Class __EAib Book_ GopyiiglitTJ W coFXRiGirr DEPosrr. 9 / HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS A Complete Scientific Exposition of the Most Tre- mendous Question that has ever confronted V^o races in the ^vorld's history By PROF. JOHN JAMES HOLM INCLUDING a Resume by the follo'wintf noted Afro-Americans, prepared by them for this book: Rev. John H. White, D. D. Dr. James E. Shepard Prof. George E. Davis. Ph. D. Prof. William Pickens Bishop AlexanderWalters, A.M.. D. D. James E. McGirt Anna D. Borden Sophia Cox Johnson Bishop J. W^. Smith, D. D. Rev. J. W. Wood. D. D. Profusely Illustrated with nearly 100 Half- tones, including many striking original dra^vings by the author Published Exclusively By J. L. NICHOLS £? COMPANY Naperville, 111. Atlanta, Ga. AGENTS WANTED Mi4 Copyrighted, 1910, BY PROF. JOHN J. HOr^M CI.A28(n4S / ' "^ % J 4 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Preface 15 Introduction. By Marion Edward Church 19 I. The Blood of Ham and Japheth 25 Our Position— Ancient History — Xoah and the Flood— Variety and Union— The Three Divisions of the Races— Aryan, Semitic, Hamitic— The Kinky-haired Hamite — Was Buddha a Kinky-haired Negro?— The Negro —He Again Attains Civilization— Mr. Roose- velt Says That There Will be a White Africa —He Helped to Enslave Himself— Facts Briefly Stated — Classifying the American Negro. II. Conflicting Elements of Progress 4S Lack of Confidence — Underground Current —Whites Disappointed in Them— No Cheap Labor— Commercial Growth — The Negro Dis- covers He is Needed— He Goes to the City— We Deplore the Fact— A Cry for More Ef- ficient Labor— Foreign Immigration will Prove a Blessing to the Negro— The Negro Must be Ireated with an Object. III. The "Smart Negro" 58 How Knowledge Spread— The Old Planta- tion Schools— Chivalrous Spirits— They Are Bound to Rise— May As Well Confess It— Not Weak and Helpless— Will Not Submit to Wiles of White Relatives— Would be No Race Question— The White Man's Blood— The White Man Stands Accused Before God —Negro Cannot be Deported— An Endless Relationship Between the Races in the South —Give Credit Where It Is Due— Some Smart Negroes. (Honorable Frederick Douglass, Dr Booker T. Washington, Honorable P. B S Pinchback, Honorable Theophile T. Allain Rev. Henry McNeal Turner, D. D , LL D ' Rev. Lemuel Hayes, A. M.; Honorable 5 6 CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER ^^^.^^^ ^ ^^^^^^ ^ g ^ ^^^ ^j^ B.: Col- onel Robert Harlem, Samuel Jefferson Davis Rev. Bartlett Tavlor. Bishop James Vanck.) —The Full-blooded Negro Has Talent. IV. Educatiox and Equality 87 Education in a Republic Means Equality- Brute Force May be Used— The Japanese May Own the Southern States— A Great Army of Children— What Then?— Southern White Illiteracy— Darkest Africa in America -Inequality and Education a Transparent Doctrine— What Japanese Think of It. V. The Color Line 112 Do Not Champion the Negro at the Ex- pense of Southern WMiites- Hard Things Hurled at Negro's Friends— A Highly Censur- able Act— Would Denounce Jesus— The Fif- teenth Amendment— Gap Just as Wide Be- tween Negro and White— Indians and Negroes Vote— Tillman Does Not Want the Negro's Heel on His Neck— Color Line in Politics— Thev Rub in the Color Line— The Negro's Place — Another Anti-Negro Philosopher— A Broad, Unbiased Investigation — God's Finger of Approval is Upon the Mulatto. VI. Northern Prejudice 134 A Scattered Few Hold Color Line in Con- tempt — The Color Line Fever — The Color Line Among Spanish War Veterans — The Colored Gentleman— Colored Children of the Gentleman— A Bad Element Not a Credit. VII. Color Against White 147 A \\'rong Feeling — A Fraternal Spirit and a Tie that Binds— Whj^t Can be thc_ First Cause of the Impending Social Eruption? — They Have Kindled Their Own Fire— The Dangerous Class of Negroes — Secret Orders Among the Negroes — Fundamental Doctrine — The Pink-skinned Man is His Friend — Love Begets Love — A Terrible Day for America. VIII. Crime, Law and Punishment ; ITl Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth— The :\Iost Outrageous Practice — Horrors in American Prisons — United States Penal System is a Failure — Who Makes the Criminals^— The Lynch Law — The Negro as a Criminal — Few- Outrages Committed in the North — Why? — CONTENTS 7 CHAPTER PACE Who Does the Lynching in the South? — The Substitute for Lynch Law — A Kind of Mock Trial — Virginia Has Such a Law — State Eunuch Institutions — The Sterilization of Criminals — Contrary to Divine Law — Are the Jungles Calling Him Back? IX. The TiiMPERAMEXTS 200 The Mental Temperament — The Vital Tem- perament — The Motive Temperament. X. The Brain and the Mind 216 The Making of a Perfect Man— Brain and Mind— Results When Mental Dissimilarities Cross — Skull and Brain Growth — Cranial Capacity of the Races— What Indicates Mental Power? — The Size of the Head. XI. Dissemination and Attraction 228 Dissimilarities Affiliate for Evolutionary Growth— The Law of Species— The Divine Plan of Man's Redemption— The Garden of Eden— Would Experience a Calamitv— Dis- semination Grows Stronger — There is a Divine Purpose in Mixing— Is Outrageous, Yci Divine. XII. Race Integritv 24:5 The Race Integrity Crank— The Man Who Is Not a Negro— Would Encourage Inter- marriage—Nature Alwavs Endeavors to Pro- duce Her Best— Was Never Taken Seriously —Thousands Are Not Negroes— A Woman Endures a Man's Embrace— Race Inte^^ritv Nothing But a Pad- One Race Savs Maximo Gomez— Race Pride is a Political Issue South. Xiri. The Anti-Miscegenation Movement.. 263 Editorials From Prominent Southern Papers —Professor Holm Writes Hon. Harris Dick- son— Honorable Harris Dickson Answers- Membership in the Anti-Miscegenation League —Information Blank— Professor Holm Ans- wers Dickson, Defending His Position— OfT- ^^u'"^ ?Ji^^^ Constitute Legal Marriage — Those Who Live Together Must xAIarry— Some Whites Are Unduly Attracted Ama- torially— There is Plenty of Evidence. XIV. .Social Vice Versus Legal Interm \r- riag"e 2*-Q Unnatural Conditions Between the Races the Lause of Vice— Is Shocking, Indeed— The 8 CONTENTS CHAPTER Ethical Side Must he Considered — Forbidden Fruit IS Sweetest — All Races Melted Together Here — Evidences of Forty-five Years' Illicit Mixing — Cannot Prevent Love But Would Not Advise Marriage — Should be No Admix- ture of Racial Stock — The Men Who Arc Bent on Mixing — Compelled to Advocate Legal Intermarriage — The True State of the Colored Woman — Frederick Douglass Saw It — Intermarriage Prohibitions are Degrading — The Colored Man Would Receive Social Justice — Our Marriage Laws are Outrageous — Where Indians and Whites Marry — A Polit- ical Change Means Social Elevation and Sal- vation — Love Between the Sexes of the Races is Conducive to Home Life — Why the Law is Powerless. XV. Woman's Place and Power PAGB 333 A Perfect Posterity Should be the Aim — Children a Necessary Evil — Single Blessed- ness — Women Will Propose — Women's Suf- frage Would Prove of Benefit to Man — They Will Solve the Race Question — Racial Purity —What Is It?— A Bad Kind of Mixing— The Greatest Thing is Love — The Hope of the World — An Appeal to Noble Womanhood — Facts Are Stubborn. XVI. Scientific Adaptation of White and Color 35T A Superbly Mated Pair — A Mismated Ex- ample — Almost a Colored Venus — Examples of Physical and Mental Degeneracy — How Much Better Not Thus Born — Phrenological Location of the Social Evil — Offspring of Right Crossing — Offspring Alone Constitutes True Marriage. XVII. Beautiful Examples Illustrated 379 The Mating of Superior Dissimilarities — Three Generations — The Progeny of the Un- desirable Father. XVIII. Love, or Sex-Amalgamation 391 How Superior Children Are Born — Who Is and Who Is Not Married — Right and Wrong Sex-Amalgamation — The Loss of Sjamina At- tributed to Unnatural Conditions — What Prof. Wm. A. McKeever Says of College Students — The Human Race Neglected — Changing Cos- CONTENTS 9 CHAPTER PAGE ditions Change Character — Parents are Crim- inally Negligent — A Child Well Born is Trained at Birth — A Mother is the Pre-natal Kindergarten Teacher. XIX. Psychic Evolution, or Soul-life and Thought Force 413 Soul-Life — No Soul-Life — Highly Developed Soul-Life— The Man Who Feels All is Matter —We May Change If We Will It— We Re- ceive as Much as We Believe — Material Evi- dence Illustrates — Man is a Conscious and Creative Being — Parents Shape the Soul of Their Children — A Union of Thought-forces are Irresistible — The Way Out Summed Up. ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Prof. John James Holm 2 Rev. Marion Edward Church , 19 How Science and Prejudice Differ in the Likeness of Noah 30 The Daibutsu at Ueno, Japan 36 The Daibutsu of Industrial Education in America 37 A Full Blooded African 44 The Poor Mortal 53 The Lowly in the Black Belt on Sunday Morning 60 Vardaman's Ideal of Justice ; 65 Stripes Without Stars 72 A Group of Smart Negroes, Born During Sl.wery 77 Phillis Wheatley 81 Moses Meets Princess Tharbis , 84 Scholars of a Black Belt District School 93 A Student in Brown 96 Anti-Negro Philosopher 122 He Vomits Political Race Dope 130 A Group of Colored Children of the Gentleman 143 The Old Black Mammy ,. 150 A Sort of Leech 152 Sermon on the Mount » 162 Burning at the Stake 180 ■Convict Camp 186 Three Pencil Studies in Crime by the Author 190 The Three Temperaments 201 ■Olivia D. Washington 202 Prof. S. G. Atkins 203 Dr. Joseph C. Price 205 Temperaments ^ 208 Bishop B. W. Arnett 211 Hon. Frederick Douglass 214 A Scientific Christ 217 Results When Mental Dissimil.