The Anderson daily intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1915, 1914-06-03

became good farmers aud made good
farmers OF their sons, and II was n
thousand years or more before they
began seriously to insist that the gov
crnment require the gentry to sell
land to them. If it took the sturdy.
intelligent British yeomanry a thou
sand years to bring To & mead their
demands to be allowed to own land.
would il not require a longer time for
the negro 10 reach this point? I ad-
init that my plan might leave prob
lem for the far distant future, but
perhaps in Il thousand years the negro
may be SO different a being that the
problem will solve itself naturally.
Al any rate. who are we that we
should endeavor to plan for the peu-
plies of many centuries ahead? Shall
we not content ourselves rather with
doing what we consider to he for the
best interests Of our posterity only
SO far ahead as we can imagine our
poStcrity?
1t is true that yoG cannot legislate
! the negro out OF land ownership. II
would not do any good TO pass such
laws. even We're they constitutional.
unless the sentiment Of the community
were overwhelmingly against negro
ownership Of land. But once you have
secured this sentiment, you need no
legislation.
So ii is plain that if we educate
the public mind to the danger OF the
acquisition of land by negroes, we
shall need no laws on the subject
The instinct of self preservation runs
with as much virilty and strength
in community as in an individual
and but allow the mind of the COM
munity TO become sufficiently I'M
pressed with the danger of anything
that threatens its civilization. and the
community will turn against that
thing. and will battle with il single
handed. no matter what may he the
odds against it. And so it will be with
the white people of the south.
a Mutual Debt.
Let us recapitulate. When all is
said and done, we owe the negro a
debt. and the negro owes us debt,
and this mutual debt is permanent
and can never perhaps be fully liqui-
dated. The presence of negroes in
such large numbers as tenants on
Southern farp,s has given us Il prob
lem which stands in the way OF our
agricultural development believe
that the proper method of solving this
problem is educating the negro, leas-
ing him land fer term of years. with
the privilege of re-renting it, and let
ting him have money cheaply and on
equitable terms. further believe
that we should so encourage the negro
to become good and contented tens
ant farmer that he will not insist OH
buying land when we make up our
minds not to sell 1t to him.
All that l have suggested here Ls
advisable for our white people to do
has been suggested strictly from the
point of view of the interests of the
white race. But we find that nearly
all of these suggestions are also in
the interest Of the negro race Ger
tainly. If these methods were to be put
into operation our conduct would
be very much more in accord with
humanitarian practice than it is at
present. If we do not allow the ne
gro to acquire land, it Is because
there is point beyond which race
is not required, even by moral laws.
10 go. Freedom In land ownership
| would ultimately place the negro So
cially on level with the white man,
and the white race would SITTER sub
| stantial deterioration because of this
No moral law or any other kind of
law requires race to jeopardize It's
/ future integrity.
Finally. it Is my belief that if we
| fail to do the things now which have
recommended, we shall have to do
them later. or our children will have
to do them when doing lray be much
more difficult than 1t Is now. 1t is
my ardent hope. therefore. that we can
convince the white maniin the south
OF the permanence OF the negro ten
ant problem and canu influence him tc
take those steps which will at once
be for his own interests and at the
same time permit him to fulfill the
debt and the duty whiah he owes the
negro race.