Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-28
PROTEST AGAINST
| RACE SEGREGATION
Monster Mass Meeting Held at
the Metropolitan A. N. E.
Church.
CAUSE OF THE NEGRO
FINDS ABLE CHAMPIONS
Administration Charged With En-.
tering on Policy Which May Have
Serious Consequences.

|. In a monster protest against alleged
| segregation of negroes in the Treasury
and Post Office departments at Washing
| ton several thousand colored men and
women gathered at the Metropolitan A.
NJ. Il. Church last night. The crowd at
the church was SO great that 1t became
necessary to close the doors, leaving
the inside packed to standing capacity.
Several hundred were denied admission
and remained on the outside during al
most the entire four hours consumed at
| the meeting.
Those who addressed the gathering
were Justice w. P. Stafford of the Dis
trict Supreme Court. ex-senator Henry
w. Blair, Oswald Garrison Willard OF
New York, chairman of the executive
committee of the National Association
for the Advancement of the Colored Peo-
pie: Archibald III. Grimke, Rev. John
Haynes Holmes and Rev. Walter H.
Brooks.
Reads Letter From McAdoo.
Mr.. Willard read letter from Secre-
tary McAdoo, in which the latter denied
| Declaring the charge was IAN unjust and
| mischievous exaggeration," Mr.. McAdoo
wrote that sometime ago he and the
President from desire to be just and
generous with the negro race" had plan
ned to appoint negro register of the
Treasury, under whom all the colored
employees should be placed. Opposition
+. Patterson, the negro selected for the
Office. had caused the plan to fall
through.
II do not care SO much for any injustice
that your speech may do me-" said the
Secretary, "but do for the wrong 1t in
ficts on the President, than whom no
truer, nobler and Drawer soldier in the
cause of humanity has appeared since the
death of Lincoln He added that in his
opinion the speech of Mr.. Willard, CON
tanning so much that is misleading, does
infinite harm to the negro race"
At the conclusion of the address. reso-
luton was passed expressing adherence
at the practice of segregation in the de-
test against it. Copies were ordered sent
to President Wilson and to Secretary Nc
Adoo of the Treasury Department.
Justice Stafford Fears Result.
Justice Stafford, when called upon. de-
clared he had not come to the meeting
to deliver speech. He said that any
thing he said on the subject at this time
might be misconstrued. Further, declar-
ing his reasons for not wanting to make
an expression, he said that some of the
matters which were being considered at
the meeting might in the course of events
come up for decision in his court. and it
would be unwise for him to make q decla-
ration at this time. He did say, however.
that If segregation was allowed on ac-
count of race there was no telling where
it would lead to in the future; segregation
might be done on account of many things,
even including religion.
Declaring that the association with
which he is identified was not primarily
concerned with the extent to which the
Wilson administration had practiced seq
regation, Mr.. Willard said:
Peril in First Step.
1T is against the whole principle of
segregation that it takes it's stand. Here.
as in many another question, 1t Is the
first step that counts. Let precedent
be established, and who shall say what
the outcome will be, to what lengths
despotic officials will take their way by
means of discrimination. intimidation, by
above-board or underhand methods? Who
shall prophesy to what extent this caste
idea may not be developed in the decades
to come? This phase of it ought to
appeal to every supporter of the Wood
row Wilson administration Every ad-
minstration that comes into power in
Washington, whether it be good or bad,
must expect to encounter an enormous
amount of criticism. The more virile the
government. the more determined 1t Is to
put through reforms on behalf Of the
whole people and to strike at intrenched
privilege. the more certain it is to be
criticised and to have its motives ques-
toned and assailed. This has been par
ton.
How short-sighted it was. then, for 1t
to have raised this issue of segregation
at this time. or for that matter at any
time. Did it not have troubles enough
with Mexico with the Philippines. with
the currency problems-with hundred
odd things? 1t is admitted that there
were no serious protests from the white
employees in the Washington departments.
The adoption of the policy was merely
an expression Of the innate prejudice OF
the southern portion of the administra-
President. therefore, Mr.. Wilson has. from
and needlessly antagonized one-ninth of
the population of this country and its
white sympathzers. He has alienated
thousands of colored voters In pivotal
states.
Confidence in President.
Il have known the present President of
the United States personally for approx
mately twenty years, and l take this OPP
portunity to say that mistaken as know