\rities Cross 222 11 12 ILLUSTRATIONS TAGE The Law of Species Forbids Mixing 239 Guilty Yet Happy 256 Forbidden Fruit 270 When Papa is at Home 282 Children From White Father and Brown Mother 284 A Sweet, Dark Bride 288 Children Born to Caucasian Mothers and Negro Fathers 297 Colored Caucasian Woman and Her Children by Dark Husband 304 Pretty Colored Caucasian Women 312 Pretty French Creole Ladies 31*) Pretty Brown and Yellow Ladies 322 Two Colored Beauties of the Far South 324 Social Equality: Love, Evolution and Progress 329 Future Leaders of Society 340 Three Types of Colored Women tx the Far South 349 An Appeal to the World 354 J. Roland, Ph. D 359 Rosaline 361 Sam Slick 363 Little Sam 366 . Sam 368 How Reformers Miss the Center of Vice 371 Master Roland 374 Iraline 375 Miis. Dr. Summer 380 Dr. Summer 382 Betsy 383 Summerfield 384 Master Summer 385 McNay 386 Clara McNay 387 :\Iaster McNay , 388 The Mother is the Pre-Natal Teacher of Her Race.... 407 Bishop R. Allen 418 A Low Class East African Savage 419 Bishop James Varick 420 RESUME CONTENTS PACE Introduction 43G The Footprints OF THE IIamitic or Negro Race in History, By John H. White, D. D 438 Color Prejudice in America and Europe — Causes. By Dr. James E. Shepard 446 An Optimistic View of the Negro Question. By Prof. G. E. Davis, Ph. D 454 Intercourse Between the Races. By Prof. William Pickens 470 Economic Law Demands Freedom of Marriage, By James E. McGirt 483 Miscegenation and its Baneful Effects. By Bishop Alex- ander Walters, A. M., D. D , 486 The Colored Woman as She Is. By Anna D. Borden 489 Some Thoughts For Both Races to Ponder Over. By Anna D. Borden 497 A Color Line Divides Us. Poem .^ 503 The Colored W^oman on the Plantation, and How She is Raised by Progress Made. By Sophia Cox Johnson... 504 All Human Blood is Alike — Intermarriage. By Bishop J. W. Smith, D. D oil The Afro-American as He WaSj Now Is and Will Be. How He Is Bleaching and Will Become Socially Equal. By Rev. J. W. Wood, D. D 519 13 RESUME ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Rev. John H. White, D. D 438 Dr. James E. Shepard 447 Prof. George E. Davis, Ph. D 455 Prof. William Pickens and Wife 470 Children of Mr. and Mrs. Pickens. ^ 473 James E. McGirt 484 Bishop Alexander Walters, A. M., D. D 486 Anna D. Borden 489 A Color Line Divides Us 503 Sophia Cox Johnson 507 BisHoi' J. W. Smith, D. D 512 Rev. J. W. Wood, D. D 520 14 PREFACE I propose to treat the race problem in America from a scientific viewpoint never before attempt- ed. In addressing my readers I shall use the plural number, because I feel that it is not "I" but "We," who are writing this book. I feel the spiritual assistance of Garrison, Phillips, Douglass and others, to strengthen, encourage and embolden me to tell, without fear or favor, the unvarnished truth. If my reader believes that this book is written in defense of the Negro he is, indeed, mistaken. I, as a scientist, write in defense of justice. That means that I condemn those elements in human society which tend to pull apart, tear down and destroy, and defend those elements which build up, unite and harmonize. This book is not in- tended to be used in a praise service, nor yet in an indignation meeting, but in the spacious "Hall of Reason and Justice." A scientist may predict an earthquake, not because he believes in one or enjoys one, but be- cause the indications of one are apparent to him. This is the position I occupy. There are certain unalterable natural laws that man must obey, though he squirm, sputter and protest under the focused heat of compulsion, he is forced to sub- mit to the inevitable in the end. This, both races 15 1« PREFACE (the colored and white) must ultimately do in America. We propose to take the noose from the neck of Miss Justice and let her cut and slash with her flaming sword, Mr. Wrong, who sits upon the throne and tramples under foot the helpless, just because he is popular. I hope that we may in- duce our readers to look Justice squarely in the eye and stand back and reason together upon the greatest problem which confronts the American people, viz., legal amalgamation and social justice between the races. This book may be received with wailing and gnashing of teeth by the wrong-doers in the pit of human depravity, who flaunt in the face of justice the red rag of anarchy and crime without a blush of shame; but to the justice-loving citizen, white and col- ored, we believe it will at least prove a prophecy, or, perchance, a beacon light that will show the way to that day when all men, white, black, brown, red and yellow will join hands in unison on a common level, for the betterment of all mankind. I wish to state positively here that I have no message for the unfortunately developed souls who are only able to see things through the stained glass of prejudice and lewdness, and are consequently not able to discern right from wrong. PREFACE 17 It has been necessary for me to assume the attitude of a surgeon in the examination of a ghastly, putrifying cancer that must be treated with scientific certainty, and be laid bare to the light of day from which it was so long hid, though of its existence all were aware; and which has been regarded by the Church and State in a cool, philosophical manner — a neces- sary evil. If I made any attempt to please my readers I should fall far short of what I wish to say, and what I believe a large number of serious- minded people of both races want to know, and ought to know on the questions discussed herein. There will no doubt be objections raised by the over-wrought, self-righteous personalities, in regard to the influence, of a questionable kind, this book may exercise over the young people of both races. This is no Sunday school book for little children. Those of mature years will find in it instructions and advice of vital importance to themselves, their posterity, and the entire human family. It is my aim to place this book in the hands of all intelligent young people of both races, as far as possible, for nothing will quicker eradicate color lines and race prejudice than to show, in unmistakable language, to all young Americans that the future greatness of this country depends upon the peaceful assimi- lation of all its people; and that it is only the 2 18 PREFACE silly and ignorant, the savage and barbarian, who exalts himself and debases his neighbor of another color. On the other hand, I also desire to show our young Americans that the variety of races in our country means future greatness and unlimited possibilities; and that when these races are judi- ciously crossed, scientifically mated, a new man Avill in time result, with marvelous intellectual and physical powers such as the world has never known. I wish to show them that the best and bluest blood in the South has crossed with the Negro race ever since the earliest days of slavery, and inculcate a moral sense of this kin- ship. I, furthermore, wish to show them that illicit mixing is condemned by the civilized world and the laws of Nature; but that the legitimate union of two souls of marked dis- similarities, when perfectly harmonized, will produce a posterity superior to all others, and that it is not a shame but an honor to uphold and defend, in true wedlock, the affinity of their soul, whether that affinity be black, brown, red, yellow or white. I shall give ample scientific proof that racial admixture is inevitable, that intermarriage prohibition is an outrage to human justice, con- trary to a fixed law of Nature, demoralizing to both races and the crowning curse of our boasted civilization. THE AUTHOR. N'l Edward Cfffurcfi. ROM hours already crowded with a mul- tiplicity of my public duties, I snatch a f e w minutes to write a short introduction to this great book, and its true im- port, by Prof. John James Holm. The name of Prof. Holm is in itself a guaran- tee of its soundness of logic, and the excellence of the presentation of this production of his richly endowed and highly cultured mind. In this book the author discusses a subject that has been a stubborn controversy for centuries. To one that might at a glance of the subject turn away from the book without carefully and diligently reading the able, convincing argu- ments it contains; let me say, he will miss an opportunity of improving heart and mmd, which, when he comes to realize it fully, will be to him a cause for many regrets. 19 20 INTRODUCTION This great book is not a rehash of old argu- ments. The learned author, by careful, laborious research, brings to us arguments of originality and freshness. The arguments put forth are not only interesting and eloquent, but to any fair- minded man convincing. It seems to me it exhibits not only a thorough familiarity with the facts and doctrines of the Divine Writings, but a remarkable insight into their true import, which seems to have been born of his reliance on God for the presence of the Holy Spirit to shed light upon his work. I rejoice that in rapidly increasing numbers we are already beginning to see more clearly some of the fallacies so detrimental to our prog- ress. The numerous and practical illustrations with which the author has interspersed his book will have a peculiar attraction for all interested in this progress, which the races of America so sadly need. In my long and varied experience as a minister of the great African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, I have found that for every great occa- sion of local or national magnitude in the up- building of my race a man or a woman of strong convictions and firm faith has stepped out boldly to proclaim the truth at any cost. Sometimes it has been one of our race, sometimes of the white race. In this case it is again a white man of the INTRODUCTION 21 old Teutonic race who has dedicated his broad experience and remarkable scientific intellect to the advocacy of a cause that concerns the vital interests of both races in America. Nothing is as strange as the unpolished truth. When I had the distinguished honor to peep into the manuscript of this book, my eyes w^ere opened and the scales fell, and I saw the real condition of my