Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1915-05-07

the polls, the mob would be pleased
and lynching would stop, that pam.
pered prejudice would be stated and
abated. But prejudice, like most mon
! sters, grows by what it feeds on. At
that time the states where lynching
is most frequent seemed to be saying:
If you will only allow us to disfran-
chise these black people, we will not
find it necessary to lynch them; it is
their vote, their defense, which an.
J noys and irritates us; disfranchise
them and we will not want to murder
them. Aesop tells us fable of the
wolves and the sheep; the wolves
were ever making war on the sheep.
7 and the sheep kept for their protec.
ton number of dogs. One day the
wolves proposed terms of peace, say
ing that if the sheep would only dis
miss their dogs they should no longer
be annoyed by wolf, and that the
idea Of sheep defending themselves by
dogs was what insulted and angered
the wolf tribe. Aesop says that the
innocent sheep accepted the proposal
and dismissed the dogs, and you do
not need to be told the rest Of the
story. It is coarse irony for one in.
spired with the lust Of gain or power
to suggest to his intended victim that
q surrender Of his means Of defense
will appease that lust. The greatest
possible aid to- the lynching spirit is
to make the sheriff of the county de-
pendent upon the votes of the lynch.
ing class and Independent of the in.
fuence Of the victim class. A white
officer is but human nature, and it is
unfair to expect him to choose the
safety of Negro prisoners when So
ciety has made such a choice disasl
trous to his own interests. Some Of
ficers are predisposed toward duty and
ioathe the thing which they must
tolerate; recently in Shreveport, La,
when an untried Negro was being
hanged to telegraph pole on the
court house corner, the poor sheriff,
torn by conflicting emotions, instead
Of actively opposing the mob, sat up
on the court house steps limp and
helpless, almost in tears and mutter-
ing his disgust, sight to stir the
pity Of the gods! Had the Louisiana
Negro had a vote to support that
sheriff, he could have and in all prob
ability would have acted the part Of
N officer. 49,.
In this, as in many other matters
it is plain that American civilization
fixes its own status when it fixes the
status Of the Negro. Give the Negro
his ballot and let him stand by Amer
lean civilization by active influence;
or take away his rights, and he will
destroy American civilization by pas.
sive influence. g..
Even the church does not escape;
on some occasions so triumphant be-
comes the spirit of barbarity that
even the white preachers yield and
publicly endorse the acts of the mob
from their pulpits. The church has
done more for the education and soul
freedom Of the Negro than any other
agency, and it is regretable that in
many instances it is acquiescing in
and exemplifying the various forms
of jim-crowism and segregation, thus
lending them the authority Of relig-
ion. We know nothing more incon-
sistent with the recorded life of Jesus
Of Nazareth, or which will be more
embarrassing to the influence of the
church among colored people in this
country and in others. The church
will be judged in this world and in
the next by its attitude toward "the
least Of these" If the church yields
to Jim-crowism, what shall we expect
Of railroads, steamboats,, theaters, la
bor unions and the United States gov
eminent? a..st. ,'~ |
These conditions make an organiza-
ton like the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People
one Of the most patriotic movements
81 the times. Like the Anti-Slavery
society, against fearful prejudices, it
is trying to remove a cancer from the
life Of the nation. The way in which
our government is constituted and
operated makes it extremely unlikely
that movements for reform will ever
originate in the halls of legislature.
They must begin in private and phil
anthropic organization. Reform bills
must fififuratively and often literally !
be written and sent to congress by |
interested parties on the outside. Re-
forms affecting the. Negro will be no
and the association is
recognition Of that fact. The conser-
vation Of the association is remark
lble, take for example, the real, not
he fictitious, DIR. w. E. B. Dubois,
whose undaunted spirit and unweary-
No work have made the association.
Readers of the Crisis who know for
themselves the wrongs about which
,e speaks regard Dr.. Dubois as one
& the most self and con-
ervatiye reformers Of modern times.
Ie says: .tOrganize, take your case
3 court, tell the truth; vote for dem
cracy and freedom, acknowledge no
,oss; oppose the wrong, meet insult
With protest and rise from oppres-
iiorl ION That is mild and conserva-
i've program, born Of the peaceable- 4
ess and patience Of the Negro race, 4
81 among other peoples such wrongs
II usually met with other weapons
han words. 81
This movement can easily include