The New York herald., 1921-10-28
FRIDAY. OCTOBER 2s, 1921.
The President at Birmingham.

The President at Birmingham.
In his remarkable address at Biz
mingham President HARDING attacked
with courage and intelligent good
faith a problem OF such complexity
on the surface and fundamentally of
such far reaching consequence that
we cannot wonder If his utterances
cause bewilderment in some minds.
There is no more inviting field for
craftsmanship and philosophy than
that which the President boldly en-
tered on Wednesday, in the presence
OF a Southern audience. 1t is globe
wide now in its application. In as
few words as possible, 1t concerns
the practical question Of the way 70
reconcile ineradicable racial and So
cial differences with the demands OF
modern democracy for political equal
ity and industrial equality of opper-
tunity for self-betterment. Our mud
died world has to-day no harder nut
to crack.
The present tendency Of idealism
IN international and interracial rela-
tions is to assimilate both peoples
and individuals and to draw them as
far and fast as possible in the direc-
tion of the melting pot; to attempt
to standardize inherent differences,
so to speak. Against this tendency
President HARDING interposes an in.
trepid declaration of his personal be-
lief that racial distinctions and racial
dest'7ies are to endure forever, and
that it is folly to hope otherwise.
He quotes with approval as ''the true
way out" and as the text Of his own
discourse on the subject the theory
of separation advanced by recent
writer in British review: that is
complete uniformity in ideals, abso-
Lutte equality in the paths of knowl.
edge and culture, equal opportunity
for those who strive, equal admira.
tion for those who achieve; in mat
ters social and racial a separate path,
each pursuing his own inherited ira.
ditions, preserving his own race pur-
poses and race pride; equality in
things spiritual, agreed divergence in
the physical and material"
This seems to say, and the Presi-
dent in his able enlargement of the
theme seems to say, that democracy
homogeneous in the political and in
dustrial sense but consisting of i'm
perishable units forever distinct ra-
cially and socially is not an impos-
sible conception Of the Republics
future. One path for Americans Of
every color to travel when they vote
or study or work; separate paths,
socially and racially, of absolute di.
vergence to the end OF the trail.
It is most interesting theory of
reconstructed democracy. 1t will
bear, and no doubt we shall have a
fuller development OF it's practical ap-
plication and the resolution in de-
tail OF its puZzling difficulties. THE
NEW YORK HERALD admires particu-
larly the breadth of vision and felic-
ity of phrase manifested in passages
like these.
II want 70 see the time come when
black men will regard themselves as
full participants in the benefits and
duties OF American citizenship when
they will vote for Democratic candi-
dates, IL they prefer the Democratic
policy on tariff or taxation or for
eign relations. or what not; and
when they will vote the Republican
tisSet only for like reasons
y nave no sympathy with the half
baked altruism that would overstock
US with doctors and lawyers. OF what
ever color, and leave us In need OF
people fit and willing to do the man.
ual work OF a workaday world. But
would like to see an education that
would fit every man not only to do
his particular work as well as possi-
n1a httt fo rfaa n n higher MANA ~