The Washington bee., 1911-06-10
ESTABLISHED 1880.
THE MISSING LINK"

THE MISSING LINK"
Mr.. J. Arthur Davis, a. B.,
former theater manager, original
lv from Tennessee, but now a res
ident of this city, has written a
book entitled, THE Missing Link
and the Howard Theater." Jim
Crowism. = says the author. aims
squarely at the mind" 1T IS a
dangerous and curious hypnotic.
Jim CrOwism and the miscOn-
strued conceptions of Industrial
ism have had as vivid an effect
upon the Negro as the opium
habit upon China" Mr.. Davis
condemns Jim Crowism" and all
theaters that practice it.
Mr.. Davis deals with the sub
iect in a philosophical manner.
He takes up every phase of Jim
Crowism' and quotes the letters
written to him by eX-Judge Ter
rell, Prof. Kelly Miller and 9th
ers. His argument seems to be
against the Howard Theater,
which he claims was built eXclu-
sively for the cOlOred people. He
advises the cOlored people not to
patrOnize it because it was set
aside exclusively for the colOred
people. The fact of the matter IS,
the colored people will not erect
a theater themselves, and as a
corporation composed of white
men has. what is best for the col
ored people to do? There should
be no color line drawn IN any
thing, but as there is, what must
the colOred people do? The au-
thor puts up a strong argument,
which is very interesting and ar
gumentIve.
Mr.. Davis is not only a good
writer, but a good thinker. His
book is worth reading, which can
be purchased for - cents.
He deals with long developed
economic. climatic and inherent
qualities of the two races, making
discrimination possible.
Among other things, he cites
dangers of white commercial in
vasion Of segregated Negro COM
munities. He maintains that the
submissive and servile spirit to
partOnize discriminating enter
prises facilitates the Negroes Op-
preston, and that it has largely
been responsible for his elimina-
ton from and the prevention to
his entering many labor markets
requiring manliness and union
ism. The tendency of the times,
he claims, is gradually to elimi-
nate him, for the same reason,
from all race usefulness in Amer
lea.
He gives a caustic presentation
of letters from Prof. Kelly Miller
and Judge Terrell.
He urges some sweeping boy
colts.
Mr.. Davis concludes his book
let with the following sentiments
"AfrO-Americans, the appeal is
TO you to bestir yourselves. BY
your voluntary humiliation to
support discriminatory enter
prises you facilitate your own OPP
preston, disappoint your bene-
factors and invite the caustic crit
icisms of your enemies that poison
Public Sentiment. To instance.
William Benjamin Smith says
why. if education could lift
the Negro to the Caucasian level
to what, pray. In the meantime
would it lift the Caucasian him
self! We repeat, and the repeti-
tiOn cannot be made too emphatic.
there is no hope whatever of or
ganic improvement of any race
betterment Of the Negro from any
or from all eXtra-organic agencies
of education or religion OF civili-
zatiOn. Let us then educate the
Negro, to make him a more useful
and productive, or law-abiding
and happier member of the COM
munity. But let us not hope too
much from this education if we
would not be bitterly disappoint-
ed. To us the Negro
seems handicapped with an unde-