The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1912-03-15
mn q [. ANDERSON WRITES ON
LEWIS NEGRO QUESTION

american Bar Association, the execu-
tive committee has power to elect
rev members between the annual
sessions upon the recommendation
If a majority of the vice president
and local council of any state
The American Bar Association is
in mart a social organization, and II
is traditional that only white people
shall be eligible to membership. Last
summer, prior to the annual meeting
os the American Bar Association,
which was to be held in Boston,
majority of the vice president and To-
cal council of Massachusetts recon-
mended to the executive committee
the election of w. H. Lewis. negro,
no was assistant attorney general
Icf the United States, and resided in
Boston. They failed to inform the
eye.,,tive coEl.nittee that the party
recommended was of the African
race. and thereby implicitly repre-
sented that he was eligible to mem
bership, and was white person.
The executive committee elected
him, believing that he Was a white
man, and when they found out that
he was not white man. they very
properly rescinded their acti0R,~ as
he had been elected by mistake.
Furthermore, the American Bar
Association is a. voluntary associa-
ton, in which no one has legal
right to membership contrary to the
wishes of the organization.
Practically all of the members OF
the American Bar Association in
Florida have written the secretary
strongly approving the action OF the
committee, instead of protesting
against it, as requested by Attorney
General Wickersham.
The following is a copy of a let
ter written to Attorney General Geo.
w. Wickersham, in reply to his cir
cular letter, by Honorable Robert l..
Anderson of Ocala, formerly presi-
dent of the Florida State Bar Assoc
citation:
Hon. George w. Wickersham, De-
partment of Justice, Washington,
D. c.:
Dear Sir-I beg to reply to your
printed circular letter, addressed to
me as member of the American
Bar Association, as follows:
1. 1t seems to me you unduly mag
Nifty this affair. When analysed. the
case is a social slight to negro who
happens to be an employee of the gov
eminent This hardly deserves the
time, expense and attention bestow-
ed upon the matter by the head of
the department of justice. There are
many things of vastly greater impor-
lance involving public wrongs to
thousands of citizens, white and
black, which ought to engage all of
the attention of the public servant.
Moreover, the case involves only pri-
vate rights, NJ. meriting notice or
action ON the part of public Off
cial.
2. The aggrieved party knows
that he is unwelcome as member of
the association, at least to large
number of that body. This fact, it
seems to me, should rather be rea-
son for declining or withdrawing
from membership than for insisting
upon the mere right, however legally
assailable, to remain in the organiza-
ton as disturbing factor. Dignity
and self respect of the genuine sort
should forbid the obtruding of ones
self into such an organization under
the circumstances.
3. This party, if denied rights
that are legal in character, should ap-
peal to the courts, if he cannot wait
for the regular annual meeting to
pass upon the case.
4. The interests of the American
Bar Association should be paramount
to the personal feelings of the indi-
yidual. This "circularizing" of a.
merely personal controversy by the
attorney general of the United States
can only create trouble, to the detri-
Iment of the association, without real
or substantial benefit to the COM
planning party.
| herewith return to you the card
which you enclosed.-R. L. Anderson,
in Tampa Tribune.
Th1. Dalx,a Ilnaah e. L. 4