Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-05-18
Washington
Letter
CONGRESS PREPARING
FOR NEGRO'S ENTRANCE,
FIRST IN MANY YEARS
~ EharIna q Stewart

~
WASHINGTON, May 1s.-The pros
rect-indeed. the practical certainty
that a negro, Oscar de Priest, will
succeed the late Martin r. Madden
A. one Of ChicaGo's representatives in
the next congress Is giving the south
ern contingent on Capitol Hill quite =
bit to think about.
In fact. some northern members are
wondering whether de Priests advent
in Washington won't lead 10 difficult
political complications.
Southern negroes In the house Of
representatives are no new thing.
There have been 20 Of them. first and
last. not 70 mention n couple Of sen
ators. De Priest. however. III he
comes. will be the first one-but
probably hy no means the last-from
the north.
The new situation will be distinctly
different from the old ne.
Negro voting. it's pretty we'll rec
ogniZed. IL discouraged south Of the
Mason-Dixon line. Even when. due
to post-civil war conditions, a few
colored men were being elected 20
congress. il was tacitly understood
that it would be stopped as soon as
possible-as 10 was before this CEN
fury opened-and hasn't been repeat
ed.
In the northern states, wherever
African ballots are available in con-
siderable numbers. they're wanted.
Hitherto they haven't been very
literally paid for in nominations. be-
cause it's only recently that there
| have been sufficient accumulations Of
them to be valuable. but they'll have
TO be. once it's started. and IL sp-
pears TO have started now in Chi
caEo.
The Windy City certainly has a
sure-fire black congressional district.
So has New York. which presum-
ably will be heard from next.
Cleveland has one, or pretty nearly.
According to estimates. a dozen or
fifteen northern districts have colored
tlocs sufficiently formidable to COM
mand az least respectful attention.
It's an unprecedented state OF af-
fairs-about 10 years old-since the
shift in negro population began. from
southern plantations to northern in
dustrial centers.
Politicians hadn't realized II.
They're quite positive the negroes
hadn't.
The difficulty Congressman Madden
ran into when he sought renomina-
tion in his First Illinois district this
spring was an eye-opener. Then fol-
lowed his death and the districts
definite surrender to a colored candi.
date.
Teh ice having been broken. the
congressional prophets look 20 see
the negroes demanding all that's com
ing 10 them everywhere they thinl
they can get it.
AS they visualize the future. the
black congressman from the NORTH
won't find himself in the position o.
hanging prec~ariously onto office unit
times change, as his southern prede
oessor did: he'll be rather surer OF
4 permanency than the average white
representative, and may become
real power in Washington.
II so, to just what extern. he'll in
terest himself in the political welfare
Of his brethren in Dixie is the prob.
lem.
The idea Of n negro member. a
real ability and influence. telling con
gress all he has on his mind concern
ing the southern status of the Four.
teenth and Fifteenth amendments
can't but give rise 70 forebodings al
a great plenty Of Ill feeling in the
house of representatives.