The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1912-08-07
new DEAL FOR
NEGRO RACE
Roosevelt Sends Open Letter Elk
planning His Position Upon
the Race Problem
SOUTH ALWAYS WRONG
ON THIS QUESTION
Every Man Must Be Taken at His
Worth Regardless of Color
Line, and Anything Else Is
Merely Playing Politics

NEW YORK, Aug. BIN letter
written to Julian Harris of Atlanta,
Ga, editor of Uncle Remus Magazine,
and q son of the late Joel Chandler
Harris, Colonel Roosevelt expressed
his views on the position Of the negro
in rational politics and the represen-
tation of negro delegates in the con-
vention of the Progressive party in
Chicago.
In part, Colonel Roosevelt writes:
"In pursuance of our conversation
write you this letter!
MANY letters dealing with the SUBJ
ject on which you spoke to me. have
been sent TO me within the last few
days Those written by men living
In the north usually ask me to insist
60 We get, from the south, colored
delegates to the National Progressive
convention. Those written by citizens
OF the south ask particularly that the
new parry shall be a white mans par
ty. / am not able to agree to either
proposal.
Each Man at His Worth
'In this country we cannot per-
z manently succeed except upon the ba-
sis of treating each man on his worth
as man. We can fulfill our high
mission among the nations of the
earth. we can do lasting good to our
selves and to ali mankind only If We
80 act that the humblest among US,
20 long as he behaves in straight and
decent fashion, has guaranteed to him
under the law his right to enjoy the
fruits Of his own, honest labor and his
right to the pursuit Of happiness in
his own way, so long as he does not
trespass on the rights of others.
az believe that the progressive
1novetn ent should be made In the in
tereet OF honest, Industrious, law
abiding coaored men, just as 1T is in
the interest of every honest, indus
trtous, lawtabiding white man. i fur
Their believe that the surest way to
render the movement impotent in
those regions of the south where the
colored man is most numerous. would
be to try to repeat the course that has
been followed by the republican party
In those districts for SO many years.
"In the south the democratic ma
chine has sought to keep itself para
mount by encouraging the hatred Of
the white man for the black; the re-
publican machine has sought to per-
.petuate itself by stirring up the black
man against the white; and surely the
time has come when we should aban-
don. both practices. i believe that
wherever the racial issue is permitted
to become dominant in our politics, 1t
always works harm in both races, but
immeasura bly, most harm to the weak
Or race. ,..a
.,7,s Not White Mans Party
"1n many of the states of the Union
whore there Is q considerable colored
population, we are able to bring the
best colored men into the movement
on the same terms as the white man.
In Rhode Island and Maryland, in
New York and Indiana, in Ohio and in
Illinois, in New Jersey and Pennsyl-
vania this Is now being done, and
from some or all Of these states, col
ored delegates will be sent to the Ma
tional Progressive convention in Chi
cago.
I'm the republican nation conven-
tions the colored members have al
most been exclusively from the south
and the great majority of them have
been men of such character that their
political activities were mostly of u
source of very grave harm to their
own race We, on the other hand,
are hoping TO see in the national Pro-
gressive convention, colored delegates
from the very places where we ex-
poet to develop our greatest strength
and we hope to see these men of such
character hat their activities shall be
of benefit not only to the people at
large, but especially to their own race.
''For forty-five years the republican
party has striven to build up In the
southern states a party based on the
theory that pyramid will, unsupport-
ed, stand permanently on its apex in
stead of on its base. For As years the
republican party endeavored in these
states to build up party in which
the negro should be dominant: a party
consisting almost exclusively of ne
groes The result has been lamenta-
BILE from every standpoint.
Rotten Borough Delegates
at has been productive of evil to
the colored men themselves, to the
W'IllL6 Hle1H VI LILO SOuLil, dIlu indhy
has wrought the disruption and de-
struction of the great republican par
ty itself
In the convention at Chicago last
June the break .sp of the republican
party was forced by those rotten Dor
ough delegates from the south In
the primary states of the north the
colored men in most places voted sub
stantially as their white neighbors
voted. But In the southern states,
where there was no real republican
party, and where colored men, or
whites selected purely by colored men,
were sent to the convention, repre-
senting nothing but their own greed
for money or office, the majority was
overwhelmingly anti Progressive.
Seven eighths of the colored men
from these rotten boroughs upheld
by their votes the fraudulent actions
Of the men who in that convention de-
ned and betrayed the will of the mass
- 1. .@1e r. L. - r~f<