| Show THE NEW YORK TR 13 BUNE UN E AND THE NEGRO PROBLEM THE past three or four weeks we have perused the louisville cou courier ier journal the nashville american the atlanta constitution the journal news senti nel and world aud the leading i papers of chicago ju v I 1 boston aud new york and the I 1 editorial writers of all these the IT great ecat jour journals nas admit that there i ii a negro or race problem the polut solution of which cannot be fathomed ulie oie of the most striking editorials upon the race or negro problem I 1 emanates from froin the editor rif of the new york tribune of recent date its editor brushes aside the illinois nois riots in in relation to the coal miners strike as purely incidental and the riots nota in in Gree greenwood nood county S C for he maintains that the I 1 negro is i no longer a factor iti in south carolina polities politics since the adoption of the new constitution but when we come to north carolina and the troubles over the wili I 1 city government there the tribune says we find not ly the senseless race feud hut bu t the i real race problem the south carolina disturbance was riot and murder the north carolina disturbance tur bance was revo revolution revolute luti on and murder I 1 there appears to be no doubt I 1 that the negro rule was bad i now so far we are in harmony with what the tribune has stated I 1 in reference to the race problem but when it attempts attempt to convey the idea that the city north carolina was governed and ruled by the negroes it does n not ot know what it is talking about and i it is like the salt lake herald which v is generally wrong and seldom right the truth of the matter is is the negroes beg of north carolina do not hold as many offices officers ceis as they are entitled to from the basis of the i tax taxes es they pay without re regard ard to their excess of population in the i city of wilmington comparatively speaking there were very few colored office holders although the I 1 colored vote was an overwhelming majority majori tv the mayor ma y or the chief of police and all other officials iciak off of importance impo artance except the recorder were white men but the latter was an honest intelligent faithful faitha ul official and rejected great credit upon the degro race he had held that position for a great many yeara by bv virtue vrue of the votes of the he I 1 best white people it is said upon good authority that he filled the office to the ii satis atis 1 cacoon acon of all concerned the thel board of aldermen consisted of niue nine white men meka and two negroes i akki he city fin finances anies were under the control CO narp of four white men whose hose characters wre were above reproach aud and one negro the police form force w was composed corn posed ot often ten colored men and thirty one white MAY mayor or white who was compelled to tet resign A and nd who was driven out oat of the city was one of the wealthiest acu in wil gt ai or tw mir jl UM wile while on 0 i ape M vadda P ab 4 bcd mma 1 1 5 f dd nin tw 7 ty e f ife z a office by the will of the mob is a penniless broken down threadbare politician tie he is no taxpayer ax payer he owns no property and has never contributed one cent toward the improvement of the city of wilmington iiii ton and for several years he has been living e off the earnings of I I 1 his hii wife who h a music teacher ex governor jurvis jarvis who was another leader af the mob traveled all over the state crying out agal against the dangers to which the taxpayer were subjected because of negro domina domination tiou yet this political bummer according to the records I 1 only onla pa paid id in taxes during the year v ear 1897 but bit manly the negro negro editor whose printing office was was burned down by waddell jarvi jarv s awl and a motley crowd of auld would be ille and law abidi abiding ncr citi citizens zeus paid teh times more taxes than waddell and ex yet iu in spite spile of these facts the new york tribune and the salt lake herald claim that the city of wilmington was r governed gov by a lot of irresponsible and ignorant and unscrupulous negroes but there is one redeeming feature in the tribune editorial which is worthy of oar our serious consideration namely that this attack ou on democratic principles diio should carue from states which have always asserted superior devotion to the pure and ideal democratic philosophy is is humorous but the situation is is not one in which humor predominates the problem is a serious one and it has two sides and it is made serious by bv ineradicable and irrational race prejudice f but for that a solution might be f found if the people of the southern states would frankly say that they wanted to be ruled by their best beat rather than their worst citizens und and proceeded to shut out from suffrage undesirable white voters on the same terms as the undesirable blacks there would be e one solution if they would devote themselves heartily to the work of training the ignorant voters so as to secure good government from them th that at would be a better I 1 I 1 I 1 though alwer process but as it is they retard rather than mote the advancement and reform auf I 1 of the most dangerous emment element in their population and legislate egi legi blate not against ignorance a idd vice for 1 their own sake but bat against them as exhibited by negroes in consequence revolution is the only i i road out of the country they make unendurable for t themselves heba selves and the shotgun revolution such as f wilmington tou has just witnessed in such outbreaks the south declares I 1 that all men are not equal |
