The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1921-11-04
THE PRESIDENTS SOUTHERN
TOUR

TOUR
President Harding's invasion Of the
South and his Birmingham speech
has evoked number of conflicting
opinions,
Mr.. David Lawrence, one of the
most noted OF the Washington news
paper correspondents, says that 1t
is tile talk OF the town"
The Republicans commend it as
being brave and courageous and
worthy OF the great emancipation.
The Democrats predict that it will
tend to strengthen more and more
the solidarity of the South.
Those of his immediate friends who
were with the president on the trip
unite in saying that the speech was
opportune and will become historic.
The general expression of the
Southern press is that the speech was
out of place; that the occasion did
not call for such a speech and as a
political stroke will prove failure
1t may be said in connection with
the presidents speech that the aboli-
ton of slavery and placing the ballot
in the hands of those freshly manu-
mitted did not bring about the re-
suits so ardently anticipated.
The status of the negro is as much
a bone of contention now as it was
then.
1t has been more than fifty years
since Mr. Lincoln issued his emanci-
patton proclamation, since which time
there has been a rush of immigration
to the South from the north, east and
west, Notwithstanding which. race pre-
judice here is stronger today than it
was even in the reconstruction era and
it is our Judgment that it will con-
tinue so as long as the Republican
party is strong enough to dominate
the policy of the nation.
1t was born of the discussion of the
slavery question and necessarily it
became intensely sectional.
Apparently it can not diyest itself
of its early traditions and all through
its history it has been fed on stories
of southern horrors
The sentiment growing out of that
issue having dominated the Republi-
can party it in turn caused the politi-
cal solidarity of the South.
And the political solidarity of the
South, caused by this sue, has made
the North more sectional as is shown
by its recent elections
Immediately after the civil war
New York, Connecticut, Indiana and
some of the other states could be
counted on as being safely Democra-
tic but now the extension has become
so great that there is a barrier
growing more and more hostile sepa-
rating the two sections
Discussing President Harding's
southern tour Mr.. David Lawrence
says:
Mr.. Harding has tried COM
promise. He declares he does not
believe in social or racial equality.
That's an important statement for
a president of the United States to
make. But while the south has al
ways insisted upon it's own right
to determine who shall or shall not
be considered social equals, the
trouble is that the true fear of DO
iitical equality is that it may lead to
social equality. At least the southern
democrats here who have made
study of the question declare that the
line between political and social equal |
ity is too hazy to draw. They argue
that political equality |
means the election to office of me- /
gr0es to rule over whites. Such a |
status they add, inevitably carries |
with it social friction
Republicans who defend Mr. Hard |
ing's speech were vehement in their
expressions of approval, pointing out |
that the president had made a real I
appeal for a united nation and had not /
minced his words in contending for |
a genuine and not an imaginary de- /
The fact that negroes had in the
audience applauded and cheered
while whites stood silent, as report
ed in the dispatches from Birmingham,
was regarded as of lesser Importance
than the after-effects of the speech /
on the mass OF people who read and I
did not hear the utterance. One I
thing is certain, Mr. Harding has said
something that is bound to be the
basis for discussion Indeed, it would
not be surprising il the speech were
answered in congress by the south
ern democrats
The Birmingham Post, writing with
in stones throw of the hotel where
President Harding was stopping said
Of the speech:
an conananr With ,,aanv r41,axe ..,,,. i