The complaint now with many of
those who oppose the Negro is not because he lacks ability, but rather
because he uses too much and sometimes gets the situation that they
want. This is pre-eminently so from a political standpoint and the
reported arguments used to stir the poorer class of whites to rally
against the Negroes in Wilmington during the campaign just before the
late MASSACRE there in the fall of 1898, was a recital by impassioned
orators of the fact that Negroes had pianos and servants in their
houses, and lace curtains to their windows-this outburst being
followed by the question, "HOW MANY OF YOU WHITE MEN CAN AFFORD TO
HAVE THEM?" So as to the problem of the Negro's imbibing the traits of
civilization, that point is settled by what he has already done, and
the untold obstacles which are being constantly put in his way by
those who fear his competition. The question then turns not so much on
what shall be done with the Negro as upon WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH THE
WHITE
Men who are so filled with prejudice that neither law nor religion
restrains their bloody hands when the Negro refuses to get into what
he calls "his place," which place is that of a menial; and often there
seems no effort even to put the Negro in any particular place save the
grave, as many of the lynchings and murders appear to be done either
for the fun of shooting someone, or else with extermination in view.
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