The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-04-04
Richard Carroll Makes perso,,,
Statement.

Editor Daily Item.
AS you have many readers OF vo,r
journal among colored people 7 de-
sire to make personal statement
through your columns. was invited
two weeks ago to deliver an address
before the colored Y. M. C. A. Of Nor.
ris college in your city. I selected as
my subject Solving the Negro Prob
lem Through the Gospel" or What
Some Christian Churches are Doing
for the Negro Along Educational and
Religious Lines" Z
laid emphasis on what the evan
gelical department Of the Southern
Baptist Home Mission Board is do
fng.
While on the way from the station
to my stopping place I was informed
that some Of the colored people in
sumter, Inexperienced my mission
and thought I was going to speak
against the migration of the negro To
the north to please the white folks.
r. w. Westberry, one of the best
friends have and one of the greatest
colored leaders in the State, met me
on the street and begged me to change
my subject and speak on the Import
ance of Better Relations and Under.
standing Between the races in South
Carolina, as migration was great in
the upper part Of the State and was
getting into Sumter. This agreed TO
DO and that accounts for the change
in the subject Of my address. I did
not go to Sumter to collect money for
the colored Baptist school, Morris COL
lege. was not asked to do it. The
understanding was that only penny
collection would be taken to pay ex-
penses Of the meeting. Rev. ]. J..
Starks. president OF Morris college,
told me that the most helpful friend
he had and the man that had given
since his coming to Sumter, was Mr.
O'Donnell, a Roman Catholic of Sum-
ter. 81" '."-
After entered the court house ard
noted the tremendous crowd Of white
and colored people-some Of the best
blood of South Carolina in the audi
ence-I told President Starks that ]
| would make an appeal for Christian
| education in his school and I wanted
to prove to him and the other colored
persons present that the negro who
endeavored to do right had many
friends in Sumter and that my i'm
preston had always been that Sumter
surpassed any city or county in the
State as to friendly relations, and that
I was going to take a collection at the
close of my speech. I made the ap-
peal and 1892 in pledges and cash was
laid on the table from the white peo-.
pie. Contrast this collection with
that r. w. Westberry raised for the
same purpose among the colored peo-
cents. told President Starks that in
every community in the South he
would find sympathetic people among
the sons and grandsons of ex-slave
holders willing to help the colored
people carry their burdens If they
were appealed to. President starks
was surprised at the generous re-
sponse and I told him there are hun.
dreds like Mr.. O'Donnell represented
by the Episcopal, Methodist and Pres
byterian denominations and that he
should make his needs known. OF
course I gave considerable time to
talking about the migration fever,
begging the white people to make the
negro happy and contented and to
give him justice and better treatment
and I tried to show to white and COL
ored that migration is injurious to
both races; that Providence had plac-
ed both races here to work Ont our
salvation where we are by creating
better sentiment, and that If the
white teachers and preachers would
take the suggestion of Gov. Manning
against mob law. and If the negroes
would coperate by teaching our school
children the cause for which the ma
jority OF negroes are lynched and
create sentiment in this Southland for
better South. I told them that this
is the greatest country for the South
ern white man and the negro IL both
races would wake up and help bear.
each others burdens, etc.
did not go to Sumter to raise mon-
ey for myself. Rev. Starks wanted to