Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1921-10-26
Says Negro Must Have Chance,
But Can Be No Social Or
Racial Equal

ciated Press. )-The right of the
American negro to broader political,
! economic and educational advantages,
based on a pride of race but never
on an aspiration for social equality,
was championed by President Hard
ing here today in plainly worded
enunciation of his views on the whole
American race problem.
President Harding and his party
arrived here at s ;45 O'Clock this
morning. The day was clear and
warm and the city thronged with Wis
| itors. At the station the president
was greeted by siXty-seVen queens Sc
! lected to represent the states respec-
tive countie sat the birthday party.
The president headed a civic parade
before delivering the principal ad,
dress of the day at noon.
Six hundred plates were laid at a
! downtown hotel for the presidential
| luncheon.
Later in the da yhe will participate
in the laying of the corner Stone of
the million dollar Masonic temple and
will attend the poetic historic page
ant depicting in allegory the history
Of Birmingham.
The president made his first talk
Of the day to members Of the Ala
bama Legislature who came in a body
to welcome him. He told them
Service" must always be the meas
ure of government and said the
Democratic party could not rule the
State of Alabama is it did not serve
the state"
These are some Of the principles
en- which c,he president appealed to
toe nation to Clay aside old preju-
dices and old antagonisms" and give
support to a constructive policy of
racial relationship:
| Politically and economically there
need be no occasion fer great and
permanent differentiation provided
on both sides there shall lie recog-
milton of the absolute divergence in
things social and racial"
81 would say let the black man
vote when he is fit to vote; prohibit
The white man voting whe is unf
to vote"
"a wish t1at both the tradition OF
soidly Democratic South and the
tradition fla solidly Republican
back race might be broken up"
81 would insist upon equal edu-
| cational opportunity for Co,H."
! Man of both races may wen stand
uncompromisingly against every
suggestion ct social equality This
Is moi a question Of =0cia! equality,
but a question of recognizing a fun
damental, eternal, inescapable diff
| ference"
"Race amalgation there cannot be-
| Partnership of the races in develop
ing the highest aims Of all humanity
there must be if humanity is to
achieve the ends which we have SET
fer it,
"The black man should seek to be
and he should be encouraged to be
the best possible black man and
not the best possible imitation of a
white man"
Praises Scath's Recovery.
! The presidents address which
brough, him from Washington on his
first extended trip into the South
since inauguration was delivered at
semi-centennial celebration of the
! founding of the City of Birming-
ham. 1t was devoted almost ex-
clusively to the race question, ,~al-
though Mr. Harding also took occas-
ion to praise the South for its in
dustrial recovery and to renew MS
faith in the world leadership of a
reunited nation. He said in part:
The world war brought US to full
treccgnition that the race problem is
national rather than merely sectional
J There are no authentic statistics, but
it is common knowledge that the
world was was marked by great
migration of colored people to the
North and West. Taey were attract
ed by the demand for labor and the
| higher wages offered. 1t has brought
| the question Of race closer to the
North and West and | believe it has
served to modify somewhat the views
of those sections on this question
1t has made the South realize its
industrial dependence on the labor
of the black man and made the
North realize the difficulties of the
community in which two greatly diff
! fering races are brought to live side
by side | should say that it has
been responsible for a larger charity
on both sides, beginning of better
understanding and in the light of
that better understanding perhaps we
shall be able to consider this PROB
lem together as problem of all sec
tions and of both races, in whose So
luticn the best intelligence of both
must be enlisted
Indeed, we will be wise to recog-
NE it as wider yet. Whoever will
take the time to read and ponder
Mr.. Lethrop Stoddard's book on
The Rising Tide of Color" or say,
the thoughtful review of some re-
| cent literature on this question,
which Mr. F. D. Lugard presented in
a recent Edinburgh review, must