Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Feb. 7, 1914, edition 1 / Page 23
Part of The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Saturday, February 7, 1914. J SOME LETTERS AND ANSWERS -By CLARENCE POE- ; Plain Talk on an Ugly Subject I WISH, to ask that you bar Buch editorials as the one headed "The 'Revolution "and" Blood 'shed' Talk and Its Significance,' for the future in your paper. The question of land segregation by races is too big to mar by, the injection of such utterances.. . With the general I proposition it is possible to, be in ympathyt and to work quietly . toward that end, but the - quotations of Negro preachers of that sort, North 'or South, ought to be barred,, and so, 4 of course, would all comment ' upon them. To ; bring them to the notice of our white people can have but one effect :to inflame them against the Negro, and so far as the Negro sees them, their effect on - him must be to inflame him against' the -white man, and to discourage him in his efforts to become in any way a better citizen. These results I am sure ou do not wish to pro mote. . Indeed, it does not seem to me 'fair" for you " to use the .word 4 'unfair" in the editorial above in. the phrase, "by unfair economic compe tition." - Granting that the Negro has ; "ability to underlive the white man," "it does not follow that he acquired this .ability dishonestly . or is using . it in any dishonest way in 'the purchase of lands. The sentence would have been stronger,1 I think, if that word had, simply: been omitted. - t ' Because some criticise you foolishly and others criticise severely, don't let them bring you to no tice their criticisms. Hammer' away ovC the philos ophy of the thing.: It must be shown to be reason able, apart altogether'from all cloudying by preju dice or sentiment. . v. . ' W. H. M.; Clemson College, S. C. .. '.-:- . do believe in a fearless, scientific investigation and publication of all the facts bearing . on this great issue, denouncing the sins of the whites as vigorously as, the faults of the blacks. - " I A Socialist Runs Afoul of Us v OUR plan of cooperation does not avoid the 'Scylla of capitalism" but it neroetuates it. There is no "Charvbdis of Socialism." neither does Socialism advocate communism, "as you inti- mate. : .-. .T ' -y - . ' v : ;: . The capitalist wants to own the wealth to make profit off the people and the Socialists want all ' the people to own the wealth so that they may save to themselves the profit that they, now are paying to the capitalists. :. - ' ' ' '22 ' Last spring you misrepresented the Socialists and I wrote you a letter and sent you their plat form and some bookstand pamphlets, so that : if you misrepresented it any more you would have ' to do it wilfully, Some other Socialists wrote to you also, for in a few issues after you said a friend from Virginia called you down on Socialism. You tried' to explain'Ut by saying there were different - (23) .175.. tlons." If he doesn't know there are many kinds of Sociallstshe is' in a poor way to give Informa- ' tion to other people. It Is a case of "PhyBician. heal thyself." Nor do we expect to find Commun---lstic Socialists admitting that communism would cheat .industry certainly not , Nevertheless, it is our. opinion. . - . , .' . ;' '- As for our difference with "Socialist,"- it seems l- ' to be simply a difference of opinions as to whether : . governmental Socialism .is or is not more desir able thana system ?f voluntary cooperation. He thinks, it is and we think it Isn't i; and so, as Mr. . Dooley says, "There ye are." -r : . ''?We cannot refrain, however," from" noting chow characteristic it is of our Socialistic friends that they simply shut their eyes' to any obstacles In the " way of any glorious schemes they want. Instead ' , ' of .the practicable but necessarily slow plan allow V ing white neighborhoods, where they , wish , It, to segregate themselves from Negroes, he would-do the whole job at once byr a wave of the hand, set- ting aside, several States and putting the Negroes there, and everybody would be happy forever after. Of course, there would be nothing to. do -except make the wish in order to get all the white people in "as . many states as were necessary" to sell their ; lands and houses and abandon th.elr homes and .businesses and give them up to the Negroes! ; I have not found such faith, no not. in Israeli . . - - ' ' ". t . kinds of Socialists, which was adding misrepre- . v v v , . . ' 11??'"