The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1914-11-17
THE PRESIDENT REBUKES NEGROES
FOR OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE

'TLlNCINL LAlNUUAUL
~~~~~~~~~-
ance, but held that they had equal
rights with the whites and that these
rights should be respected There
! had been no friction, they insisted
before the segregation was started.
Mr.. Wilson waited for the protest
to end. Then he told the delegation
that he could not discuss the matter
further. He closed with the quiet but
emphatic statement that TrOtter had
lost control of his temper and that
he (the president) could not be talk
ed to in such a manner.
Negroes Disappointed.
When the negroes left they said
their talk had been thoroughly dis
appointing" and that they would hold
mass meeting in Washington to
protest further against the segrega-
ton.
Trotter said in his address that his
committee did not come as wards
looking for charity, but as full
fedged American citizens, vouchsaf-
ed equality of citizenship by the
federal constitution.
1.-TWO years ago." said Trotter,
you were thought to be second
Abraham Lincoln"-the president
tried to interrupt, asking that per-
sonaIities be left out of the discus
sion. Trotter continued to speak,
and the president finally told him
that if the organization he repre-
sented wished to approach him again
it must choose another spokesman,
adding that he had enjoyed listening
to the other members of the commit
tee, but that Trotter's tone was often
siye.
Presidents Rebuke.
The president told Trotter that he
was an American citizen as fully as
anybody else, but that he (Trotter)
was the only American citizen who
had ever come into the white house
and addressed the president in such
tone and with such background
of passion. Here Trotter denied that
he had any passion, but the presi-
dent told him he had spoiled the
cause for which he had come and said
he expected those who protested to
be christians to come to him in a
christian spirit.
The negro spokesman continued to
argue how he was merely trying to
show how the negro people felt, and
asserted that he and others were now
being branded as traitors to their
race because they advised the negro
people ito support the ticket"
This mention of votes caused Mr..
Wilson to say politics must be left
out, because it was form of black
mail. He said he would resent it as
quickly from one set of men as from
another, and that his auditors could
vote as they pleased, it mattered lit
tie to him, so long as he was sure he
was doing the right thing at the right
time.
Wilson Not Seeking Office.
The president spoke frankly, say
ing that if the negro people had made
a mistake in voting for him they
ought to correct it, but that he would
insist that politics should not be
brought into the question because it
was not political problem. With
some emotion he declared he was not
seeking office, and that man who
sought the office of the presidency
was a fool for his pains.
He spoke of the intolerable burden
of the office and of the things which
he had to do which were more than
the human spirit could carry.
Emphasizing that he did not care
in the least for the political consider
ations involved Mr.. Wilson Urged
that he wanted his auditors to under
stand that it was a human problem
and not a political problem.
The president said he thought his
colleagues in the government depart
ments were not trying to put the ne
gro at a disadvantage, but simply to
make arrangements which would
prevent friction. He added that the
question involved was not question
of intrinsic qualities, because all had
human souls and were equal in that
respect, but for the resent it was
question of economic policy whether
the negro race could do the same
things that the white race could do
with equal efficiency. He said he
thought the negroes were proving
that they could, and every one wish
ed to help them so that they would
not be so dependent, and that their
condition of labor would be bettered
The entire matter, however, should
be treated with a recognition of its
difficulties. Mr.. Wilson said he was