Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-04-05

white man 10 iaw-abiding. virtuous
and sober. the negro IL likely 10 lead
something Of the same kind of lite
On the other hand. II the white man
In any community breaks the law, is a
drunkard or gambler. the negro Is
likely to lead the same kind Of life.
so the white man has grea,
responsibility to see to 1t that he sets
an example before the negro which
shall help him to make himself a
stronger and more useful citizen.
las l said in the beginning, when
we get down beneath the surface in
every southern community we will
find that Notwithstanding what the
sensational newspaper may say or the
political demagogue may utter, when
we get down beneath the surface we
find that in every southern community
that as individuals the negroes and
white people live on friendly terms
with each other. Every negro has q
white friend and every white man has
q negro friend. and the relations be.
tween the individual negro and the
individual white man here in tho
south are often closer and more sym.
pathetic than they are in any commu-
nifty outside of the south. There 10
going to be no racial war. There ia
going to be no emigration from the
south. Both the black race and the
white race is going to live here in my
opinion, for all time in peace and har.
mony.
Il come into this state for the sole
purpose of seeing for myself some
thing of the progress of the colored
people and of the relations exis ing
between white men and black men.
/ want at the same time, wherever
can, to speak a word which shall
make our people more useful and will
further friendly relations between the
two races. l am perfectly aware Of
the fact that the average man who
was not born here In the south, or
who has never lived here for any
length Of time, often misunderstands
and misjudges the south. One living
outside Of the south hears OF the worst
things that occur between white peo-
pie and black people, but seldom
hears OF the best things that occur.
One living outside Of the south hears
of the lynchings, the burnings. and the
work of the mob, but he rarely hears
of what white people are doing In
nearly every community Of a state
like Florida to help and encourage the
colored people. The, worst that &C.
ours between the races Is flashed by
telegraph all through the world, while
the best that occurs is seldom heard
of outside Of our immediate local com.
munities. In no other part Of the
world can there be found white AMI
black people in so large numbers who
are living side by side in such peace
full relations as Is true in our south.
ern states. This I say despite much
that is wrong and unjust, despite the
work Of the mob which SO often dis
graces both races.
II want to impress upon my people
in the state of Florida the advantages
that you have in a state like this In
the first place, you have the opportu'
nifty of living in one Of the best
climates in the world, climate which
ts adapted to your condition and to
your needs. In addition to that. you
have the opptrtunity Of being able to
secure land in large quantities while
it is reasonably cheap, but I warn You
that land in a state like Florida will
not always be cheap. Florida in many
respects is the newest of the southern
states. There are almost 30,5OO,oO0
acres Of unimproved land in the state.
I repeat, in no state in the south 40
negroes have such opportunities, ana
in few places are they better PAID
than here.
The average value of farm land in
1900 was sos. In 1910 it was SIT 49,
an increase of 1853 per cent. At this
rate of increase, if our people do not
secure land in Florida within the next
few years they will find 1t very haro
to do so in the future.