The Washington herald., 1919-09-13

! day the agitation for the enactment of
| legislation based upon the doctrine of
the native equality of all men is led
mainly by groups of negro leaders. Not
al outstanding leader of the white
| race in any official position in any
| part of the country has announced
an active policy in this direction.
What brought the movement to a
| close? Why is the world deaf to pleas
| for its removal? 1t was thought by
some that the world war for democ-
racy would breathe new life in the
doctrine OF the native equality Of all
done so. Why?
The world began to feel the need
| OF tho resou rccs of all the world.
/ For example. tho allies needed the
oil fields Of Mexico to Relp them TO
/ win tho world war. since the world
! feels tho need OF the worlds re-
/ sources. if races that are camped
! over these resources do not and
cannot gather them and pass them
! out to the world, and will not let
| others do so in peace and safety,
! then let those races be taken in
| charge. This conception of Il world
need demanded a justifying philos-
Ophy before. the moral forces could
be mustered to put this policy in
| operation.
! Necessity is not only the
! mother of invention, but IL also is
! tho cause Of Investigations that
lead to new systems of thought. The
. advanced section OF mankind stood
before zones that il could not enter
and possess as was the case with
North ~ aI
vanced races could not go in and
Outnumber the occupying people of
( other races, how were the resources
/ of these countries to be gathered
: and utilized? There now came a
: reCpeninE Of the question of equal
. ity among men. A new standard of
measurement was instituted. Men
. were studied, not as individuals,
| but as members OF society. They
: were now to be judged, not by what
they were as individuals, but what
! they were as teams and team mates.
! The advanced section OF the
world today has each one OF you
standing against the wall, let us
! say not to be measured by the
height OF your body. nor the beauty
and carrying power of your voice,
I nor the strength OF your intellect
nor the size of your purse. nor
your courage upon the field of bat
| tie, but by your capacity for hand
! ling the civic duties of man.
| "In our own country we find that
! insistence upon unrestricted privi-
leges for negroes stops at points
where such action would result in
having the group-expression pre-
dominatingly shaped by members OF
the negro race.
Thus we have before us the
! opinion of the world today that a
race possessing social efficiency in
a high degree has the moral right
of rulership over a race not exhib-
! iting the faculty. provided always
that individuals shall have all OF
! their natural rights of men. with
! the understanding that these rights
are not construed so as to result in
giving group control to those not
: manifcstinE a proper degree sof So
: cial efficiency.
The very practical question that
presents itself to the negroes of the
= world is as to what is to be their
method OF dealing with this new
/ world thought. There are three
! courses Of action open for the race
! to attempt to pursue. 1t can attempt
! to ignore the demand for. the dev..I-
I opment OF social efficiency, and can
J attempt to seize control wherever
| their numbers constitute a majority.
/ A second course is to attempt to
/ convince the world that II is the
! part of wisdom for it to go back to
! the unmodifed doctrine of the native
| equality of men and leave out OF
! consideration all questions OF social
! efficiency when reaching decisions
concerning races.
There is a third course. The
negro race can decide to qualify
under the new requirements. We
come forward as individuals. There
stand our Douglass. our Washing
. ton. our Dunbar, our Kelly Miller,
our Dubois, our Walker, our TrCt-
ter. our John Mitchell. jr., and our
Morris. We can now accept the
( challenge to come forward in our
/ social capacities. We can decide to
I try to heal needless breaches in our
/ life as a race which unduly tax our
| energies with contests with each
other. We can devote increased at
tention to reducing our death-rate
to caring for orphans. to providing
avenues for expansion for our young
people. to the teaching OF the haoi,
! OF saving, to the reduction OF our
percentage OF criminality. to the
amassing of property and to mat
tiers OF education.
Social efficiency will enable us
to do such magnificent things that
it will add respect to mems minds
as a factor in solving all of our
problems. Just think of attempt.
ing anything with full respect lack
ing in the mind of the person to be
approached. And say what you will
the races that have attained unto
! social efficiency do not fully respect
the races that are not regarded as
having done So"