The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1919-08-20

have managed to live without much
prejudice. There has been good feel
ing. The negro has had political
equality. There has been an attempt
to give him fair representation In
public affairs and not to resent his
presence there.
We admit frankly that If political
equality had meant the election of ne
gro mayors, judges and a majority of
negroes in the city council the whites
would not have tolerated it. We do
not believe that the whites of Chicago
would be any different from the whites
in the south i'll this respect.
We have been able to extend the cs
scntials Of citizenship to negroes free
ly because the whites arc dominant in
numbers. All the essentials are in
the possession Of the negro. He is not
by usage. The law in fact forbids
what actually is done. 1t has been an
illegal, nonlcgal, or extra legal.
Legally 4 negro has right to SER
vice anywhere the public generally is
served. He does not get it, Wisely
he does not ask for it. There has
been an illegal, nonlcgal or extra lc-
gal adjustment founded upon COM
mon sense which has worked in the
past and will wor kin the future.
The fact is that so long as this city
is dominated by whites whether be-
cause Of their numbers without force
or by force if they were in the minor
ity there will be some limitations
placed upon the black people. They
vii be limitations which will not work
an injustice to the black people who
have right TO their own dcvcopmcnt
There is no objection to economic
equality. There is a decided objection
to the exploitation of black labor.
During the war many negroes were
brought from the South. Thousand of
them went into the stockyards. The
war shut off the supply of common Ia
bor The South supplied the want.
Thus the population of the blacks
doubled during the war times Con-
Germs which brought the negro here to
exploit him damaged the community
by throwing the race question on it.
Concerns which needed the negro and
put him upon an equal basis with the
whites, without importing cheap labor
to take the place Of whites, were legit-
imately supplying their need for labor
The race issue in California grew
out Of the fact that the Japanese white
labor supplante dhome labor. That
will produce race troubles as quickly
as anything.
Concerns may have been dereict in
not considering the house problem.
The important negroes could not live
In the streets or vacant lots. They
had to get under roof and getting un-
der roof they suddenly established
new contracts with white neighbor-
hoods
In this change there was bound to
be trouble unless prccaution were TAX
en-, In the present case there is no
evidence of precaution and some Of
prOrocatiOn. 1t is possible for that
question to adjust itself. Such realty
movements cannot take place without
friction, but the friction need not lead
to riots The city is steadily shifting
In residential character. Some of the
people affected by the shifts do not
like it, but in normal times the read
justment is not disturbing to the com
munity. A spread of factories may
change the character Of Il section A
spread of ncogres may do the same
thing.
A writer once summed up the negro
question by saying "the North has the
principles and the South has the ne
&rOcS". We are coming TO have the
negroes and We want to keep the prn-
ciplcS so far as they are applicable.
Industrial radicalism, expressed in
the |. w. w. propaganda among the
negroes will not help us to keep them.
a rebellion by the negroes against
facts which exist and will persist will
not help ua TO keep them, but we are
confident that the situation in Chi
cagO is susceptible Of being handled
in the fashion it has always been han
died