New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-08-04
Want a White Mans Party.

Want White Mans Party.
Two Of the provisional national COM
mitteemen who opposed the negro con.
testants-H. J.. Anderson. Of Florida,
and B. T. Fridge of Mississippi =
mitted frankly that it was their inten-
ton TO form q, white mans party. An
derSon said hc intended merely to have
white men take the lead. and later
would have mass meeting Of negroes
under q leader provided by him TO in
dorse all that had been done By his
white organization
Fridge was less suave. He said
hluntiy he wanted q white mans party.
and the call ne sent out for a mass
meeting or convention to select dele
gates 70 the national convention Of tbc
miro party was addressed TO "all white
men. he said It was impossible TO
have the negroes in any position Of
leadership or authority.
When they are" said Fridge "it
gets 70 state Of affairs where some
body has TO be killed. 7 never helped
kill negro, and / don't want TO. but
YOU can't have EN- leaders"
Anderson said he felt sure the me-
gro contestants in his state were
stirred UP by. the Taft machine 10
make just as much trouble as thew
could.
" the four contests involving the
color Issue fad with the committee.
one was from Alabama, one from
Georgia. one from Mississippi and one
from Florida. The Georgia contest
was merely a paper one. No contest
ants appeared before the provisional
national committee. which PROMPTLY
voted to place the delegation duly ac.
credited by the provisional national
chairman on the temporary roll.
Alabama Whites Seated.
II quickly became apparent that
there was little or no merit in the
claims OF the negro contestants from
Alabama. They may have been right
in their contention that the intention
Of Judge Hundley, the provisional
chairman and his co-workers. was TO
have q white delegation. although
Judge Hundley insisted that he him
self suggested a negro for district DEL
egate but was voted down. In any
case, the admissions of DR.. Thomas
and r. W. Simmons, the negroes rep
resenting the contestants, showed that
the delegation accredited by the con-
vention arranged by Judge Hundley
had been selected in all proper form.
and the committee voted TO seat the
white delegates.
IL was different with Florida and
Mississippi. There, because of what
seemed deliberate effort TO trick the
negroes in the one case and q plain
statement that they were not wanted
IN the other, they thought they were
. merely UP against white mans at
tempt 10 monopolize the new party, as
they had so long done In the old par
ties. 30 they took steps accordingly.
The spokesman for the Florida con-
testants, although the delegation was
headed BY II. c. Groves. white, was
G. II. ASTON OF Tampa Aston a
lawyer. who admitted that he was "in
everything negroes are In and prom
inent in every one OF them" told Of
the convention called by Anderson,
held In ocsia. and OF white tickets
which admitted whites to the body of
the hall and permitted them 10 take
part In the convention while negroes
drew red tickets. which would have adj
mitted to the galleries II they had been
used Instead. they held a convention
Of their own in Ocala on the same day.
while in St Augustine a second negro
convention acted IN conjunction with
The one in Ocaia.
These two parties OF the negro Pro-
rTesdve bund chose delegation OF