The Denver star., 1916-11-11

]. RECONSTRUCTION. The histor,
OF Reconstruction has yet to be writ.
ten. What we have today are theories
OF reconstruction colored according t.
the birth and race of the believer. We
can easily realize that the status OF
-FOUR million emancipated slaves was
not one easily to be settled. We will
also assume that the radical Abolition.
lists expected these freedmen to become
citizens and voters and that the radical
pro-slavery folk expected them to re-
main slaves In all but name
Colored Citizenship Gave South First
Public Schools.
. THE FREEDMEN Menifestly
there were difficulties in changing the
status Of the freedmen: they were w.
norant; they were inexperienced save
along certain narrow Industrial lines:
It was widely believed that they had
little capacity as compared with other
human stocks, and they had long form
ed in the thought of the nation and in
their own thought a distinct and sep
arate caste. That there were answers
and remedies I these dish bilities many
persons asserted. The remedy for lG-
NORANCE was SCHOOLS. THE Ne
GROES THEMSELVES AND THEIR
FRIENDS ESTABLISHED THE
FIRST REAL PUBLIC SCHOOL
SYSTEM THAT THE SOUTH EVER
HAD. Beyond any similar group In
modern days the Colored people were
eager for education and children and
adults focked to the schools. The
schools. however. never were and are
not today adequate for even the pri-
mary teaching of Colored people-the
teaching OF reading. writing and cipher
ing. Thus 1t happens that the abolish
ment OF ignorance while II has begun
10 still incomplete. EXPERIENCE In
q matter of time and for now fifty
years the Colored people have been
sharing In wider and wider areas OF
the organized life OF the civilized ma
ton. They are still 70 hemmed In by
law and convention that it Is impossi-
BILE for them to get the widest social
education, but they have gotten some.
Have Demonstrated Equal Capacity
Where Given Chance.
Their native capacity Ms compared
with other groups IN still n question In
the minds OF many people. but II is
Q different question than II used TO
he. There Is no doubt about their nbil
ity to work as free laborers. to save
and accumulate property, to receive
education even in higher lines. and
indeed In most things where they have
Ind chance and been tried It is i'm
possible to deny them the same gen
eral capacity that other human stocks
have. II IL only where they have not
had an adequate chance that their In
feriority IN stin believed. They are
still a cnstc. caste partially by rea-
son Of their own illiteracy and inex-
pcrience ms compared with the bulk
OF the nation. but more especially
caste because OF decp-scated opinions
and prcjudices on the part OF their
fellow citizens.
Five Legal Methods Of Disfran.
chisement.
3. DlSFRAN CHISEMENT. When
now. the South. finding these people
could not he kept virtually ms slaves
and being themselves unwilling to gov
ern by force and fraud looked about
for methods OF keeping the Negro in
his place. and at the same time not
transgressing the law, they hit upon
nvc expedients: In the FIRST place
they made CRIME and even petty
crime nike petty larceny" in Virginia,
reason for Acknowledgement know
ing that the poor and ignorant are cs-
pccinlly prone to conviction for such
crimes. This was discrimination
against poverty and ignorance and
not PER SIC against race: 1t could only
lie questioned ms we question the n.
sponsibility OF the State for poverty
and ignornnce-and we do question II
and we are going to question 1t a good
deal more AS we get more common
sense.
Property Qualifications.
SECONDLY. the States adopted
PROPERTY QUALIFICATIONS. This
was n distinct reversion to the days
when property was considered a Pc
culiar indication Of virtue and ability.
Today most civilized countries have
done away with this qualification.
Nevertheless we can easily imagine Il
situation where the mass Of people
are NO poor and ignorant and the
chance to accumulate property 80 easy
for the ambitious that property
qualification il not an unfair Qunlin
cation for a voter. While there may
be considerable argument against 1t In
the south, the mass Of the Colored
pcoplc themselves do not make a sin
ulc objection against the property
qualification.
The payment of POLL TAXES was
. THIRD method Of enfranchisement
and IL chiefly petty technical matter
requiring the keeping Of receipt. Tor
long periods Of years and on the whole
IN unworthy Of State,