The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1924-05-06
BLACK MILLIONAIRE IS
JUST GEORGIA NEGRO"
FORMER SLAVE SAYS SOCIAL
EQUALITY OF THE RACES
IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY.
NEGRO'S PLACE is In SOUTH


pathy in North, and Has to Work
Much Harder His Own Success
Due to Assistance of White Friends.
Joseph Haywood Blodgett was born
a slave in Augusta Ga, GO years ago.
His mother was young negress as
BLACK as the black of the chimney"
Thirty-hve years ago, writes Rever-
ent Thomas B. Gregory in the San
!. Francisco Chronicle, Blodgett hoated
down the Savannah river to Savannah,
and from Savannah drifted on down
the coast to Jacksonville, Fla When
he struck the Gate City" of the land
OF flowers Blodgett had $3.50 in his
pocket. Today he is the richest negro
in the whole southland, lives in the
city Joy rides in real Rolls Royce,
IS sort OF god among the other ne
groes, and has the respect and good
will OF all the white folks in these
parts"
| had a talk with B1odgett, says Mr..
Gregory and at my request he told me
the story of his life He is a man of
uncommon mental ability, fluent, elo-
quent, forceful, and but for the handi-
cap OF his so per cent negro blood
would have become long before this
one of the most famous men in the
nation.
Can't Change Racial Status
81 was negro when | struck this
place, most 40 years ago, and l am a
negro yet" he said with grim frank
ness MY money hasn't changed that
fact Nothing can change it. If was
worth thousand million the fact
would still exist
And right here we have the bot
tom difficulty with the negroes. They
forget they are negroes. They are
foolish enough to think that constitu-
tional amendments, civil rights bills,
smattering of education and little
commercial success can make white
folks of them.
at can be done The negro is a ne
gro by decree OF Almighty God, and
all the legislation and all the book
learning and all the wealth and all the
spreadeagle speeches of all the Boston
negro orators will never be able to I'm
do what the Almighty God has done.
| You can't untwist the kink in the ne
gro's hair. or take that black pigment
from under his skin, or change -<he
shape of his nose, or the shape and
convoutions of his brain, or give him
the white mans genius and character
"The negroes don't seem to realize
| this fact, but the white man does, and
he has just simply made up his mind
to save his race and civilization from
destruction at the hands of the negro.
! NTno-o Coo;aIIxx
ITO do this he must keep the negro
socially apart from the whites If he
allowed the negroes social equality
black men would be marrying white
women and the race-whose genius has
made the world what it is would in a
few generations Become extinct.
This the proud whites will never
permit and the sooner the negroes
! find this out the better it will be Tor
all concerned.
"As for myself, / have enough sense
to keep my place In business matters
| am the white mans equal, before
/ the law | am his equal but when it
comes to social equality | remember
| that | am negro and stop on my side
! OF the line. If | didn't | would very
soon be a dead negro.
! "And this reminds me of the very
/ foolish idea entertained by some ne
groes. that up north the negroes have
the social equality that is denied them
| in the south. 1t is not So Into the
sanctuary of the white mans home IN
the north the negro finds no entrance
/ North as we'll as south there are de-
generate whites, and these (but cor
poraPs guard as compared with the
total white population) may hobnob
| socially with the negro, but, these so
| cial nobodies excepted, the white man
Iup north guards his -hreside as careful
/ " as does his white brother IN the
southland"
| Mistake to Leave South.
"What have you to say concerning
the emigration OF the negroes north?
ITO leave the south for the north
/ is the most foolish thing that the ne
/ gro could do. The negro is probably
better paid in the north, but the extra
cost of living in the north probably
evens the thing up. Then, again, the
negro who goes north misses the good
will that he finds here. To begin with,
he has to work much harder; and be-
tween him and the boss there is no
such kindly spirit as exists IN the
south between the negro and his en-
ployer Not only So but down here
when the negro gets into trouble, fl
nancial or otherwise, the white man
helps him out of his difficulty, while
up north he has no patient, good ma
tured, kind hearted friend to fall back
on.
The place for the negro is in the
south, and he will find out that such
i the case after a while. The negro is
Slowly learning his lesson by expert
ence, and in the light of the experience
he will see the utter foolishness of the
talk that is being made by the flannel
nouthed negroes Of the Dubois stamp.
mot long ago there was big ne
gro meeting in the Academy OF Music,
Philadelphia. A big negro, who, l am
sure had hired the suit of clothes he
had on, got up and said he pitied the
poor, down trodden negro IN the