!?!?!"; I01? is nl! .Injustice to Our Commission Merchants A1UU Ul OUtlttlliai, LUC LUiXU YV LIU WailLS LU gCl till UIO Editorial - Comment. We appreciate what bur. friend says. . It is certainly not our purpose need lessly to stir, up strife at any time. In fact, we" quoted the incendiary" utterances referred to sim ply to make the point" that it is the immoral mix ing of the races in defiance of the laws of God and Nature that Is, largely responsible for the rebel liousness and sedition lot the extreme. Negro lead er. Moreover, while we shall not exploit suc ut-, terances, it is questionable whether we can afford to ignore them; We should not exaggerate the . extent of incendiarism, but to the extent that it does exist, is it not prudent to recognize it? ., Furthermore while', wV know" our friend does not belong to that' class,;we believe he will.' agree with us that - perhaps the greatest menace to the safety of the white South ll the group of. cultured and benevolent' citizens inhigh. places.vwho de nounce every effort to inquire intd the race prob--lem as -'agitation,' Vdemagoguery, V 'stirring up1 race ; feeling," etc. In - the language of the old prophet they , say, "Prophesy not-unto us right things; speak unto us smooth things." "The Ne gro question is settling Itself," they : tell, us,' and The Progressive : Farmer -"almost alone , among Southern journals to day ' is scientifically -probing to the bottom of the Vhole. big problem to see how; it isbeing, "settled." - ;?;- , . We wonder, for example, if ;the official GCbrn ment census figures reported by Rev, A. H. Shan non, of Mississippi Agricultural College in a letter now before us;will In any. way disturb the serene complacency of these peopla.who- like to hide their heads in the sand, ostrich-Jike, and cry out that j they can see nothing going wrong?. Here are the facts in a nutshe that .from" 1870 to ; 1910 the number of mulattoes in this country increased from 584,049 to.2,050,686, or over 251 per cent ; whereas the number of full-blooded Negroes in creased only from 4,295,960 to 7,777,077, or 81 per cent. ' - - -: r:- ) iP"- ''r-- V In other words, there are .not even twice as many full-blooded Negroes as there were in 187 0, but jthere are nearly five times as many mulattoes. In the West1 South. Central States in Uhfs period K (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana), the . proportion of mulattoes ' to Negroes increased ' . nearly 50" ner cent: in the East South : Central (Kentucky, Tennessee, .Alabama and Mississippi),' ine increase in mulatto proportion' was nearly -75 per cent; and in the South Atlantic State, (includ ing the Virginias, Carollnas, Georgia and Flor- ida), the proportion of mulattoes wholly doubled. In The Progresslye Farmer; of February 21 we shall present on this page' some notable utterances toy Mr. Shannon, Prof. T. J.. Brooks, Senator B.. R.. Tillman and others about this whole big, sinister, loathsome subject. It is not going to be pleasant reading, but it's mighty necessary reading and in uiany respects astounding reading, and ought to arouse the whole South to action concerning the Perils that confront us. - ' . ' Look out for it. ':;;V'-.;,i-'-":'' ' ' " I Relieve in being Just to the Negro. I resent and denounce. , the indiscriminate, unreasoning abuse in which politicians so btten engage. : But i labor produces. There are two kinds of oppon ents, the one who wants to get what some one else produces and 'the "average citizen," though they call; themselves" by different-names, as Democrats,,: Republicans and Progressives. You intimate ; that under Socialism , we would have a form of communism by which an idle class, .would live off the labor of others: I challenge you to prove by any .Socialist .book, paper, speaker or writer that Socialism advocates any such. If you haven!t. got the proof, I demand that you retract." Now,' I . am an "average "citizen" but I think ; I know just and right and expect tp contend' for it; I THINK' you' have, caught admirably the spirit of our Eastern Shore of Virginia Produce Ex p.hanErft nnH rifinio.ted with unusual vividness in a few strokes its main aims and woTking methods. Tffere is 'just one particular in which I feel that . you give the Aong impression,' and