The Washington herald., 1915-01-10

| more COulQ nave esCdpeu IEOiIl luch HdS-
ters; but that instead of this you drove
them from your ranks, prevented them
from following you by cutting the bridges
| in your rear and thus caused the mas
sacre Of large numbers by Wheeler's cav
| airy"
Gen. HalIeck then pointed out that 1t
was the general opinion at the North
that the Confederacy would shortly arm
| the negro and that the more Of them
that could be got out OF the country be-
| fore that event the less resistance the
Union armies would have to meet.
Meeting of Negro Ministers.
These l know are the views of some
OF the leading men in the administration" 1"
continued Halleck. ''and they now eX-
press dissatisfaction that you did not
carry them out in your great raid" He
suggested that now with Savannah in
Sherman's possession. and there being
no further fear about feeding his army,
It might be possible to reopen these
avenues OF escape for the negroes.
Gen. Hallecks letter impressed Gen.
Sherman. One of the first things done
after the arrival of Secretary Stanton
was to call a meeting OF the leading ne
gro clergymen in and about Savannah
! TO gain their views regarding the future
of their people.
1AA' AAASFAillEs at WHICH NtlC pAtochl
twenty Colored preachers, was held at
Sherman's headquarters in the evening
of December 12
Secretary Stanton sat at a table asking
questions Of the preachers and making
notes. Now and again he would put down
I his pen and adjust his spectacles in a
surprised way. Their replies were so
shrewd that Stanton afterward observed
! They understood and could state the
principles of this question as well as any
member of the Cabinet"
Gen. Sherman stood near the fireplace,
occasionally walking to and fro or max
ing some suggestion which would start
another train Of thought. In one corner
of the room, taking careful note of the
proceedings vas Adjt. Gen. Z. D. Town
send, while the clergymen were grouped
about the room, some sitting and others
standing.
The general opinion Of the coIored
preachers regarding the proper solution
Of the negro question appeared to be en-
bodied in statement by one OF their
number Garrison Frazier, a man sixty
seven years old, who eight years before
had bought freedom for himself and his
wife for $1,000 in gold and silver. He an
nounced that he had been in the Baptist
ministry thirty-fve years.
He declared the way we can best take
care of ourselves is to have land, and
turn and plart and till it by our labor
that is by the labor of the women and
children and old men-and we can soon
maintain ourselves and have something
to spare; and to assist the government
the young men should enlist in the serv-
ice of the government"
On the day of this meeting Gen. Sher-
man wrote to Gen. Halleck in reply to
the latter's warning letter on the negro
question. The reply showed Sherman's 5
far-sightedness, his independence, and
his belief that the negro question would
solve itself naturally. He wrote:
II received yours - about the negro
>. my, in Gods name, can't sensible men
let him alone? Don't military success i'm
ply the safety Of Sambo and vice versa
.I'm Not Raining for ONCE"
After declaring that he did not turn
back negroes who followed his army
although admitting that one of his gen.
ing his division. by taking up a pom
toon bridge over a creek because he
wanted the bridge Gen. Sherman
stated that Slocum's column OF 10000 men
reported a following of 1900 negroes
now" wrote Sherman. with 200
wagons and the necessary impediments
of an army. overloaded with two-thirds
negroes. five-siXths of whom are help
less. and a large proportion of them
babies and small children, had I en-
countered an enemy of respectable
strength defeat would have been certain.
Tell the President that in such an
event defeat would have cost him 1000
times the effort to overcome that 1t now
will to meet this new and growing pres
sure
Thank God, I am not running for an
office. and am not concerned because
the rising generation will believe that l
burned 500 niggers at one pop in Atlanta
or any such nonsense. l profess to be
the best kind Of a friend to Sambo. and
think that ON such question Sarnbo
should be consulted
They gather round me in crowds, and
I can't find out whether l am Moses OF
Aaron, or which OF the prophets: but
surely l am rated as one of the congre-
CATION, and II is hard to tell in what
sense 1 am most appreciated by Sambo-
in saving him from his master, or the
n>w master that threatens him with
new species of slavery. 1 mean State re-
cruiting agents.
Poor negro-lo, the poor Indian. or
course sensible men understand such
humbug, but some power must be in
vested in our government to check these
wild oscillations OF public opinion.
The South deserves all she has got
for her injustice to the negro, but that
is no reason why We should go to the
other extreme.
II do and will do the best I can for
negroes. and feel sure that the prob
lem is solving itself slowly and natural
ly. It needs nothing more than our foS-
tering care I thank you for the kind
hint and will heed il so far as mere ap-
pearances go. but. not being dependent
on votes. 1 can afford to act. as far as
my influence goes. as fywheel instead
Of a handspring.
,,NI1oH nCEIICECc EIEE EpnM