The Western outlook., 1915-02-27
SQUARE DEAL FOR NEGRO
(BuFFALo NY CORRESPONDENTS
CLEVELAND GAZETTE.

came here to-nignt 10 protest
against the wrong which is being
done to o.ooo. 900 people in the
United States" was the way in
which DR.. Joel E. Spingarn opened
his recent address at Perkins hall
before a great mass meeting. For
twelve years DR.. Spingarn was the
professor of literature at Columbia
university. This was the last
address of his second tour of the
country in the interest of the Negro
whom he has so much at heart that
he paid his own expenses on the
extensive campaign trip. preferring
to turn the money which he would
receive to other work of the N. A.
A. c P.
81 do not know who needs alter
ing most" said DR.. Spingarn, the
white man with his ignorance aud
prejudice, or the Negro with his
indifference and supineness. The
white man certainly needs education
regarding the accomplishments of
| the black. The war in Europe to-
day was caused by an inability 10
comprehend the relationship be-
tween the white and black races.
Every country with a black popula-
ton is looked upon as legitimate
prey by the whole of Europe. The
greatest war in our history was
based on the same cause. A ninth
of our population is black, and it is
bad craftsmanship which alienates
and embitters 10, ooo, 900 of people
whom we may need at any time in
a moment of danger. Our plea is
for saner craftsmanship and we say
with Sir Sydney Lodge, the British
governor of Jamaica, that we never
can solve the problem with the
deadline of color. The fact that
the black man can work side by
side with you, can sit on the bench
and on the jury, can be raised to
the highest rank, as has been the
case in Jamaica, does not mean that
he will intrude on the private life
of the white. This is what many
white men seem to fear. Because
Sir Conrad Reeves colored man.
has been knighted, does not mean
that he will come to your door and
say: I want your daughter in mar
riage We see in Congress to-day
an orgy of Negro-baiting. A bill
was almost passed few days ago
and which had it gone through
would have prevented another black
man entering the United States
ard would have debarred Negro
citizen from returning here. Under
the bill Negro having crossed the
suspension bridge at Niagara Falls
would have been unable to get back
to his home in the United States.
Immediately after the failure of this
bill another was introduced making
it crime to intermarry. There
has been too much hypocrisy upon
this question. l think I am safe
in saying that not one black man
in million wants to marry white
girl. The reason why some Sec
tons are pushing these bills is not
to prevent intermarriage, but to
make it safe for white men to
wrong colored women without
harm l do not make this state
ment without foundation. The sit
uation has been frankly admitted
by Senator from South Carolina.
The question of segregation and
Jim Growing blacks out of public
conveyances is also an important
one. If we set aside certain cars
for whites and others for blacks, at
first they may be all alike, but just
as soon as the cars for whites get
worn out, they will be turned over
to Negroes, for it is the white man
who controls the situation, politi-
cally and economically. Eight big
Southern cities, among them St.
Louis. Louisville, and Baltimore,
have passed segregation acts which
state that blacks cannot live in a
block where majority of residents
are white. To make this constitu
tional, the acts also prohibit any
white man from living in block
where the majority of the residents
are black. When Negroes were
freed after the war, they were pen
niless and illiterate. They had a
complete absence of initiative and
responsibility, and when response
bility was thrust upon them, they
did not know what to do with it.