriminated
against in favor of white colleges by
the states receiving money from the
fund. Speaking of disfranchisement
he cited instances of college-bred and
property owning colored men being
disfranchised in Louisiana and Vir-
ginia.
Rev. Dr.. Ransom declared that Ne
gro schools in Virginia, North Caro-
lima and Georgia do not receive by
nearly 100000 their share for school
purposes Of taxes paid in annually.
He also said colored men were dis
criminated against in the courts.
Rev. Holmes in his address asserted
that the public school system of the
South was 80 poor as to be in many
ways roaring farce Speaking Of
Negro disfranchisement he declared
that "the men who have done this
thing are the most dangerous anarch-
lists with whom We have to deal"
Mrs Wells-Barnett spoke of the
1ynching evil. She also said that dis
franchisement was fact iii the South,
and advised that efforts be made to
make democracy for white and col
ored people in the South a real and
not an imaginary fact.
The Committee decided to estab-
lsh publicity bureau in order to
disseminate information relative to
the real status Of the Negroes in this
country.