people in the South. I was convicted and convinced that we all have been laboring under a bugbear and dared not stand erect; but as an old adage says: "The truth crushed to earth will rise again." We can no longer hide our faces after a careful reading of this book and plead ignorance. There is perhaps no man in either race better equipped to handle the subject of this book than Prof. Holm. When but a boy he manifested a great interest in psychological science. He was an early student of Prof. O. S. Fowler, and has ever since been a close student of human nature, making extensive investigations relative to the races in the South and elsewhere, covering many years. A man with such a natural-born gift, who has spared neither time or money to obtain the truth as he presents it, must be heard. No one can read this book without feeling that the heart of the author is wrapped up in its every page. He has been a believer in Universal Brotherhood 22 INTRODUCTION since early manhood — that every man is his brother and every woman his sister, regardless of color or condition in life. I have often heard him say that he cannot feel a social difference between the respectable colored man and woman and a white man or woman who is respectable. His position or belief is perhaps most fully ex- pressed in the closing words of a memorial address, delivered in the A. M. E. Zion Church at Citronelle, Alabama, in behalf of the Rt. Rev. M. R. Franklin, D. D., who died last May (1909). "Live for those who love you, And for your enemies too, And life will prove a true success, In the good that you may do." Prof. Holm was reared in the great state of Wisconsin; he did not see the face of a Negro until grown; and when it was his privilege to associate with colored people, he did not see through the stained vision of race prejudice, but as a student of human nature the Negro proved very attractive material to him, and he dis- covered the latent possibilities of the race and became the friend of our downtrodden people. Years later, after gaining considerable knowl- edge from books, teachers, and by experience, it ■was under the guidance of an all-wise and grac- ious Providence that he traveled South and lived INTRODUCTION 2a near the colored people of all classes. After spending more than twenty-six years of his life and money in study and research he comes for- ward with this book that will be instrumental, more than any other thing at the present time, in solving the race problem. Yours for the cause, Marion Edward Church, A. B. CHAPTER I THE BLOOD OF HAM AND JAPHETH INTRODUCTORY OUR POSITION.— In the following chap- ters we will endeavor to present to the reader in our homely, practical manner, some of the real and imaginary difficulties existing between the white and colored branch of the human family in America. We do not aim to escape the eye of the critic of this mixed family. We think and reason independent of and regardless of criticism and prejudice, and present the truth as we have found it, plain enough and practical enough to be understood by our readers. While we unhesitatingly condemn the prev- alent wrongs, we do not try to minimize or obscure the grievances of the white people, and especially magnify the grievances of the black man, or the colored offspring of the white man. We wish our readers to bear in mind, in reading this book, that all the wrongs which the Cau- casian has done the Negro would have been reversed, if that race had been on top and the white man underneath. 25 26 HOLxVrS RACE ASSIMILATION ANCIENT HISTORY records the fact that when the dark-skinned people were on top, that is, the most enlightened and civilized, they treated inferior races, or rather those less power- ful, with as much and even more cruelty than the Negro has ever suffered under the domina- tion of his white brother. The cruelties which the coffee-skinned Egyptian perpetrated toward the inoffensive Hebrews, is but one striking ex- ample of what other races suffered, in ancient times, as subjects and slaves of the dark-skinned or black races, when they ruled the world. On the other hand, the cruelties the Ethiopian has from time to time practiced on his own race un- doubtedly exceeds all wrongs he has ever en- dured at the hands of other peoples. Slavery existed among the kinky-haired peo- ple from the earliest history; in fact, slavery originated with the Ethiopian or so-called Hamitic branch of the human family. The dark people were the first who attained any degree of civilization, and through warfare came in possession of inferior tribes of various kinds, whom they enslaved. The pink-skinned man was undoubtedly among these, to serve his apprenticeship in the arts of civilization as a slave. We have not the least doubt but that the first prehistoric race of man was black complexioned. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 27 Ridpath shows in his history of the world, on Race Chart No. i (showing the distribution of mankind on the hypothesis of a common origin) that the original stock was black, from which sprang the prehistoric brown or Mongoloid, from which sprang the prehistoric ruddy or white. NOAH AND THE FLOOD.— We have no reasons to doubt the authenticity of the Jewish Bible, which records the flood and the history of Noah and his sons. Science has never suc- cessfully proven to the contrary, but often affirms the fact that there was a universal inundation at some prehistoric period; and, if there was, it is just as reasonable to believe that there was a Noah to battle the floods and preserve our spe- cies. And if there was a Noah, it is a scientific certainty that his skin was black. No white- skinned people could exist in the prehistoric climate of Noah's time. Prior to the flood the earth was enveloped in a sheath of vapor, render- ing the atmosphere very humid and hot. To make ourselves understood by our readers we will take an egg as an illustration: The yolk represents the earth; the white, the atmosphere, and the shell, the sheath of water that surrounded the earth in prehistoric times, or, more correctly, before the flood. The flood was simply the breaking up of the envelopment of this sheath of 28 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION water which surrounded the earth, and the settling of it upon the same, much as we see it at the present time. We have no space to devote to the exposition of this theory in this book. Others have devoted much time and study to this subject. We believe that the sudden change in animal life and vegetation, and also in climate upon the earth, as geology reveals, is one of the strongest proofs as to the correctness of this theory of the flood. The antediluvians were aware of the existence of this water envelopment of the earth, so also was the writer of Genesis. He speaks of it in the following manner: "And God said. Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firma- ment from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament heaven." Then the writer speaks of the water and land division of the earth as fol- lows: "And God said. Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear : and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gather- ing together of the waters called he Seas." The condition of the atmosphere, the writer describes in the following language: "But (there being no rain in that early day) there went up a mist from OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 29 the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground." We can easily imagine the humidity of the atmosphere, with a mist sufficiently heavy to water a luxuriant tropical growth. During the antediluvian period there was no place on earth where irrigation was necessary. Out of this kind of environment Noah and his sons emerged when the clouds cleared away and the bright sun shone for the first time in a clear, crisp heaven. Prior to this time the sun had been hid by the sheath which enveloped the earth, causing a subdued brightness. Now it would burst forth in all its glory in the morning, and shine throughout the day. The writer says: ''While the earth remaineth, seedtime and har- vest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." The strongest Biblical evidence we have that there was "Water above the firmament," is the appearance of the rainbow in the cloud after the deluge. The writer of Genesis was no doubt familiar wnth the natural cause of the rainbow. Without the rays of the sun reflecting against a rain cloud there could be no rainbow. While the earth was surrounded with a shell of water above the atmosphere, a "bow in the cloud" was an impossibility, because there was no sun that shone clearly and no cloud to reflect it. When the windows of heaven were opened the water 30 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION HOW SCIENCE AND PREJUDICE DIFFER IN THE LIKENESS OF NOAH. OR THE FADIx\G LEOPARD'S SPOTS 31 fell and the rainbow in the cloud appeared as a covenant that "All flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth." The sudden breaking away of the water crust which surrounded the entire earth between four and Ave miles from its surface, caused a universal inundation. This leaves no ground for the argu- ment often put forth that all mankind was not destroyed by the flood, but that some escaped on dry land, among them a sort of half man and half monkey, which has since evolved into what is today known as the "inferior race." All races of people in the world today have their common origin in Noah and his offspring. No matter how man may have originated during the antediluvian period, there is not a scrap of evidence in either history, science or theology, that any escaped the deluge save a few of the most intelligent, under the guiding hand of a creative and preserving power. VARIETY AND UNION.