The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-06-13

Atlanta last year. 1 did not attend the
general sessions or the race problem
meetings, and 1t was not till / attend
ed this years meetings in Memphis
that 1 discovered that white men and
white women, negro men and negro
women. are all admitted on terms of
equality as members and as partici-
pants in the congress. At Memphis.
moreover, the seating Of both whites
and negroes on the first floor and the
crowding out Of white ladies by ne
gro men, became SO offensive (cul-
tured ladies from my own town, for
example, were escorted to their seats
by negro usher) that the local Men,
phis committee could not endure It,
and passed a resolution asking the
officers to have the negroes seated
separately in the first balcony. And
then 1t was that "the officers of tho
conference, the daily papers said-I
do not know what officers, for you had
Just left town, / believe, and so far
as l know the Executive Committee
was not consulted-but at any rate,
the Officers" in order to keep the ne
gro members right with the whites
left the Orpheum Theater, which our
Memphis hosts had provided. and ad-
journed to q separate theater for a
final meeting on the negro problem at
which one white man. one negro, and
one mixed-breed entertained the mix
cd assembalge Of members.
Now, my dear governor, with all
due Difference to others. cannot al
low the public to think that / am
one Of the Officers responsible for
such fantastic tricks before high
high heaven-and 1 don't believe you
want to be. / believe the time has
come to say that each race should
have Its own sociolocal organization.
and IL you will say so to the members,
believe they will follow your lead al
most to man-and woman. And If
for any reason you cannot do this,
then with the utmost respect, YOU
will please accept my resignation and
appoint someone who believes in mix
ed-race organizations and the natural
that white ladies are es-
corted to their seats by negro ushers
or crowded out of the best seats by
negro men.
resist the beginnings" Is a proverb
as old as our era; and 1t Is as wise to-
day as when first uttered. You know
the old Arab saying-that IL you al
low the camels nose in your tent, he
will soon have his whole body in. Or
to change the figure, If we allow just
this little breach and that little
breach in the dixie or levee that now
separates the races, how long till the
whole dixie will be swept away?
Nor do 1 believe for a minute that
so wise and observant a man as you
believes we can rest in sancied Sc
curity on the theory that the negroes
are content with social conditions as
they are. i have no doubt that many
negroes today are perfectly sincere in
saying that they do not want social
equality. They know the race is too
weak TO get it. 1t is a universal rule
that men seldom strive keenly for that
which Is absolutely beyond reach.
They strive for the next thing and
then press on. When Andrew Car
negie was poor working boy. he
was not ambitious for a hundred mil
lion dollars. Ten thousand dollars
was all he wanted: but then he want.
CO hundred thousand; then a mil
lion: then u hundred million.
The Congress at Memphis was
soothed and lulled. Of course. by ne
groes like Booker Washington, who
tell us the negro has no desire for
social mixing and who make us feel
OF our prejudice" against
Tho color of a mans yskin"-and
the white people cheered and cheer
cd and went away satisfied.
But let me tell you this. my dear
governor: within forty-eight hours
after the whites in Memphis heard
such messages as these from negro
speakers. / went down to the Avery
Chapel, tho great negro church, and
saw 1t packed to suffOcation with ne
groes and mulattOes fired by an en-
tirely different gospel-the doctrine
that the negroes must break down
every barrier and that every discrim-
ination must be swept away until
nothing stands in the way of inter-
negro office holding, or any
thing else. That is the doctrine
preached by DR.. w. f.. Dubois, their
chief speaker, (himself twO-thirds