Cayton's weekly. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1916-1921, 1918-09-07

county.
Again on last Saturday we had mass
meeting here for the Negroes. At this meet
ing L. L. Montgomery of Mound Bayou, made
an excellent address to the members of his
race. He was followed by a distinguished
lawyer of this county, and nowhere in the
talk OF this lawyer was there a single refer
ence to the loyalty Of the Negro AS re-
suit Of this mass meeting over 300 Negroes
that evening donated-not literally but prac-
tically-all that they had or could raise, and
promised more. Immediately after the speak
ing the Negroes on one of the largest and
finest plantations in the South, through their
white manager, asked that they be furnished
with speakers for meeting which was to be
held at one Of the churches in their neigh
borhood, and the manager made this state
ment at the time: every Negro has prom
Used to give to the Red Cross and I want to
say that in case there be any who hasn't
the ready money that I will advance the
money and charge it to him.
1t has been my experience in this com.
munity that all on earth that the Negro
is asking us to do is to educate him up to
lust what the government expects of him
rs citizen. AS to the loyalty of the Negro.
1t is not surpassed by any other people in
the whole country He will enlist, he doesn't
Hesitate when called in the draft he donates
his money, he buys bonds when able and
almost to a man in this community is a
fuyer Of the war savings stamps. And the
only thing he asks is: "What do you want
us to do?''
Now, ism t it hard for the white men in
this county and throughout the South who
are engaged in educating the Negro as to
the war and the things that go with it, if
they are to be met every day by statements
in the newspapers that in Georgia, in Ten
nessee and in other sections of the country
they have been pulling off barbarous lynch
ings? Can man conscientiously speak of
the law in this country the democratic prn-
ciples Of this government, the gigantic fight
to preserve liberty, when on the very pages
that describe the heroic fighting in Europe,
that this law of justice may be lasting
one, there appears desert ption Of the lynch
ing OF some Negro?
just as sure as the South is to do her part
in this war the Negro has to be educated
up to point where he will thoroughly under
stand what the war is about, why he is be-
ing called upon to take up arms under the
draft law, why it is necessary that he buy
war savings stamps in order that the war
may be financed and why it is absolutely
necessary IlaC ne donate MS money 10 the
Red Cross in order that humanity may be
served.
Can you build up in the Negro sense
of security and lawfulness with the news
papers full of news about lynchings? We
60 out among them and tell them Of the many
acts Of barbarism Of the Prussians, yet our
papers show that we also violate the law
'Lynching is savagery and lynching is an
archy,'' and goes hand in hand with the
Hun.
Let s stop all this law violation; let's
avoid doing the things that we accuse the
Prussians of doing and then when we go
out among the Negroes of our community
we will go with clean hands, and not be
held up to the ridiculous position of preach
ing one thing and doing another.