— A variety is divine, in union there is strength. Some day, not far distant, mankind will realize this tre- mendous fact. We want our readers to realize this now. This book is not written to arouse race antagonism or hatred, but to alleviate ex- isting difficulties, harmonize as far as possible the opposing forces, and bring about a mutual 32 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION understanding between a people who are today tied by many inseparable ties that must finally, triumphantly, end in harmony and permanent union. We hope to present overwhelming facts that will prove the truth of the above statement. We wish to prove to every reader — and let this book go on record — that race integrity in this great, free America is a myth ; that it has been a myth in every age of human experience, and that the few advocates of it today, in both races in this country, are opposing a natural law of evolution and human growth that no amount of racial hatred or prejudice can render inoperative. THE THREE DIVISIONS OF THE RACES. — Asia was undoubtedly the birthplace of mankind. It is believed that at a time far back of history there lived a people in Bactra that had considerable advancement in the arts of civilization. These people called themselves Aryas or Aryans, signifying to walk upright or straight. While Asia was the birthplace of man, Africa was the cradle of advanced civilization. The Aryan branch (Japhetic), to which all white-skinned people belong, has, since early history, been the competitive and aggressive one. The fittest among them have survived the cli- matic and combative conditions, under which they existed for so many ages, developing a stronjr race of people. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 33 The Semitic branch has contributed to man- kind the three great religions of the world — the Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan — teaching the worship of one God. It has also given us the moral law. C. Osborn Ward says in his book, "The Ancient Lowly" (1893) : "The law of Moses had partly abolished slav- ery among the Hebrews as early as B. C. 1400, probably on account of the contempt for that deg- radation which the Hebrews felt, after the de- liverance from their protracted slavery in Egypt. It appears that the Hebrews were the chief originators and conservators of what is now known and advocated in the name socialism; and their weird life, peculiar language, laws, struggles and inextinguishable nationality scintil- lates through many of the obscurities of history in a manner to command the wonder, if not the awe, of all lovers of democratic society.'' The Hamitic branch, to which all the brown and black races belong, has been the great builder, and the earliest cultivator of the soil on an extensive scale. It has been remarkable for its massive architecture, which yet covers the tracks of these people, after thousands of years, the marvel of the modern world. The building proclivity of these people has only been feebly imitated by succeeding ages. When modern "skyscrapers" have crumbled to dust the great I 34 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION pyramids and ruins of the ancient Ethiopian will yet be in evidence.* When all the rest of the world was in darkness, this branch of mankind lived in cities and was skilled in the art of work- ing in wood, metal and clay. It discovered the manufacture of malleable glass and the embalm- ing of bodies, which today belong to the lost arts. THE KINKY-HAIRED HAMITE.— The kinky-haired branch of the Hamitic race origin- ally occupied but a small area in west Africa, to which the parents of these people undoubtedly migrated from the seat of the earliest Ethiopian civilization. We have reasons to believe that this kinky-haired branch scarcely existed on the west coast of Africa at the time Moses led the Egyptian army into Ethiopia. (See history of Josephus.) The white race has perhaps never given full credit to the colored branch of the human family for the complete sway it had in the world in prehistoric times as well as in the earliest record- ed history. Fresh proof that the ancient Ethi- opians were a people of high culture and marked intellectual advancement is furnished by Prof. David Randall MacTver of the University of Pennsylvania, who has gathered a collection of antiquities from Nubia of much variety and *Sce "The Footprints of the Hamitic or Negro Race in History," in the resume of this book, bv Rev. John H. White, D. D. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 35 artistic worth, aggregating five tons in weight. The articles he has gathered, Prof. A4aclver says, represent early Negro civilization that lasted for at least seven centuries. Including among the antiquities are various works of art and also some Ethiopic inscriptions. Prof. Maclver adds: "Our excavations have shown that the source of civilization of the period which our work in lower Nubia covered was Ethiopian. All the Negro works of art were discovered in an ex- tensive cemetery lying about ten feet under ground between Wady Haifa and Assouan in lower Nubia." WAS BUDDHA A KINKY-HAIRED NEGRO? — Buddha, one of the greatest moral and religious reformers the world has ever known was, for instance, at least as much a so- called Negro as Frederick Douglass or Booker T. Washington. In the old statues extant he re- sembles often, in feature as well as in the curl of his hair, a Negro. More than three million Bud- dhists in Asia worship at the shrine of a Buddha who has Negro features as well as the crisped hair. And there are two other statues of Buddha, one in Calanse and one at Ceylon, which have the kinky hair and long, pendant earrings. The Daibutsu, or great Buddha at Ueno, Japan, is a monstrous image to which the people of Tokyo Vesort to worship, and pay tribute for the remis- 36 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION sion of their sins. We give a pen drawing of the Daibutsu. Compare the Daibutsu with the physiognomy of the yellow, red or white race, and you fail to THE DAIBUTSU AT UENO, JAPAN. There is a striking resemblance between this ancient statue and many leading men of the Afro-American race that no physiognomist can overlook. There is the same high forehead, the same eloquent eye, the same powerful nose, the same firm, passionate mouth, the same decisive chin and the same stubborn jaw we often meet in a leader of his race. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 37 find any resemblance; but a cross between the Negro and Caucasian would produce features and talents like this Buddha possessed. the; daibutsu of industrial education at tuskegee, alabama. THE NEGRO.— The statement that the Negro or Ethiopian race is a young race, is, as already intimated, not really true. It is true that it is young in its present undeveloped state^ 38 HOLM'S RACE ASSIiMILATION but this youth is its second childhood. The brown race and its prototype are the oldest in the world. And in passing we wish to say that we believe that there was a time when curly hair and a coffee-brown skin was considered a stamp of royalty among a people representing the high- est culture and civilization of the world. This stamp of royalty was universally recognized and emulated, so much so that it is to this day imi- tated by many straight-haired people in the arti- ficial curling of the hair. The Ethiopian and other branches of the same family spread their civilization and culture into every part of the known world. They conquered the then existing wild tribes in various places, and amalgamated and assimilated them. Out of these amalgamations other great races in time sprang up, and in turn they conquered their an- cient conquerers ; but finally a remarkably strong, pink-skinned race made its appearance upon the world's arena; and while it was rapidly tainted with Ethiopian blood, it maintained its own, and adopted and absorbed all the glory and civiliza- tion of this wonderful dark-skinned people, who then slowly passed out of the foremost ranks of progress. While a remnant of this people was in the lowest depths of savagery in the steaming, blister- ing jungles of equatorial Africa, thousands of OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 3& years later, slavery was introduced on the west- ern continent, and thousands of these poor, retro- grated beings were brought here and to other parts of the civilized world, to again toil and spin like their ancient forefathers, but this time not for themselves alone, but for the white- . skinned people whom they once knew and despised as pale-faced savages. HE AGAIN ATTAINS CIVILIZATION. — It is gratifying to note that the savage remnant of a once advanced people are again entering the ranks of civilization. Even in Abyssinia, that obscure ancient Ethiopian country, all male children over twelve years of age are now under a compulsory educational law, the state provid- ing the education and building many schools. The dark races are advancing in all parts of the world. Mr. Frank Carpenter, the noted trav- eler and correspondent, has given an encourag- ing report of the work Gorden college is doing for the natives in the Soudan, reaching every class from the Negro savage up to the more culti- vated Arabian. The law of dissemination has again, for several centuries past, operated in favor of these people, in that it has not only distributed thousands of them in every country, but also in crossing them freely with every race with whom they have come in contact. This fact is fully illustrated 40 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION in the millions of mixed blood in the United States. And in Africa it is scarcely less true. The blood of the white and other races is flowing in the veins of thousands on that continent. It has penetrated to its very center. Many Negroes brought to America were of mixed stock. We find many with long, wavy black hair, whose skin is decidedly black. And as railroads and civilization conquer the trackless forest and im- penetrable jungle, the mixing process will be- come more and more apparent on the dark conti- nent. The day will again come when, not only on this continent but in Africa, a sunburnt or tan-skinned, curly-haired race will demand and receive recognition. MR. ROOSEVELT SAYS THERE WILL BE A WHITE AFRICA. — Ex-President Roosevelt spoke at a luncheon given in his honor at the African Inland Mission, an American institution at Kijabe, British East Africa, while on his hunting tour. He said: "I believe with all my heart that a large part of East Africa will form the 'white man's country.' Make every effort to build up a prosperous and numerous population. 