The Washington bee., 1911-10-21
erve dignihed silence.

q.
August II, 1911, the writer said in
part as follows: 1T IS not social
equality that we seek: we abhor the
mere expression OF social equality as
the average white man sees If. We
ask no special favors, but we do ask
a square deal to make opportunities
to be men"
Now, the September Crisis" refers
to this as speech made by a colored
physician of Kansas City, in which
he protests that he does not want So
cial equality. Then your excellent
journal cites its readers to its com
ment in the March issue upon this
same cOlored physicians" protest
against being elected from a Pullman
car, and goes on to prove his Denver
speech IS not consistent with the
stand he took in the Pullman case.
The suit entered for 100000 against
the Pullman and NJ K. & T R. X.
Companies for violence to ones per
son and its consequent humiliation
and against the rights of an Ameri-
can citizen, would be classed by the
world at large as a suit for civil
rights, not as the sociologist puts it,
in the social equality list.
Let us for a minute take another
statement of the Crisis as follows:
I"Now riding on a Pullman car is so
Cial equality and there is no use pre-
/ tending that it is not" IF some one
| had told me this was a statement
coming from the editorial columns of
| the Crisis, I could not have believed
| it. The expression is SO absolutely
absurd and shows utter lack of the
editors ability TO discriminate between
personal comforts and his phantom
| Social Equality" The expression is
petty and shows no eternal fntess Of
things
A Pullman car is a luxury, a com
modify for which one pays a fee to
rest, to sleep, to be comfortable, and
the question of Social Equality is
not a consideration and must not be
confused with necessary comforts.
Take my own case. | received an ur-
gent call to go to a Southern city
last week on professional business.
| had been up two consecutive nights.
| The telegram says come at once.
| The distance is $50 miles. The next
days is to be strenuous one. The
| life of an individual is to be under
my immediate care. My nerves must
be steady; my senses clear. The
coach is straight back, dingy affair
adjoining the baggage car. The Pull
man is one of the above comforts for
which | can pay and which is neCes-
| saTy for the preservation of my own
body and maybe the life of an indi-
vidual
| We have a teacher here in one of
our schools who brought his wife,
lwho was i'll, from Georgia in Pull
man car. Tell me is this your idea
of social equality? 1t has not been
so understood by the American peo-
pie and never will be.
In last weeks paper we see where
lone of the Gould brothers IS threat
lening the interests of another brother
because his actress wife IS not re-
lceived on basis of social equality
in the family
There was multi-millionaire in
| colorado Springs who made his
money by sudden speculations and
IsOught membership in an aristocratic
club made up of English gentlemen
He was refused because he was an eX
serf
| These two cases I cite as typical
examples in the clamor for Socia
Equality.
| Another statement; Equal civil
rights are impossible without social
lequality and equal political rights are
Impossible without social equality"
| Now, civil and political rights are
governed by laws made through acts
1
Ienjoyed by all alike.
Social equality is a mutual agree
Iment between individuals by sign OF
token or facial expression, which
Legislation cannot regulate and which
tall cannot enjoy alike.
The fact that the Southern white
lpapers" accused the American Ne
groes in London of demanding So
Cial equality" does not make it so
for they too, like others | know, are
constantly chasing this same phantom
and when they find this nameless
something, for peace of mind and a
better name, they style it social
equality"
. There has never been a word OF
human tongue that has been made tC
!; cloak so many things. The Crisis
says social equality is simply the
|, fright to be treated as a gentleman
when one is among gentlemen. May
ask of those men that come into
, the Office of the Crisis, how many mer
| that are not gentlemen are treated as
such? Are all men the social equals
of each other when they "act like
| gentlemen"
1t has ever been my desire to re.
= feet credit, honor and dignity upor
my people and I am willing for the
, American Negroes to determine the
meaning of my statement; when yor
accuse me of forging the chains o.
social slavery" If they agree with
me, then you will at least acknowl
edge the verdict If they agree will
you, I will preserve a dignifed 81
lence."
I can only say, as long as there i!
d, Ignorance and intelligence, as lons
as there exist millionaires, middle
men and paupers, there can never b.
r social equality. l have discussed thi!
matter of social equality as the av
I, erage man sees and feels, eliminating
the tchnicalities, for the editor of tn,
I Cr;r;- ba,-- Gbo d;eF;pct1Ou Of baiuf