that; is' with reference Jo the seriousness ' of dishonesty among commission merchants. . ' t , ; ' , " There are, of course, In the" produce business, as in1 every other calling, dishonest men; and the relationship of trust , Involved constantly -"opens the door" to fraud; but it is our opinion," based on long experience; that dishonesty among commis- I am in favor of race segregation: but I would " sionriren'-is t)ie exception and not the rule. - " iiuo inai lavii 10 4vt vuy uvmhdivuuii uwuvuwt of a: commission merchant; but the unintelligehce of this whole plan of distribution, under which have, it right and be done with it; I would give the Negroes as many states as were necessary and put them all there and let them manage their own' local affairs. -No injustice in that but it is best for both races. -7- . z. . : . 2 SpCIALlST. ! Alabama. , Editorial CommentWe print our friend's let-, ter but -we don't see any. occasion fori "retrac- valuable goods are sent out to a market on the mere chance- 'of their being wanted there, and under which it -is impossible to observe any rela tionship between the total needs of: a market for a particular product and the quantity of that pro- ; (Concluded on page 47) HOW '.THE GOVERNMENT. WASJES ITS MONEY mi I IV t iWVUiWQWtiUH . i - , go." ji JJW.IUJJMii.i...l.l..JWWPWfWI hi i . A r V i !f'" v. i " ki - , I w t! -" ?.n T0 YOU see this magnificent Govern' -' JLJ ment building at Raleigh N. C, ' erected not many years ago at great . cost out of beautiful graniter-a . building justly the pride of the city in which itis located, and which Would stand for a thousand years? ' . .- But don't think from this remark that The Progressive Farmer has become an 7. wchitectur'al journal. Nor are we now praising the living. We are only paying v tribute to the dead. For the Government is tearing down this building. It doesn't matter that there is probably not a pri - vate business on the North American ... continent that would have destroyed so beautiful and ample a structure under like conditions or there was ample space to add to it, if needed; in the rear. But the Government doesn't do business that way. Congressmen and Senators must make a reputation for getting big appropriations for their 4,deestricts," and so this building is to be leveled to the earth and about $200,000 of the people's money spent to put another in its place. ' . ; w ' , r u :j" . ; . : And Congressmen go back in campaign' years and proclaim how much they have done for their dear people in this way! : Actually boast of the extravagance they ought to be ashamed of 2 . We know of one able and valuable Congressman whose re-election is threatened because fie opposed the public building plunder in his own district. We do not know what Congressman had th&Raleigh pqstoffice torn down; we are only condemning a system, J '-' '; . - - : How much longer will our farmers be fooled into believing that apprppridtion-getting is' statesmanship? How long before they 'will understand, as Senator Tillman puts it, that "the Government has nothing ' to give except what it takes in taxes from the. people?"- And just how comes the announcement that another . man we have long honoredand respected is to accept a job paying $700 a year which "wUl hardly inter-t fere with his regular ufork" We are astonished that he isnbl ashamed to take such a place, v V : When President Wilson finishes with the tariff, the currency bill, and the trusts, we hope he will start a crusade to stop the waste of the people's money in erecting buildings that are not needed and in paying salaries that are not earned. Fortunately, he will now have the support of. thousands of wealthy and in fluential citizens who heretofore haven't cared how much extravagance went on at Washington. - So (bng as the poor peo'pUt paid the great bulk of the Government's receipts through' tariff taxes on necessities, they - were not disturbed. But now that the wealthy pay on their incomes, they are ready to insist on Govern. mental economy r' 5 'T-' . ' ' V ' -. ' t' ' ' ; lts a good time for the farmers to join the business men inUthngCongressmen.knowthatM is thesmaU' ' nesh of 'appropriations rather than theitbigness which commands votes hereafter,' .. ; .. . c
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 7, 1914, edition 1
23
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75