“Granted that all you say is true, still the Negro does not sin against ages of accumulated knowledge of right and wrong. It is not absolute incapacity in the Negro either, but mere want of information, arising from lack of intelligent exercise of the perceptive faculties. These faults you speak of are but the remnants of an old irresponsible life. The majority of our race has turned aside forever from the old beaten paths of slavery into the undiscovered realms of free thought and free action. Some of the race may abuse the newly acquired liberty by petty pilfering or an overflow of religious enthusiasm, but the Negro has changed, whether you realize it or not; times have changed, and the Negro with them.”
There was a murmur of applause as he finished speaking.
“Well,” returned the Southerner, “we will grant that some of you are making progress, but you cannot claim that as a race you are capable of becoming such examples of manhood as you and your friends. To most of you the mystery of government will always remain a mystery; and the hope of assimilating many things which are second nature to the white man, will never become a reality to your race.”
“I believe that the same rules which govern all races will be applicable to mine,” returned Will. “If men are rude and foolish, down they must go. When at last in any race a new principle appears, an idea, that conserves it. Ideas only save races. If the black man is feeble and impotent, unimportant to the existing races—not on a parity with the best races, the black man must serve and be exterminated. But, if he carries within his bosom the element of a new and coming civilization, he will survive and play his part.”
“Hear, hear!” cried the foreign secretary of legation, applauding vigorously, delighted at the strong, combative style in which the brave young fellow met the ancient enemy of his race. “No race is hopelessly lost to the world of progress that produces such manly specimens within fifty years of emancipation.”
“England is troubled over the fact that the two races do not mix, and to all appearances never will,” now joined in Mr. Withington. “There seems to be no common ground between them; they cannot live together harmoniously. Can you, gentlemen, explain this to me? I should like to carry back with me, when I return, a clear realization of the facts in the case as viewed by each party to the question. That is part of my mission in this country.”
“It is true,” said Doctor Lewis, “that our condition is alarming to a degree. Over ten thousand graves made since the war by mob violence, are dotting the South, and of these ninety percent are the graves of black men.”
“You do not get these facts abroad because newspaper reports are doctored by local Southern writers who participate in the lynchings. Free speech and public discussions are not allowed. In the South you must think and speak as the mob dictates,” here chimed in John Langley.
“But surely you have constitutional equity before the law? you can gain redress from the Federal government?”
“Constitutional equity is a political fiction,” laughed Will.
“Reconstruction is a failure, then?” asked Mr. Withington.
“Reconstruction is not a failure, although the whole South will tell you so, and the North is being persuaded to so believe; the Negro was the living force which rent asunder the old methods of the slave-holding states and brought them out into the healthful light of decent, God-fearing living. But they are trying to take all the credit for the good we may have done them, from us. The lines are drawn more sharply than before the emancipation. Constitutional amendments are dead letters; the ballot-box is nil,” replied Will.
“All of which goes to show that race is stronger than law,” broke in the Southerner.
“Rather that barbarism is superior to civilization.”
“What about the crime of rape?” asked Mr. Withington.
“In nine cases out of ten,” replied Lewis, “you will find that the Negro is guiltless of this awful crime. It is brought forward to alienate the sympathy of all decent men from us. It is a crime that strikes the home ties, and as such is the most deadly weapon that has yet been used against us. We invite investigation in this direction, and you will then find that it is not a characteristic of the black man, although it is of the white man of the South.”
“You cannot prove your assertions!” exclaimed the Southerner, white with passion.
“I can.”
“Name a case.”
“John Thomas of Georgia.”
“He was guilty, and deserved his fate. You, gentlemen, must have heard the story of the atrocities committed by that man. The woman’s husband was brutally murdered and she was assaulted. We made the fate of the black devil a terrible example for the rest of his kind in Georgia.”
“Do you not know that that story has been proven false all through? It was this way, gentlemen: After the man Thomas was lynched, the colored people were convinced of his innocence. A sum of money was raised by subscription to hire the services of a reputable detective to investigate the matter. He visited the scene of the alleged crime, and it was found that Thomas worked for Cragen on his farm. Thomas heard that his mother was sick, and wished to visit her; having no money, he applied to Cragen for his pay. This enraged the latter, and he drew his revolver to shoot the Negro. Quick as a flash Thomas seized an axe which happened to be lying near, and struck Cragen, killing him instantly. He then fled to the woods. Mrs. Cragen says that Thomas did not assault her; she never saw him.”
“And for defending himself they lynched him?” said Mr. Withington, with a look on his face which expressed incredulous astonishment, combined with disgust.
“Yes; that was the detective’s report, given under oath. What the man suffered at the hands of the lynchers could
