The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-19
NEW YORK HAS
 COLOR LINE IDEA
Wants To Know How Best To Separate Races In Home
 Sections

hoW uO yOu SOuJneFHeTS prevent negro encroachment on white residen- tial territory?" asked letter just re- ceived by the Birmingham Real Estate Board from F. A. Werthman of Utica, \. r., an official of the New York Realtors association.
 Things like this simply don't hap pen down here," wrote Secretary S. c. Starke in reply. If one of our white men sells fine lot in white territory to negro he usually meets with seri- ous embarrassment of one sort or an other."
 Mir. Starke, before giving the New York association the informat tiOn natured sarcasm over the idea of northern state asking information of this kind from southerners.
 Here is the reply in part:
 Having partially recovered from the astonishment caused by your favor of the 10th inst. in regard to housing your negro citizens. l shall in all mod esty and with due recognition of my temerlty venture d suggestion as to how the matter solves itself down here. l recognize the fact that we of the south have always been so close up against this negro problem that we could never hope to solve it in the spirit of fairness, justice, and human lty that the academicians of the north demanded of us in their ignorance of the real conditions and their safe pO- sitlOn far away from the scene of ac- tion. Assuming that Fall River and Boston and even Providence, k. l., have grown irritable over your inhu- manity and will no longer even try to convert you to an altruistic and gen uine brotherhood among men, and es- pecially among all citizens of our own country, 1 will, without further play ful banter, address myself to your very reasonable request.
 Tn the very outset, I would state that neither race here cares to invade, it would seem, any district pre-emi- nently devoted to the other. That is to say, the negroes do not even try to buy in well-established white sec tions, and of course, the better class of whites do not live close to the ne- sroes, except in those border zones between the two where some admix- ture occurs. In short, my dear sir, your problem may hardly be said to exist here at all. A general under- standing seems to prevail, and we have no city ordinance or state law to pre- vent what you are striving against. Recently our state legislature passed an enabling bill to allow our large cit ies to put in zoning ordinances. When the matter was pending, we were ad- vised by local attorneys that no racial distinctions could be made as same would render zoning act unconstitu- tlonal, and so none were made.
 Tt is difficult to really suggest any thing to help you in your peculiar sit uation which distinctly does not ob- tain here in our southland. The negro understands the white man. knows what to expect, and is accustomed to the traditions that have long guided both race. When he becomes too i'm patient of restraint, the negro is easily induced to go to the north where he hopes to find the situation much more to his liking in every particular. As you know, many of them return to the south, much disillusioned
 You will pardon, I trust. the length of this letter and its baroness of help- full suggestions. The truth isbI q. not know, what to suggest. While tradi- tioh IS VI eHOrHOaS help 10 us, tradl- tions in regard to the north are dis tinct influences to aggravate your problem enormously, reinforced as they are by. the fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States. 1 dare not advise you to try to put through any law or ordinance in con- fllct with the amendment. Cupidity on the part of the white man, ambition on the part of the negro, and northern traditions are distinctly against you in solving the problem.
 Hoping you will take the banter in the first part of this letter in perfect good humor I am,
 Very truly yours,
 "(Signed) $. C. STARKE.
 Executive secretary,
 Birmingham Real Estate Board" unon(cd