Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-01-06
BY Judge Harr IS ID

tcrcst. he never 1oresecs that he may
want to vote in November. So, if he
owns property, he pays the tax 1ohleh the
losv combel;. and leaves unpaid the two
dollars poll tax. If he owns no property
and is liable only for poll tax, ne
does not hunt UP the tax collector at all.
The white man pays his poll tax in
January because he knows that Novenl-
Der will surely come. With precisely
equal opportunities the white saves his
vote while the negro loses his
The negro in the South to-day is =
political potentially rather than an act
i've force. At the present time his actual
vote is not even factor in shaping
Southern politics; it is mere negativc'
deterrent. That deterrent, however, is
sufficiently strong to make the Solid
South. Its effect is to degrade the whit.
man in his modes of thought.
The South had always been independ-
cnt i'll thought and aggressive in action
until the carpet-bagger and black-and-
tan horror darkened every hearthstone in
the land. White men dare not differ
upon the tariff, finance, foreign relations;
or any other of the great questions that
confront the nation as whole If the
white men of the South were to separate
and stand opposed to each other upon
any matter of political principle, it might
pave the way for the negro to step in
as the umpire of their disputes. This
dread whips them instantly into coalition.
What might happen in Alabama did hap
pen in Virginia and North Carolina. In
North Carolina the white men divided, :
and over 10000 ofsthe disaffectedi left the
Democratic party. The united with the
same number of white Republicans iii
the mountains, of Wing ancestry and
Union sympathies. They organized the
100000 negro voters and captured the
government.
At present there is no Republican party
in most of the Southern states. A few
white place-hunters corral the negro dele
gates every four years, pay their ex-
penses to national convention, and let
them shout for nominee. Then they
push the negro aside and parcel the pie;
Thoughtful men throughout the Soutl,
deplore the absence of two evenly BAL
anced political parties, and class of in. ,
dependent voters, standing midway be- !
tween, ready to cast their ballots for the i
side that dominates the better men, and
advocates the soundest principles This J
suggestion may meet with sturdy d, l..
1t is nevertheless true. !
It is matter for the future what
action the Southern states would take
IT the negroes should en- masse accept
their free opportunities, qualify then1-
selves under the law and attempt to a.
sumo the reins of government under
the law. 1t may safely be said that nocr
the Southerner alone, but this nation az
whole would do something, and do
it quick. No man, North or South, could
view with complacency one-third of this
tree republic in the situation of Hayti
and San Domingo.
1t it were possible to imagine the co..
900 negro majority in Mississippi elect
ing negro governor, it then becomes
impossible to conceive of anything that
would be half so disastrous to the ma
terial and moral interest of the negro
himself. Negroes of property would be
unwilling to trust their lives and for-i
tunes to government of negroes UNI
ilampered and uncontrolled. Even more
than the white man do their necessities
require a stable form of government
such as they have never been able ia
create or maintain. Thoughtful men Of
their race know that elevation to power
does not bring the negro to a corrc-
spending sense of responsibility.
This is from the standpoint of the NJ.
gro himself, his safety for the nres.n1.
his salvation for the future. Il does M,
take into consideration the ,inthinI,hie
not1or OF white women living in coun-
Try that is exposed to his mcheeked
:, Back Of it all and deeper,
than !! it Ill the negro knows his own.
limitations: Hf knows he IL incaoabie
y governing the country, or any Dor.
Inc negro WIN never attempt it. He.
hnds It easy to fiddle around ;he .,iss
u the white mans politics, smoke = go !
1idate.s eigars, and make biz noise ~.
lo!,neing somebody who is a thousand
niles away. It is easy to march in =.
parade, tote a torch, and net = fr.c
rink. This is easy and he loves Il Rus
'e knows it would be difficult to sa;n =
eat in the saddle, and impossible "a
MAINTAIN his position after he got it.
The responsibility of the white An,.rf.
and South-is great. Tho
american negro, for good or evil, is what
Us "n n, ,1 nsishbor makes of hiI0 -
'oi1''oht, 1910. Hy kst,oboliass Now
tetN S3ntiests.