The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-11-18
IN RURAL RACE PROBLEM
General Compulsory Negro Sc.
gregation Not Sought BY
North Carolina Committee
Whose Arguments Are Pre-
Sented BY Clarence Poe; The
Real Argument.
To the Editor:

To the Editor:
notice you AVE recently printed
a negro leaders u~tterances on nv
race segregation proposition calcu-
iated TO give the reader a decidedly
incorrect idea of what | am adyocat.
ing.
The fact is, / am not at all propos-
ing any general segregation of the
negroes as l think one might infer
from the article mentioned. I have
never for a minute thought OF SAYING
that we should pick up the negroes
VINO are In n place and move them
to another. Nor nave I ever thought
OF saying that white farmers, even in
white communities, shall not have ne
gro enants; or that negroes should
De distributed in any way in the pos
session OF lands they own.
What l do say-mark this-is sim
ply that in communities where a ma
Jorlty OF the land is held by white
people, and they wish to keep it white
Tor the protection of their families and
their social life, they should have the
right to say that in future, no LAND
snail be sold to a person of the oppo-
ste race. am simply saying that
where they desire it, our small white
farmer of the South should have the
right to live and build worthy homes
Tor themselves and their children and
chlldren's children, with the assurance
that the community will remain pre-
d~omlnantly white.
Without any ill will whatever to-
ward the negro, | simply want to give
the poor white farmer a chance to
nave a community-provided he a
IL n a majority Of the other land
owners want tin which he can
Duild a home with the assurance that
ne will not be out by e land
owners crowding around him. And
IL TINS matter a be constitutionallv
settled by law by leaving it's applica-
tion to voters (Which means in white
nands) it will be better than if left
to private agreement.
"a. That is all l and il
there are those who think there is no
occasion for the suggestion, it is prob-
ably because they have never been
through the tragic experience thou
sands and thousands of poor white
farmers in the South have suffered
EVeh In town with adequate police
protection, o would not want a ne
gro owning and living on all sides Of
YOU and would it not be worse in he
country without police protection 7
you Will come into my Office and road
some of the letters from farmers,
wives you will need no further an
s"er. Here is a letter now from an
intelligent farmers wife, who avs:
we are now surrounded by MANY
Iimiiies Of negroes; the whites are
moving to town and other places. r
uont Ieel safe When I lie down at
night. Just last Saturday night two
oi my ~nelShborS' doors were tried
aust after the family had retired"
contrast that with what a white
man IN a white farm community said
TO me last week: 1--WE came to he.r
you speak today without lockinc q
door. Nobody needs lock a door in
our neishborhood and white girls are
not afraid to 20 anywhere" On he
otner hand, here is a note from a Ia
year old white girl now before us:
MY school began the twenty-eiehth
ol october. | live about one and 4
naif miles from the schoolhOuse and
l am afraid to go on account of ~.
negroes. also live a mile from
church and am afraid to go in the dav-
time down the public road. am IN
favor of FOUR plan"
Or consider his concrete case. a,
actual happening. reported to me bv
one of my subscribers only a short
while ago. He wrote.
Il am living on my farm. off H..
puoic road In an isolated place: hav.
ing wife and daughter. A negro has
bought land adjoining. The negro is
undesirable and has mean boys.
cont feel safe in leaving my wife and
children at home. The father OF the
man who sold this land to tho negro
toio me that he told the negro
ne would kill him before lie should
ouy Ian and live on it near him
tie went on to say that he might die
AT any tlme, and should be leave hi.
wife and daughters. with this negro
and his mean hOys oWninr Land naa,