Evening journal., 1915-03-08
SENATOR sAuLsBuRY AND RACE PREJUDICE.

{, ENATOR SAULSBuRY'S effort to inject race preu-
- dice into the woman suffrage fight in this State
may avail as a miserable partisan expedent but it can
have no lasting value either TO him to the State
Democracy In fact when the rapid growth of suf-
frage sentiment is taken into consideration, the time
may come when both he his party viii have cause
TO regret such an attitude the he announced in
Washington
Even those who do not favor suffrage and
who base their opposition upon much broader grounds
than those which Senator Salisbury advanced in
support of his opposition It. admit the force Of
the reiort made by Mrs, William Kent, of California
that the white women of voting age in Delaware out
number by $4,000 the total negro population of our
state In other words that n the votes of Delaware
women whites and negroes, we're to be divided along
racial lines the votes Of the white women simply would
oycrwhem the votes of the negro women.
The attitude Of Senator Salisbury toward the negro
women in this State is not surprising. It is merely an
extension TO them OF the attitude he has maintained
for years toward negro men, all OF whom he would
disranchise If he possessed the power do That
attitude may return to plague him later on now that
he has suggested that the white of Delaware.
who ouinumber the entire population by $4,000,
should be deprived of the vote because of his inherent
hatred Of negro men and negro and his activity
in side-seppne the suffrage question State issue.
In view Of the comparative figures cited. and of his
shifting Of front various phases of the suffrage
question it may be that he is afraid OF the votes Of
the white he Is or the votes OF the negro
women and that he seeks to prejudice to
! cover up that fear of the white womanhood Of our
State.
Mr. Salisbury is a man of fair intelligence He reads
the newspapers. He knows what is going No mat
ter what his personal attitude may be toward woman
suffrage he cannot be insensible to the signs of the
times When New York, New Jersey Pennsylvania
Massachusetts and other States do what they have
done with respect to votes for women he must realize
that sooner later. Delaware will do likewise and
that the presence in state OF few thousand negro
women will not be permitted to stand in the way OF
such a step We have no doubt there many Della
ware Democrats who doubt the political wisdom OF
their Senatorial representative in alternating from him
self and his party the sympathy of a substantial por
tion of the womanhood OF this State at time wher
woman suffrage is in the air and making such rapid
strides in all sections of the country.
A man may not believe in woman suffrage He ma,
be bitterly opposed to IT, Those things should not inn
pei him. however be guilty of the act OF self-decep
tion In fairness to his intelligence he mus
recognize that the suifragists holding todal
everything they have gained and that they arr
adding steadily TO their acquisitions. The drift o
things points to but result, no matter how dis
tasteful that result may be to many men and women
When every state that has adopted sunrag
adhercs 10 woman suffrage; when there is a stead
longthenng of the list Of such States. and when CON
monwealths like New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvani
and Massachusetts agree submit to their electorate
the question OF the enfranehisement of their womeI
there is but one answer and Senator salisbury shoul
recognize the futility endeavoring 10 becoud it
senseless appeals to prejudice or by side-steppn
expedients