New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-07-05
The Negro Problem
Let the South Be Judged Fai,l
What Il Has Done
To the Editor Of The Tribune.

Sir: In recent issues Of your psn.,,
Granger and L. C. Walker have sttem,...
a measure, to solve problem that Ia,
fronted the South since the emancin.sN%
the slave. 1t is hardly probable tb,, ~
gentlemen convinced any thoughtful n,.~i
the case of the South was as hopel..,
painted it. In fair discussion OF M. ~
ject it is most fitting to weigh fact,
find them instead of indulgins in a sun.-N
of false illusions and wild theories
Mr.. Granger states that the schoo,
of the South is inefficient and wor,b,.e
is highly interesting 20 review az ,h;.
certain statistics found in the "Wns Ss
manac." In the year 1914 the NJ a.
of the scholastic population enrolJeS -
eral states was as follows: New yort so Va
Pennsylvania, 6S.19; Arkansas s3oa. w'~
chusetts, 1854; North Carolina, "a n. ~
sissppi, 1850, and Tennessee, s1sl. !, !. ~ 90
TO consider further: There were 5,s NM
high schools in the State OF Texas via
population of 3,s96,542, and 665 in the g..
of New York, with a population Of e.lIsyS
There were II universities, colleges and 49,
meal schools in the State of Massacbu..,.
y II.
State of Virginia, with population Of 2n,
612. The average monthly salary paid a.
public school teachers in some OF the So,..
ern states is greater than that paid il. ,0,.
of the Eastern and Western states
Every Southern state has provided .a,..
tional institutions for its negroes at go.
expense to the white taxpayers. Tu,L.s..
Ala, has the school so wonderfully bull, :.
by Booker T. Washington, and Hanpto, ~
stitute, at Hampton. Va, has more voluu.,, !.
its library than the wealthy University !,
Pittsburgh.
The Negroes Chance in the SssA
The Jeans Foundation Fund of over mir.
ion dollars provides for rural Negro xho,,
and furnishes instruction in the stue, !
agriculture and mechanics. My own rs,.,
town in the South, with a population Of Il,
000 has recently constructed modem Bin
school for its negro children at cost 81
$4,000. Yet Mr.. Granger would have us h.
lieve that the negro must be content In hss.
ing wood and drawing water. Any youse
negro may get an education in the South Il
he is ambitious enough. The school gs:..
is not quite so effective as to pour knoveds.
his part; he must study to learn, just s 1.
must eat to live. Both are natural laws
We have read much of late Of the sliftr,
Of the negro population from the Sout %
certain Northern districts. To say that tai,
is caused by lynchings and the absence .,
alcohol is absurd. The cause is purely a.
economic one over which the South has no
control whatever. We have seen ASTONISHING
increases in wages for unsklled labor Incl
dent to the stimulation of the producticr o.
steel and allied commodities since the var.
Isn't it the most natural thing in the word q
expect a man to seek employment where h,
remuneration is greatest?
Mr.. Walkers discourse on social and cidl
rights is as old as the seas. No sensible man
can ever dream of the expansion Of the seL
liberties of the negro TO the extent OF embr.
ing marriage. The idea is impossible and
sickening. The uplifting of an inferior nee
by a stronger one does not carry with i tie
necessity for degradation. The sensible negro
knows full we'll that social recognition . o.!
of all reason, and therefore does not desire h
nor seek il.
Why the Ballot Is Withheld
u v
be sure, for no better reason than the pretse
ton of the negro against his own ignonEa
The dark days Of the reconstruction period
proved how dangerous a weapon the ballot
could be in the hands Of the weak and ig.o
rant. A large part of the negro population i
still illiterate-a condition for which no car
blame no one but himself-and the right 81
suffrage, the power to legisate and to ere
cute must be denied him until such time % B,
shall become mentally qualified. When thai
time comes the South will gladly broaden BIZ
civil rights.
Law-abidng citizens of the South, who ns
by far in the majority, deplore the ruthless
taking of a human life without due legs
process. Prohibition has been instituted Il
minimize murder and rape, thus reducing mot
violence to almost a negligible quantity. Al
most every day we read of the vile and afro
cious "white slave" traffic in Eastern cities
and the ringleaders are not always the "for
eign element" either. Is it sound Judgment "
use those cases as basis for claiming thai
the entire East is engaged in debsuehns
womsnhood? 1t is well to look at such nat
ters squarely and to do little investigating
before we form misguided opinions.
The problem of the negro will not be solves
in this or the next generation. The Sostf
ever patient and forbearing, is endeayorns
to unravel this tangle. and only asks that =
be not judged unfairly.
As real Americans let US forget internal
differences and lend a hand in backing the
powers that be" in Washington during the
war; shall show my earnestness by going
to France with a regiment that fought against
my forefathers in the Civil War.
ARTHUR w. BAKER
New York, June 81, 1917.