The Little River news., 1923-04-18
BRYAN DEFENDS SOUTH ON
 NEGRO QUESTION

called upon when the advertised list of speakers was completed. One of the speakers, in emphasizing the im- portance of that part of the Declara- tion of Independence which affirms that all men are created equal, criti cied the limitations that have been placed upon suffrage in some of the Southern states. 1 referred to the ferred to it before during the last cJ years, in order to point out that these limitations are not based upon a re- pudiation of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, but rest upon principle, the first law of nature-everywhere recognized, namely, the right of self to preserve civilization and progress made in the science of government.
 Back in 1898 when we were discus sing imperialism a public man from the South cautioned me against laying too much emphasis upon the Declara- tion of Independence, adding that in the states where the blacks menaced white supremacy it had been found ne- cessary to ignore the doctrine that all men were created equal. I replied that limitations upon the exercise of suffrage by the black race ought not Ito be based upon a denial of the doc- Urine of equality as found in the De- claration of Independence, but upon the real foundation, which in no way contradicts or weakens the Declara- tion of Independence. I defended the doctrine of equality in the inalienable rights of enumerated in the Declara. .tion of Independence and explained to him that the problem which the whites of the South had to solve did not lli- volve the question ot equality before the law; that no one denied that the blacks were entitled to equal pr,tec- tion in their rights. The question le, which race shall control the govern- ment and make the laws under which both shall live? The more advanced race will always control as matter of self-preservation not only for the benefit of the advanced race, but for the benefit of the backward race also.
 In the states where restrictions are placed upon suffrage for the purpose of excluding enough blacks to pre- serve white supremacy, the blacks have the advantage of living under laws that the white man makes for himself as we'll as for the black man. The laws make no distinction in the matter of crime between whites and blacks.
 Suppose. for the sake of argument, that no limitations were placed upon suffrage and that the blacks, voting in masse for officials of their own color, took charge of the government. and made laws for both blacks and whites; is there any white man who believes that the laws made under these circumstances would be better for both, or administered with more fairness than now?
 At the Southern banquet, l enforced my argument by suggesting that Mas sachusetts would do exactly as Vlr- ginia and South Carolina had done if confronted by the same conditions. There is not a state in the Union Ill which the whites would permit black supremacy. This ought to be admit ted without argument, but it could be easily proved if proof were necessary. Republicans are constantly coming South and they at once adopt the Southern view on the race question, as soon as they have to meet the race problem as practical question. The fact that the Republican state of the North never send black men to the United States Senate and House of Representatives is conclusive proof either that the blacks are inferior or that race prejudice keeps them ill the background. The race riots in llllnols' the home of Lincoln and Grant, snow ed that race feeling is just as strong in the North as in the South when condition arises that gives is eXpres- sion.
 It is no reflection upon the black race to say that it could not formulate laws and administer government as well as the white. It is only few centuries since the ancestors of the colored people of the South were brought from Africa as slaves. They have made wonderful progress and they have made it because they have been associated with and helped by white people. Slavery among the whites was an improvement over in dependence in Africa. The very pro- gress that the blacks have made, when and only when-brought into con- tact with the whites, ought to be a
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