Pioneer press. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1882-19??, 1912-01-27


not pleasant. and we will not have
him. 5.-.e -. ...t-~.s2 49,. /.
Some time ago a writer Of inter
national fame in earnestly denouncing
race prejudice declared OF it, with
out offering radical explanation, .It Is
monster begotten of natural instincts
and intellectual confusion" In the
varied forms Of 1t there certainly Is
such confusion. 1t is obvious in the
presence OF the strange and multiform
manifestations and prosecutions, even
destroying life as an imagined duty,
which mark the new century. in
Europe and the United Stntes. dis
tricts where education, legal questions
and Christianity are much discussed
and where the Inference would natu-
rally be that justice and kindness are
what each one owes to all others
Such obScurity must be cleared and
also the foggy conclusion that this
prejudice is from providence" But
in order to classify this intellectual
confusion truth so that it becomes
availab bic we must consider the dis
quieting fact that the monster Is .'be-
gotten Of natural instincts" Let us
see how it came about that force
SO ugly sprang from normal impulse.
Primitive man, like other promising
animals. developed a necessary caution
rs to contact with people queerly and
mysteriouSly unlike himself.
This was protective. and rightfully
so. The infant In its cradle today is
oP
mistakable fear upon the intrusion of
strange faces into the nursery and in
Its feeble way attempts to avoid them.
Property. welfare and life itself have
been conserved siini1ly by the ".ofiish"
instinct. 1t has also had temporarily
wonderful Use, pertaining to certain
values acquired in the condition of
racial Integrity, which we will con-
slider presently. Therefore we do not
think Of shyness in general as being
bad or mean quality.
However. it Is an involuntary ac-
acknowledgement that intelligence Is lack
Ing requisite to right conduct Of life.
1t bars the reciprocal relations neces-
sary to growth Of civilization. So
primitive shyness or avoidance cannot
always remain commendable With
general development 1t either takes nm
advanced form-as. for instance, lust
circumspection-or, with changing re-
lations, 1t readily becomes pe1nicious.
Ihe biologist knows that when nor
NAL conditions are exaggerated or
strained they must become abnormal.
In similar way racial distrust.
once temporarily useful, drifts into
unwarranted obstruction or ruinous
antiDathy. The egoistlc tendency, en-
couraged by sickly intelligence, invites
prejudice to come in and expel recip-
rocal justice. While this may be due
to mistake on the part Of some, 1t real
~ IS q phase Of selishness.
There IS, OF course, monstrous self
1shness not identified with prejudice
and not involved with racial relat tons.
1t dfstresses humanity today in the
forms of official betrayal Of trust, child
labor schemes and monopolistic greed.
Like race maladjustment, such mani
festations begin In unreasonable ex-
tension OF natural impulse aud result
in degradation.
This particular perversion, we be-
heye, as are those, is now in the climax
OF its ugliness. Such Phenomena con-
stitute the moral interregnum which
now shamefully and fatally afficts
this country. True civilization seeks
the balance between egolsm and altru-
ism. In view Of certain facts, some Of
which we briefly indicate, and Of sig
n1iicant typal manifestations universal
IL evident, "intellcctual confusion" is
no longer pardonable
The popular movement for education
Is on surer footing than ever before,
doubtless because Of increasing inter
est In the philosophy OF evolution. In
Its light, racial phenomena must be
observed
AS for general safety-waiving the
idea Of non-natural assistance and
that of human reason-there is rene
dial action in Nature herself. An
instance Of this truth Is the spontane-
Gus movement Of racial conveyance.
which proceeds as surely and about as
quietly and safely as does the work
ing Of the law OK gravitation. The
result is publicly commented upon by
some who do not understand it. A