The Dallas express. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1893-1970, 1920-05-08
EX-PRESDENT SAYS SOUTH
SLOWLY SOLVING PROB
Lem.
Sees Much Improvement in
lnter-racial Conditions Due to
Prosperity of Negro and
Changed Attitude Of Whites.
by William Howard Taft.
Public Ledger-Minneapolis Tribune
Service.


St Louis. May GA trip through
the South develops the pleasing fact
that the Negroes of that section have
shared in its general prosperity. They
are better clothed they are better
FED than they were before the war.
Fhether the immigration of a large
the whites of the South with the
need of their continued presence one
cannot say but that they occupy a
somewhat better standing in the COM
munity than they did before, seems
apparent to the casual observer.
There Is one circumstance in the
situation however, which is disquiet-
Ing: The South voted for prohibition.
both by states and in the national
legislature. chiefly because it wished
to lessen the decentralization which
strong drink brought to the Negroes.
But national prohibition is not work.
ing as well as state prohibition. 1t
mas so increased the price of liquor
Of any quality that. 1t makes moon
shining most profitable. In the cities
the law has abolished saloons most
effectively, law has abolished sa-
looms most effectively. and their re-
cord of crimes is much improved. But
in the country where policing is diff
cult. moonshine stills have been erect
ed in many places and the clandestines
sale of liquor is general.
Negro Labor Affected.
This affects Negro labor Injurious
ly In two ways. 1t enables those who
are working the stills to make money
enough and In short time. They
Will not work in the fields. 1t fur
nishes the means OF getting drunk
to others. and leads to constant dis
order and idleness. How far a more
rigid federal enforcement of the law
may remedy this evil remains to be
seen.
Of course. lynching continues in
s fes D of tSe aydf9Ge of tas asd fg Se
vicious brutality created by race pre-
Iudice. but the good people of the
South greatly deplore it, and the pro-
tests Of leaders of public opinion grow
stronger and more appealing.
In that charming city of Augusta
with its fine colonial and ante-war as
sociations and with the refinement
and culture which the best type of
the old Southern families has pre-
served. there is as satisfactory a rela-
tion between the races as anywhere
in tn South. The city is fortunate in
ba bne dstieGi ieadershiP OF two men; who would
ter and personal charm anywhere
Major Joseph B. Cumming and Major
J; C, C. Black. They are veteran SOL
diers Of the Confederacy and the mes;
the community feel proud of their
leadership as well they may They
have. too the profound respect and
confidence of the Colored people of
that city and region, whose sincere
friends they are.
View in Educational Center.
Augusta. is Negro educational
center, Rev, Charles Walker. D. D.,
known Familiarity as Charley Walk
err is full-blooded Negro of real
eloquence and moral force, who has
built up for himself with the aid
of his white friends. an institutional
church and vocational training
school He counts Major Cumming
and Major Black as among his strong
sood amUns the Nerroes of f9r
Miss Lucy Laney founded a vocational
school for Negro girls. which has
been successful and the Methodist
church conducts a school of excellent
Colored women.
On Sunday morning last there was
published in the Augusta Chronicle,
the oldest paper in the South, a sign
ed editorial by Major Cumming on
proper race relationship" Major
command of English. pure
and undef1led. is exceptional. He be-
gins his notable article by summar-
izing the history of the Negro race
in the South.
OF the present he says:
Negroes, as a whole, are a we'll
uiSpOStu anu law PtOpl6. lllI-
eracy has made great progress, and
many are fairly and a few highly
They have accumulated pro-
perty and they engage in all the
various kinds of business and avoca-
tions the same as the whites, and
in all their relations to the business
and political world they are. before
the law, equal to the whites.
Must Work Under Laws.
with reference to the relations be-
tween the races, there seems to be
no call for changes in the laws. The
changes. if any needed. are in the ad-
of the laws and in the
spirit in which they are administered.
My observation leads me to believe
that where Negroes are defendants
in criminal cases. the innocent are
acquitted as often as innocent white
but the guilty Negro de-
fendant does not escape as often as
the guilty white defendant escapes.
In this there is no injustice to Me-
groes. but disgrace to the white
people. I am inclined to believe also
that in civil cases. involving the prop
erty rights of Negroes the law is
fairly and impartially administered,
but on this point am not sure
There should be certainty in this re-
spect and all right-minded persons
should strive for 1t.
"The occupancy of the same coun-
try with the same laws by two such
widely different races is not de-
sirabie. as an original proposition,
but that condition, in fact. confronts
u.s. We are here-white and black.
(Continued on mage 81.