'T ask the settlers to co-operate with the mis- sionaries and treat the native justly and bring him to a higher level." The Southern Statesman (white) says: '' The OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 41 white man's country' is an expression which indi- cates that it is the established policy of the white settlers to eventually drive the natives out of the most desirable portion of their own continent and confine them to the portions in which white men cannot thrive. A white Africa and a black Africa are to settle the matter in the dark conti- nent." Now, we believe that the native will no more be driven out of Africa, or that portion of the country best suited to the white man, than he is driven out of the United States. The Indian has been driven out of his country by the white man ; every other race of men may be driven out by the white man, when he so determines; but we can find no instance in history where the Negro and Caucasian settled togetlier in large numbers, where they ever again succeeded in separating. These two races seem to be better adapted to live together than any two extremely opposite races. Mark what we say, when the white man set- tles extensively in Africa and occupies every de- sirable portion of it, so will also his colored off- spring and the native full-blood occupy the same ground. The result will be amalgamation there as here in the United States. There will be a colored Caucasian race in Africa. Whether this will ever be called the colored Caucasian race in America, we will not venture to predict here, but it is its proper name. 4g HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION HE HELPED TO ENSLAVE HIMSELF. — It is well known and recorded in slave history that this black, kinky-haired man was originally one of the causes of the wide distribution of him- self. During the flowery days of the slave traffic Negroland was so completely demoralized that it was appalling to behold, even to the hardened slave dealers of that dark day. Every tribe, every clan was against its neighbor, and on the outlook to entrap and sell to the slave buyer the men, women and children thus taken by violence. Whole villages and towns were often taken, the men Vv^ho resisted were slain in cold blood, and the women and children sold into bondage. In many instances these black fiends did not even spare their own children, but sold them with the rest of the stock in hand. The Moham- medans also paid especial attention to this traf- fic in later years. We find that the Negro, instead of persist- ently fighting against being enslaved, often took a willing hand in it, and was even anxious to sell his own countrymen and kin into slavery. Had he fought to the finish or to death this en- slavement, like the American Indian who was repeatedly tried, he would not have been sO extensively made use of and so absolutely humiliated. But the Negro people, like the Jews, refused to become extinct under the most OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 43 adverse circumstances. They will adjust them- selves to any condition imaginable, and, unlike the Jews, will consent to mix extensively with other races with whom they come in contact. FACTS BRIEFLY STATED.— It was avarice on the part of the savage black man who often sold into slavery- his own kinsmen; avarice on the part of others who bought them and sold them ; avarice on the part of nations who made it lawful; avarice on tlic part of the people who sanctioned it; ignorance on the part of all; and finally, all was the cause of the operation of the immutable natural Ian- of (lisscmiutitirju. This fact we shall demonstrate fully in another part of this book. We will here, without further preliminaries, concentrate our thouglit and attention entirely upon the subject under consideration, viz., the true Afro-American (of mixed blood) and his prototype, both of whom are vulgarly called "nigger", by an ignorant, prejudiced white popu- lace in America, and by a deluded, half-savage remnant of their own race. CLASSIFYING THE AMERICAN NEGRO. — We would consider it unjust not to classify the Afro-American in this book. The true African Negro is fast disappearing. The name Negro is a misnomer, in that it conveys no idea whatever of the true character of the col- 44 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ored Caucasian people or the Afro-Americans. If statistics could be carefully taken it would be found that there are less than one million absolutely full-blooded Africans in this country. The remaining nine or ten millions are of mixed blood. Four million are decidedly of Caucasian stamp, and are nothing less than Caucasians with a strain of more or less Negro blood. We speak of this here because we wish our readers to bear , this fact in mind. ]t is a curiosity to see a full-blooded African in many parts of this country. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 45 CHAPTER II CONFLICTING ELEMENTS OF PROGRESS. LACK OF CONFIDENCE — UNDER- GROUND CURRENT.— Years of residence and careful observation and investigation in this country, designated the ''Darkest South" by northern friends, unacquainted with the tre- mendous evolutionary process going on in this great Southhind, will necessarily change one's preconceived conceptions concerning ten mil- lion people about whom so much has been said and written, yet so very little is actually known by casual observers of both the North and South ; and who have heretofore escaped all unbiased, earnest scientific investigation, ^^^c dare say that one may become a resident of any thickly settled colored population in the South, for a long time, and not gain its entire confidence, or become acquainted with the deeper workings, the under- ground current of thought, the hidden convic- tions, the terrible potent influence, which dom- inates a great percentage of the colored people. WHITES DISAPPOINTED IN THEM. — We have met northern men who have come South with the expectation of finding the Negro, as a whole, a patient, docile animal, ready for 46 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION any burden, abuse and misuse. They were dis- appointed in him, and many have now no more use for "niggers" than for very useless yellow dogs, who hang about the kitchen in daytime and bark at the moon at night. When they hired colored help they found that such was not always anxious to do all that was required of it, or that northern white help is reputed to do without so carefully calculating just the amount of physical exertion, etc., it takes to per- form a certain work, and the exact amount of remuneration that might be forthcoming for the least expenditure of strength. Should they de- sire to have work done which requires a little more effort than other work in the neighborhood, it is possible that they may find theirs displaced by an easier job. Hence it has been said that the Negro of this generation is, to a great extent, after an easy job, plenty of time to sport in, and plenty of money to sport with. But we have, indeed, found many exceptions to this rule. There are many individuals of the old and new South, in every community, who are hard work- ing, honest, intelligent, frugal people. NO CHEAP LABOR.— We are now con- cerned with the present Negro in the, and of the, "Darkest South," just as we find him. We have been in localities in several states where it is yet possible to secure good farm labor for OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 47 fifty to seventy-five cents per day. We were told that it matters very little whether the Negro receives $3 or $6 per week; that he would work more days for less wages, and vice versa. But this statement, too, is false, as many work in one place and at the same employment for many years, just as steady as any man of the white race. Considering their condition and state of environment, as many among them save money as among the white working people. Wherever northern men have taken the reins of industry in hand to any extent, or where any material advancement has been made, wages have in- creased, and a more hopeful condition has opened for the Negro. COMMERCIAL GROWTH.