Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1919-05-31
ID and he looked relieved.

According to DR.. Dubois statement
The presentation Of the Negro PROB.
| lem so called to the attention of the
world would have been stopped the
moment the Great Powers heard of
! it. If this he true, what would be tho
use Of holding a Pan-hfrican Congress
il the purposes and requests of this
Conference would 20 before Il Court
that had already dc crmincd the
| questions ~ issue against the plain
! tins? He makes other interesting dis.
closures rs follows:
! With tho American Secret Service
, at my heels | then turned to the
| French Government. There arc six
colorcd deputies in The French Par
Lament and one is IN under-sccrc-
, tary i'll the War Department. COT
course, we can have Il Pan-African
Congress- he said--''I1l see Clcmcn-
ccau." He saw Clcmcnccau and there
! was weeks pause. Clcmcnccau SAW
/ pichon and there was another pause
Meantime, our Sta:o Department
chucklcd and announced that there
, would he no Congress and refused
Negroes passports. England follow
cd suit and refused to allow the Sec
rotary OF tho Aborigincs Protection
Society even to visit Paris, whilo the
South African natives were noe allow ,
cd to sail
But there arc six Negroes In the
, French House and Clcmcnceau needs
their votes. There were $50 900 black
African troops in the war before
whom France stands with uncovered
head. The net result WAS tina. Clcmcn
ceau Primo Minister of France gave
US permission to hold the pan-Arri-
can Congress In Paris.
! What could Il Pan,African Congress
do? 1t could not agitatc the Negro
) problem in any particular country,
except in so far as that problem could
be plausibly shown to be part OF the
problem Of the future of Africa The
problem of tho future Of Africa was a
difficult and delicate question before
tho Peace Conference so difficult
and so delicate that tho Conference
was disposed to welcome advice and
cooperation.
II the Negroes OF tho world could
have maintained in Paris during the
entire sitting Of the Peace Confer
encc Il central headquarters with OK
pcrts, clerks and helpers they could
have settled the future of Africa at
cost OF less than $40 600.
70 our mind, DR.. Dubois is right
in his declaration that ten thousand
dollars TO maintain permanent head
quarters i'll France could have settled
the future Of Africa. But what would
it have settled for the Negroes in
his country? He says that the Con
ference that was held cost $4,000.
1t was cheap congregation OF intel
lcct. Does the distinguished cconom-
list and scholar mean TO say that this
was all of the money that tho Nation
al Association for the Advancement OF
Colorod People was able to provide?
In all OF these movements, The handi
cap Of race leaders is n lack of money
and tho colorcd people have not
enough confidence in each other it
seems to provide the sum necessary
The men who led the movement at
kindred organizations were right.
The State Department nipped their
plans in the bud and they could not
got across the Atlantic. Money could
have been raised to have kept mon
like Trotter, Jernigan, Waldron and
many others on the othersido in
permanent headquarters where tho
lobbying system would have accom- J
pliShed wonders.
DR.. w. e. b. Dubois has mado a
most Interesting and tinely contrf-
button to the inside history OF this
great war, but his words echoing
throughout the United States of
America in particular and the world
in general will DO reechoed not only
by Emmett J. Scott In reply to his
criticisms but by DR.. r.. r. Notion
In his look Of rebuke for his COM
mont on his actions. Bo;h were In
embarrassing positions and 1t Is only
fair and just to repeat them. AS Dr..
Dubois has said, so say they all.
What did do when 1 got there?
First, there wore certain things that
! did NOT do. I did not hold an
anti lynching meeting on tho Boule-
ward dos 1taliens. x But 1t did
not follow that because I could not
40 everything that l could do moth
ing"
AS to what he did or what he at
tempted to do, DIR. r.. r. Motions
mouth Is closed. That he did bring
some questions to praoi5ant txytI,.u,