The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-08-07
FINALLY DISPOSE
OF TROUBLESOME
NEGRO QUESTION
CONTINUED From Page One)

From Maryland and West Virginia there
lave come 10 this convention colored
delegates sent because they represent an
element of colored men who have won
the esteem and respect of thlr white
neighbors and they send them here hon
estly and of their own free VIII. Ihat
is what we proeressives have finally sue
ceeded in doing in the north. We have
done 1t by simply encouraging the best
men in the north to act as squarely by
The colored man they would by the
white man. We have not done 1t by try
ing to dragon the white man INTO that
action.
The other system of trying to force
in the far southern states conditions that
we cannot make exist there has failed.
propose to take toward the solfnern
states the exact attitude that we took to-
ward West Virginia and Maryland and
believe in adopting that action we shall
naturally and spontaneously see from
those southern states the repetition of the
conditions In West Virginia and Mary
land, so that in future progressive ma
tional conventions you will sec colored
delegates come from the South Atlantic
and gulf states precisely as they now
come from West Virginia and Maryland.
II ask YOU to look carefully at the
letter l wrote 10 Mr.. Julian Harris. /
have Just received from him an answer.
MIR. Harris is n Georgian. the son of
Uncle Renus' Harris, a delegate to this
convention. and in this letter, IN speaking
OF my action Mr.. Harris shows that his
mind and my mind have met IN the mat
ter: that lie and those for whom he
speaks, looks at it just as | would have
hoped they wculd look at il. lie writes as
follows. after speaking of the new condi
tions it has produced:
Harris Answers Letter
Under these conditions it will become
for the first time possible that the ne
gro who shows the quality which entities
him to respect and confidence Will, with
the cordial will of his white naighbors,
do his part in healthy political work for
the common good. (Applause). Now
friends. | hold that the white man and
the colored man who endeavor TO make
the colored man discontinued with what
we are doing are the worst foes of the
colored race. We are standing against the
brutality OF the democracy, the hypocrisy
of the republicans. We are in the first
pace beginning where all charity must
begin-at home. We are beginning by tax
ing the steps to do justice to the colored
man in our own states. We are setting
the standard in semi-southern states like
West Virginia and Maryland here in the
convention and setting standard TO
which we can have a reasonable hope that
longer attempt TO drive them, when IL
is a matter of honorable obligation with
them as with lis to which we have a rea-
sonabie right TO hope that they them
selves will come up and to which my
correspondent. a delegate in this oonven-
ton from Georgia. himself says he be-
lieyes they viii come.
Now. friends, the easy thing for me
to have done in this matter If | had
been interested only in my political ad-
vancement was to have repeated the
dreadful blunders made for many
years by the republican party. to have
uttered insincere platitudes about the
black man and kept him out of the
northern delegations and brought hin
from the south as cheap method OF
might have helped me: 1t would have
helped me with those people who accept
fine phrases a subject for honest ac-
tion. 1t would have driven still fur.
Their down the black man of the south
1t would have kept the white men OF
the south solidifed in an angry, vindic-
tive, defensive alliance against any
party that did Justice to the negro
and It would have sown the seeds al
the outset in this progressive party, the
seeds of dissolution which we saw bios
som into perfect flower in the republic
an convention in this city six weeks
ago.
Ends His Answer
Now I have advocated the actor
which. as far as 1 am able to judge