— One cause of the scarcity of labor and increase in wages at times, in many localities, is the great activity in the lumber and mining districts. Another cause is the tremendous growth which the var- ious cities and industrial centers are undergoing. We quote a few statistics from Washington, con- taining this information: "The commercial growth of the South in the last quarter century has been little short of phenomenal. Capital invested in factories has increased from $257,000,000 in 1880 to $1,500,000,000 in 1906. The products of factories have increased in the same time from $457,000,000 to $1,750,- 48 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION 000,000. The farm products have grown from $660,000,000 to $1,750,000,000. Capital in cot- ton mills has leaped from $21,000,000 to $225,- 000,000. The most stupendous increase of all has been from 397,000 tons of pig iron produced to 3,100,000 tons, and from 179,000 barrels of petroleum to 42,495,000." Later statistics show that the manufacturing interests have grown to $2,600,000,000, and the farm interests to $2,200,- 000,000. The exports from the South in 1908 were $648,000,000. THE NEGRO DISCOVERS HE IS NEEDED. — The Negro man has discovered the undisputable fact that he is needed, that he is an absolute necessity, that he is a wheel of great importance in the machinery of industry. And there seems to be a wide-spread belief among them that the white man owes them a great deal for services rendered by their fore- fathers, long and faithful, during slavery days. And many harboring this corrupt idea are in- clined to collect, promiscuously, as much of this imaginary debt as they can, without arousing too much animosity on the part of the unfortun- ate debtor. We have found small boys who religiously believe that the "white folks sure owe us ones Sv:;mething." This sentiment undoubt- edly causes a great deal of shiftless and unsatis- factory service among this class, and a great deal OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 49 of the Stealing to which the lower class of servants are yet addicted. During slavery days slaves were often compelled to steal from their masters, and it is an inbred proclivity still pre- valent. This is undoubtedly one reason so many believe that the white folks owe them a living. And it is not out of place to say here that a similar sentiment prevails among a class of whites, just as pernicious, who claim that another class owes them a living. In every age and in every country where so- ciety is divided into two classes as in the South, and especially if one of them belongs to a dif- ferent race, these existing conditions have pre- vailed. It is only when all have been more en- lightened, and a feeling of self-respect has been created, that this feeling of dependence and covetousness can be removed. HE GOES TO THE CITY.— Since the city offers the colored men better opportunities, they have taken advantage of it, and have left the plantations, where they lived in tolerable har- mony with nature, under the soft southern skies, for the whirl, smoke, excitement and trouble-breeding environment of city life. We believe that this environment, more than any other one thing in the Negro race, is the cause of the present restless, turbulent and degenerate element among these people. We give reasons hO HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION in support of the above statement in succeeding chapters. They have taken it for granted that all the worst vices the whites are addicted to must be participated in in order to be up to date — in every respect like a white man and woman. And this contaminating influence of the con- gested city element is rapidly spreading through- out the country. WE DEPLORE THE FACT that the coun- try Negro has been, and is today, allowed to concentrate in the cities, and is fast accumulat- ing a class of which the better men and women of both races are thoroughly ashamed. We have said allowed. We do not mean by this that the Negro should have been kept out of the cities by force, and evenly distributed throughout the country. He is free, or at least should be, to go where he chooses ; but still that which is for the best and highest interest of all concerned should undoubtedly be done. We do not believe that the young people, who have been brought up in the crowded city quarters, could be in- duced to exchange them for the green fields, and the health and strength of country life until a more healthy sentiment is created. Many thou- sands are annually dying of consumption and other fatal diseases in these festering slums, and other thousands are leading lives of utter de- pravity, damning both soul and body, sapping OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 51 the very vitality of the race. After careful in- vestigation we are led to say with the strongest emphasis; that soviethin(j must be done to check the doivnicard tendency of the race in these city slums. The white race is as much afifected as the black. A white child is exposed to the same disease the colored nurse is subject to. And in whatever other capacity the colored serve the white, the same is true. Sufficient inducements ought to be offered to those who are yet in the country, and thereby retain their services in the rural districts. As Booker T. Washington and others are doing, they should receive better knowledge of agri- culture, be encouraged to improve their sur- roundings, beautify their homes, and make their habitations more comfortable and attractive, and conducive to higher moral and spiritual senti- ments. There are tvvo sides to this question, as to every other. The planter has in many in- stances abused his power. He has made the lot of the good colored man intolerable by his grab- bing proclivity. It has been so with the Negro in the past, and is so today — work, year in, year out, on the plantation, w^ith the hope of better material conditions becoming fainter and fainter as he grows older, till the last ray of the setting sun of his life's ambitions are obscured by the ut- ter darkness of despair, and the poor mortal tot- 52 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ters along in an aimless, hopeless life, until his old aching bones are gathered up and dropped into a hole in the ground in some obscure, weed- covered, desolate graveyard. His skin is black, his ideas of life are crude; yet, no man, who spends a life of toil and devotion, fighting the wolf of poverty continually to keep his wife and little ones together in the little hut in the lane, provided for him by his master, is destitute of ambition; is not without a desire to achieve something, if an opportunity to do so would pre- sent itself in a tangible manner. Be man cul- tured or uncultured, civilized or savage, black or white, he has an inborn desire to achieve something. This poor Negro farmer saw an opportunity to leave, and he left the old planta- tion behind — the land of the oppressed — and now greater slavery threatens his children — moral and physical degeneracy. A CRY FOR MORE EFFICIENT LABOR. — At present a cry for more efficient labor is often heard in different sections of the South, especially in the rural districts, which the Negro is leaving. The planter cannot afTford to pay high wages for incompetent labor and make it pay. It has been said that if ten million Italians and other for- eigners could displace the Negro population of the South, this country would soon blossom like OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 53 And the poor mortal totters along in an aimless, hopeless life until his old aching bones are gathered up and dropped into a hole in the ground in some obscure, weed-covered, desolate eravevard. Taken from life. M HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION a rose — so far exceeding present prosperity that no comparison could be made. Here, it is claimed, are the natural resources — lumber, coal, iron, and shipping facilities by rail and water; agricultural possibilities, climate, etc. — to make it great. But we believe that the dream of popu- lating the South with European labor will never be fully realized. We have it from personal investigation, and from men greatly interested in the material progress of this country, that experiments made with Italians have proven destructive to the highest social, moral and po- litical interests of the country. They relieve the labor market where placed, it is true; but is this the only interest, prompted by the avarice of the large planters and others, that we should deem worthy of consideration? We would far rather live in an exclusively colored settlement than one exclusively Italian, and we have our reasons. All that we have seen of the Italian settlements points to nothing conducive to a higher mode of living, and more self-pride in the beautifying and building up of their surroundings, than what we find among the lower class of Negroes. We have also noticed that they and the Negroes often mix, and it does not produce a very de- sirable progeny. This country needs more Ger- mans, French, Swiss, English and Scotch; first, OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 5-5 to take advantage of the agricultural possibil- ities; and, secondly, to fill this country with a reliable, thrifty stock. FOREIGN IMMIGRATION WILL PROVE A BLESSING TO THE NEGRO. — A far-sighted editorial appeared in the Odd Fellows Journal (colored) of Philadelphia, in June, 14, 1906, which inculcates a hope as well as a prophetic truth, well worth repeating here. It is as follows: "An attempt is made to turn the tide of foreign immigration southward. We hope it will succeed. Many persons seem to see in it disaster for the Negro; we see in it the greatest hope. There is no reason why all of our race should live in one section of the country any more than another. We admit that in fac- tories and in the skilled mechanical trades, colored men cannot find employment in the North.' While this is true, it is also true that the great majority of our people in the South are farm hands, and there is no locality in the North or West where a colored farm hand can- not get larger wages than he gets anywhere in the South. There is not a colored loafer in New York, Philadelphia, Boston or Chicago, who could not find plenty of farm work to do at good wages if he would only consent to do it. It must be admitted by all who have made any study of the matter that the more American any locality 56 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION is the greater the color prejudice that exists. The South is the most American section of our country, because but few foreigners have settled there in more than a hundred years. So long as the direct descendants of the pres- ent southerner control the South the colored man will have a hard time. If the great tide of for- eign immigration shall be turned southward, in another generation, by reason of the mixture of blood, there will be a new southern man to all intents and purposes. The foreign laborer will not put up with the treatment which the colored laborer receives. They will not be cheated out of the crops by dishonest landlords and country store keepers. They will be saving and buying land. The lazy southern white man will not be able to withstand their industrious competition, and will have to move out or disappear as a re- sult of intermarriage. All this will produce a new southern white man. In this is the black man's only hope. Mr. Ogden and the members of the Southern Educational Board think that a new man can be created out of the poor white man of the South by education. We do not be- lieve it. Let the foreigners come in large num- bers, buy farms and plant industries, and the white man who lives for the purpose of 'keeping the Negro down,' will gradually disappear." OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 57 THE NEGRO MUST BE TREATED WITH AN OBJECT.