Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1915-04-30

years she was dpSoiaeeiy "o"
protection; and for the last fit
years, if protected, she has been pre-
tected sometimes at the cost and al
ways at the peril of the life of tn
male member of her household. |
there record anywhere else in hu
man history that wife, sister, mothe
bore such a burden borne so well
and lost no more? Endowed with al
the affections of her race and denie'
all the tenderness of ner sex, for tn
first two hundred and fifty years he
life was one incessant travail. Blu
out Of her original vitality of woman
hood and motherhood she has fol-
fifty years of partial freedom cheer
fully supplied the sinews Of the war
The physical and moral we'll being Of
the race are largely within her keep
ing. Virtue is thing that is tried
and proven, not thing that is pro.
tected and innocent. Therefore the
most virtuous creature in the United
States of America is the virtuous
% NcSIO WOIlidI. 4AcI IcslotiiS anu Gil
during powers are of the highest or.
der. In this she is a prototype and
prophecy of what her race is to be
if it will overcome. Her character
is often assailed in fact and her repu-
tation more often assa;!ed in SANDER.
But those of us who know the Ne
gro race know that the virtuous COL
ored woman's name is legion and
that her ranks are increasing. 1t
seems almost absurd to feel the ne
cessity Of saying so, but the bold
ness Of the Islander ELECTS the de-
fence. This woman has honoresd her
sex by proving the virtue of woman
hood as few groups of women in the
history of the world have ever had
the privilege of proving it. The
worst elements of both races have
been her pursuing enemy; and she has
run the gauntlet of the double fire
md delivered the destinies of race.
Heredity and environment are the
actors of destiny. Heredity is the
nultiplicand and environment the
.nultiplier. The Negro is factor Of
American destiny; the nearer zero
any factor is, the nearer zero will
the product be. Justice cannot be
corrupted for black men and remain
pure for white men. Government
cannot be tyranny to the weak and
democracy to the strong. American
civilization will be what it is to the
Negro.
Y The effect of segregation is felt in
the Negroes education, public and
private. There has been much effort
to find a type of education which
would fit the Negro for the status
which the-weight of American. senti.
ment aimed to give him. If the aim
is right, the educational principle is
all right; if the Negro is to have
special place, he should have special
preparation for that place. But if
he is to be only an American citizen,
he needs only such education as 9TH
er American citizens. Now the Ne
gro is not only good natured, but
ften very cunning, and some of his
,aders affect to have accepted these
mutations for the sake of present
,,rofts. These men are shrewd, not
honest. They believe, as they pri-
vately acknowledge, that the only
way to manage white man is to al
low him to be quietly, peaceably,
comfortably and completely fooled.
tell you: wL::te men, whenever you
hear any of US saying directly or in
directly that our race does not want
equality of status in all particulars
with all other races in this country,
we are simply lying to gain soma
advantage. / know more
black men than you, and l have never
heard one contradict that statement,
n private. If white men will inves-
,igate they will find that we never
acknowledge the contrary except for
he peace and comfort of white peo-
lie.
Now as to politics; our first i'm
,ulse is to wonder that nine tenths
# a democratic state could be so op-
,osed to the voting power of one
enth. Is Reconstruction the cause?
But the intelligent Negro of today is
lot the ignorant Negro of reconstruc-
ion days. Besides, it was psycholo-
really impossible earlier and now
must remain forever impossible to
low the truth about reconstruction.
se can only judge off what must
We been the distortions of recon-
ruction history by analogy with the
stortions Of present day Negro his
Dry; and we know that now, nearly
fly years after Reconstruction, with
learly fifty years more of civiliza-
ion, Christianity and "free Speech"
lot one American newspaper out of
hundred dares to tell the truth
bout the Negro. How, then. can we
yer hope to have the truth handed
own from a society that was domi-
ated by the Ku Klux Khan? The
Jegro's argument for citizenship is
ased, not on the doubtful past, but
n the eternal and demonstrable
resent. Is it question Of ignor-
nee and unftness in the Negro?
he Negro can boast that he never
as, does not and never will ask to
e enrolled as a voter on any test
tore lenient than the test given
,hite men He will let the white
ian "set the pace" in the matter Of
qualification. Is it de-