The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1919-05-03
NO MOB RULE HERE.
The Best People Of Both Races Unite
for Law and Order.

Following the informal meeting
held by a number of prominent Ne
groes at the office of the Kansas City
Sun April 10 at which time a commit
tee was appointed to wait upon Mayor
Cowgirl for the purpose of bringing
about a conference relative to resi-
dence disputes which had suddenly
arisen in sections Of the city, much
satisfactory progress has already been
made.
The Mayor expressed himself as
heartily in accord with the idea of a
peaceful settlement of the controver-
sy and declared that those who threat
ensd violent measures would not be
tolerated in any manner. He named
as his special committee to work out
a solution the following Colored men:
DR.. VIM. J. Thompkins, DR.. J E. Dib-
Bile, Rev. VIM. H. Thomas. 7. B. Wat
kins, T. c. Chapman and Joe E Her
riford With these men he also named
Hon. W. T, Kemper, Judge Ralph
Latshaw, Bishop Lillis, DR.. Burris
jenkins, r. A. Long, Mr.. Herbert V.
Jones, Ex-MayOr Geo. H. Edwards,
and Henry NJ. Beardsley.
Several meetings of this committee
have been held and the question has
been freely discussed from all angles,
the general idea being maintained
that the Negroes are not to be mis-
treated in their residence rights by
any hot-headed enemies of the race.
| At a meeting held last Saturday at
the National Bank of Commerce, Mr..
Herbert V. Jones was appointed to
take up the matter with the Kansas
City Real Estate Board, of which he
is president, and to make a report as
to what that body would undertake
in solving the problem. The joint
committee unanimously agreed upon
the following tentative points
l. We believe that the Negro citi-
zens of this community have the in
herent right to live in sanitary and
convenient houses.
2. We believe that as the Negro
population increases, their residential
sections should expand in a natural
manner recognizing that it is impos
sible to regulate this expansion by
any fixed or arbitrary bounds.
8. We believe that in the present
contentious, Negro residence should
remain just as they are and that they
should receive the just protection of
the law.
4. We believe in teh peaceful, law
regarding manner of settling this or
any other civic-social questions, and
we deprecate the passionate impulses
of those who would resort to any Ian
guage or actions which tend to dis
turbance or violence.
! 5. We appeal to the highest tone
of our citizenship to meet this ques-
ton in fairness and honesty, to lay
aside unjust and unreasonable preju-
dice, and we call upon the sober-mind-
ed people of this city to support us
in the exercising Of the reasonable
rights of Negro citizens.
The Kansas City Post was cordially
thanked for the fearless and patriotic
manner in which it had commented
editorially upon the relations between
the races and the inflammatory news
articles published in other local
dailies was condemned. The best
white people of the community have
determined TO rule in this matter and
quick quietus will be placed upon
any lawlessness undertaken by either
race. The Negro members of the
committee have made good impress
sion upon teh white men with whom
J they have been in conference and
may be depended upon to do their
part in fully protecting the interests
of Negro home owners. These men
are now permanently a part of the
Mayors official committee and yill
continue in working out the problem
In the meantime, the Colored people
are advised TO quietly and decently
pursue their wonted habits of good
citizenship, pay absolutely no atten
ton to ignorant rumors and take NO
part in wild controversies. No one
will be compelled to move from his
home, not matter where it is located
unless he does so of his own volition
1t must be well known and admitted
that it is not always expedient for
the members of one race to break into
community of another race far re
moved from their own people. This
is as true of the blacks as of the
whites, but the Negroes must have
natural outlet for their natural
growth and their homes cannot be
restricted to the always least desir
able sections of big city. The way
to settle the question is for both sidei
to be reasonable and fair and at al
! times to be law-abiding.