— We have the so-called ''unsurmountable obstacle" to contend with — the Negro folk. The most hated, abused des- pised, by certain classes of whites, in these free United States of any country in the world. They w^ere not found in the native African jungle as they are, but were made what they are today by the grace of God and the lash upon their bare backs in the hands of a self-styled, domineering aristocracy, and concomitant evils. It ought to now be the business of every conscientious white person to overlook the many faults of this des- pised people, and try to do them good by firm and persistent examples in the arts of justice as well as industry. In nine cases out of ten you will gain their confidence and best efforts in usefulness by pursuing this course. 58 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION CHAPTER III THE "smart negro." HOW KNOWLEDGE SPREAD.— "I have no use for a smart nigger." This is a common phrase now often used by an irresponsible popu- lace. Now, what may constitute a "smart nig- ger," if there is such a being for us to introduce in these pages? Is this term applied to all edu- cated Afro-Americans, or to a certain class only? We shall soon see. First, he is supposed to be one who has come in contact with the outer world; one who has left his rural surroundings, the ancient traditions, the submission and obe- dience to the "old Massa in de big house on de plantation befo de wah." Secondly, it is the offspring of this old slave class now being edu- cated and made mentally independent, and to a marked degree self-reliant. The process of awakening of the class above referred to has been long in progress. And in this connection it is well for us to remember that in case slavery had been prolonged to this day it would have been impossible, even under the most adverse condi- tions, to keep all the Negro people in ignorance and illiteracy. The history of slavery testifies to this fact. These people were the quickest of OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 59 any barbarous race on earth to perceive the touch of the magic rod of civilization, not excepting the Japanese in their willingness to learn and rise. This characteristic was discovered by the great patriarchal planters long ere slavery was abolished in the South. THE OLD PLANTATION SLAVE SCHOOLS.— In Louisiana, for instance, they conceived a plan of educating their slaves for more efficient service, that was so wise and en- lightened, and it is proved, so substantially bene- ficial, that it would be well to take it into con- sideration, at least in some particulars, in the study of the present race problem. Long before "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was written, and while yet great slave-holding magnates regarded slav- ery as an establishment beyond the reach of social agitation or political vicissitude, wise and kindly members of the ruling class had conceived and set in motion a system whereby slavery could be robbed of its most repulsive aspects, and be transformed into an agency of exaltation. These men were not doctrinaires, but they were human- itarians. They loved their slaves, who formed a large part of their active life and thought and they felt it their duty to lift them out of the mire of degradation and subjection, if such a thing were possible. Thus it came about that schools were established on hundreds of planta- 60 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION tions ; nothing like our modern schools, of course^ but just the plainest and simplest agencies of ex- periment and observation. The main object and idea were to disclose the special latent gifts, pro- clivity or talent of the scholars, and to cultivate and mature them to their highest degree. Special gifts and tendencies were ascertained, developed, perfected. And so it followed that thousands of slaves became bricklayers, carpenters, black- smiths, tailors, engineers, sugar bailers, artisans of every kind, including even musicians. In many parts of the country there may yet be found ancient buildings, entirely erected by skilled slave labor. They were permitted to pursue their vocations in freedom, merely paying to their masters a small percentage on the assessed value of the individual. In all respects they were at liberty. They lived where they pleased, could acquire their own homes if they wished, and accumulate their own property; and in all these respects were protected by law. It is said, and no doubt true, that the Negro who dwelt under this dispensation, seventy-five and more years ago enjoyed more actual freedom, and re- ceived more substantial and respectful considera- tion, than do his descendants today, who are ex- cluded from many branches of industry by white labor. Long before the war there were a few schools for Negroes in Delaware, Virginia, and OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 61 Other slave states further south. Free Negro children often attended the white schools. In- struction was given them everywhere, often by members of their master's family, even in viola- tion of the existing slave laws. And where edu- cation was totally denied them they still pos- sessed their native capabilities, their natural shrewdness, which no master could pluck out of their soul. CHIVALROUS SPIRITS. — Chivalrous spirits often manifested themselves in their inter- course with their superiors, especially when treated with kind consideration by them. Their faithfulness was often beyond computation. Let us relate just one case here to illustrate our point: In South Carolina we came across seven sons who own seven farms. Back of these farms is a bit of history interesting to all students of human nature. Before the emancipation of the slaves the owner of the father of these seven sons was challenged to fight a duel. The old slave heard of this, and knowing his master was a poor shot, went the night before and killed the man who made the challenge. Upon investigation it was found that the old Negro had done this on his own accord. Of course there was no way to save his life, and he never tried to save it. After slaying the would-be slayer of his master, he immediately made the confession and gave him- 62 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION self up to be hanged. We abhor the crime; we revolt against it; but the fact remains uppermost that the poor old slave, by weighing his life and the life of his master in the balance, decided that the life of his master was of more im- portance than that of the poor old chattel he was. When the master died he willed to each of the old slave's children a nice little farm, and we have heard it said that he did a just deed. THEY ARE BOUND TO RISE.— Cases of a similar nature could be multiplied indefin- itely; and some of the most heroic deeds done in the olden times were unrecorded and unre- warded. Thus we maintain that a truly worthy class of men, bond or free, of whatever color, will rise sooner or later and come to the top, and will not be downed. We recently read the account of an old northern soldier, who was all over this country during the war. He speaks of the underground railroad and especially of the remarkable accurate knowledge displayed by the colored people, about "Lincum and his sojes," during the war. Knowing these people we can well imagine that every word spoken by southern whites, concerning the then important question, was carefully stowed away by slaves, who made every effort to hear and learn, absorb and repeat what they heard. Thus knowledge of existing conditions spread, opinions were OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 63 formed, compared and passed on. Southern whites, who were opposed to slavery, did some- thing to help spread a knowledge of things among them. Now, if these people had such a fair knowledge of "Lincum and his sojes," so many years ago, what knowledge of Lincum and his sojes ought not their children possess today? The more wc investigate this matter the more are we convinced that there is a process of evolu- tion going on among these people that cannot be ignored or suppressed; and if our colored reader believes that this process ought to be carelessly considered, with regard to a better understanding and closer relation with the white race, he had better deport himself to the haunts of his fathers and shed his clothes of civilization in the jungle. MAY AS WELL CONFESS IT.— We (North and South) may as well make an honest confession: The Negro, the Afro-American, the Colored Caucasian, are fast outgrowing all bounds of what a white populace in America, deep down in its heart, believes they ought to be. Among them are organizations of tre- mendous influence and binding character. The idea, if entertained by northerners, that the Ne- gro is not organized, cannot make a united effort in any line if he desires, is not true. When the best interests of his people are at stake, he can. 64 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION if he choose, stand united, organized, ready for an emergency if it should arise. There is not only organization, but a tremendous amount of brain and executive ability back of it. NOT WEAK AND HELPLESS.— Out- wardly he may yet appear weak and helpless, but in years hence, when ignorance and the Leop- ard's Spots have entirely disappeared, we shall see him in full possession of his aspiring rights. It is not the church or- religion, which has done and is still doing a great deal, that has alone wrought these conditions. Schools bring him enlightenment, and fraternal organizations, such as Free Masonry, Odd Fellowship, etc., have taught him the trick of how to cement his best interests. Few whites have any idea of the uni- versal understanding, the dominant current of interest, which prevails among many of them. They may be despised, abused, misused and ig- nored, by the class just referred to, but as to weakness — in many sections of the South they are not to be considered as weak and helpless as may be supposed, or as may appear to a casual observer on the surface. WILL NOT SUBMIT TO WILES OF WHITE RELATIVE— They are by nature not a vicious, treacherous people ; on the contrary we find them rather open-hearted, kindly disposed, sympathetic. For example, we will relate and w OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 65 -7T^ % ^^wits'tttf.f^.. ;.;-.^ ^ f ^ 4 I V xV T Syjm^im li^ A WHIPPING INCIDENT. 'Vardaman's Ideal of Justice." Taken from life. 66 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION illustrate an incident that came under our ob- servation on a plantation in Alabama. A large, strong Negro had committed some misdemeanor, was tied to the whipping-log and whipped by his boss. When he was untied he straightened up and said in his most polite demeanor: "Boss, gib me chew 'bacca." This is a fair sample of a rural character of the black belt; but this ad- mirable good humor could, of course, not be uni- versally applied. The mulatto and other speci- mens of the white man's paternity, which seem more prominent in towns and cities, and which have more nearly the characteristics of the white man, do not submit so willingly to the wiles of their white relatives, without feeling the blood of their parentage boil in their veins. This black brother may feel the same sting, but refrain from manifesting it. He is the embryonic gentleman. WOULD BE NO RACE QUESTION.— We do not hesitate to say here that we are fully convinced of the fact, that if the white man had absolutely abstained from crossing with the Negro on this continent, there would be no race question to solve in America for many years to come. An absolutely pure-blood African is hard to find in many parts of the South. It is indeed a case of self-approbation. The white man's blood in the black man's veins cries today for, and instinctively demands, recognition; and it OR THE FADING LEOPARDS SPOTS W would be a careless observer, indeed, who does not discern this fact. THE WHITE MAX'S BLOOD— A well- known business man of Mobile, Alabama, told us years a^o that the only tanujihle hope of the colored man in America was "the white man's blood in his veins." At the time we could not yet sympathize with such a, then to us, shocking view; but we have long since realized the undis- pu table fact conveyed in that statement — viz., that assimilation by amalgamation will prove the only ultimate settlement of the race question in this country, provided, however, that other legitimate means be employed therewith, and scientificallv carried out. THE WHITE MAX STANDS AC- CUSED BEFORE GOD.— At present the southern white man stands accused before God and all mankind. His colored offspring are legion, and largely disowned and ignored by him. A crime has been committed. The keen knife of justice must at last cut to the quick! The criminal has gone free, and they of innocent birth have often borne the punishment at the hands of the evil-doer. But, nevertheless, we believe justice will ultimately prevail. History repeats itself. Let such men as Tillman, Varda- man, Dixon, Watson, and many others cry: "Keep the nigger in his place." Let the north- 68 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ern man settle throughout the South at a rapid rate, as he is doing at present, and have his say. A real American (smart) Negro is not imported stock. It is homebred, right down in the woods, on the prair.ie, in the city and town — everywhere in the broad Southland. He is a new creation, as Luther Burbank would say; the result of many years of intimate relations with his white superiors ; and he is not a real Negro. Can these superiors today ignore and condemn the result of this relationship? The "smart nigger" is ninety per cent a man of marked Caucasian char- acteristics and not a Negro at all, in the true sense of the word: but a man of color, a true Colored Caucasian, the son or grandson of a white parent. To our mind the "absolute separation" of the ' races, so much spoken of and agitated at present, and believed in by some prominent colored and white men, should have been absolute before so many hundreds of thousands of mulattoes and quadroons were born. Let us get out from be- hind the mask of deceit, once for all, and tell the naked truth in this regard. NEGRO CANNOT BE DEPORTED.— Such talk as the deportation or absolute separa- tion of the colored people is too absurd to think of seriously. ' A certain criminal class, dangerous and un- OR THE FADING LEOTARD'S SPOTS 69 profitable to the State may be thus treated, but not respectable citizens. The Chicago Chron- icle said some time ago: "Somehow, in some way, the white people of the South and the Negroes have got to live together. A modus Vivendi must be established, for if anything Is certain it is that all propositions to colonize the Negroes or to deport them are impracticable. There is no place to which to send the Negroes, and if there were such a place the Negroes would not go. Southern politicians like Senator Tillman, and southern newspapers like the Charleston News and Courier talk airily about the separa- tion of the races, but neither Mr. Tillman nor the editor of the Charleston News really believe that the thing is possible. This is because any rational man must realize that the task of evict- ing 10,000,000 of people from the land in which they were born would mean wholesale slaughter — slaughter so appalling that not the most rabid negiophobe would invoke it. The Negroes cer- tainly would resist the efifort to deport them. We need not go into the right or wrong of the mat- ter at all to be certain that the blacks of the South, born there and citizens of the country for several generations, would to a great extent resist with force an efifort to expatriate them. If only one in ten of them resisted, the struggle to 70 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION evict them would be the bloodiest in the history of mankind. The hunted man defends his home to the .'death. But all these probabilities and suppositions are idle in the face of the fact that there is no available place to w^hich to deport the Negroes. Liberia is too poor and w^eak to undertake the assimilation of such a tremendous new population. German South Africa has enough trouble with her blacks without wanting any more. The British possessions in Africa are equally averse to the immigration of more Negroes. No place on the wide globe offers a welcome to the American Negro, especially if he were to come by hundreds of thousands. He was brought to this country by compulsion, we may be sure that he will not leave it through per- suasion. Moreover, in spite of Senator Tillman and his newspaper echoes, the South will not permit the Negroes to leave, even if they were disposed to do so. Who would replace the Negro in southern agriculture and manufactures? Where would the South get the men to cultivate its cot- ton and wheat and sugar and oats? Until these questions are practically answered we may ig- nore the deportation plan. The Negro will not leave the South for two reasons — first, that there is nowhere for him to OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 71 go; and secondly, because the southern whites would not permit him to go upon any considera- tion."* We ask this sensible question : Can any people have a more legitimate claim on any country than the colored man of the white race? AN ENDLESS RELATIONSHIP BE- TWEEN THE RACES IN THE SOUTH.— The American Colored Caucasian is distinctly a native of this country. He could not and would not recognize any other. His relation- ship often runs like an endless chain from his white parent through succeeding generations. Where could that chain be broken, should the deportation scheme be inaugurated by the state or government? His mother, grandmother or great grandmother was a Negress, no doubt, but does that make him a criminal, or a confirmed anarchist to be banished from American soil? No, not if there is an infinitesimal tendency to justice left in the dominant white American. It is too well known that the greatest men and women of African descent in America, are the direct or indirect ofifspring of some of the best and bluest blood in the country. Separate all these from the Negro race, to which they do no more belong than to the Caucasian race, and the *See "An Optimistic View of the Negro Question" in our resuiP". 72 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION 3t ripesWitffoutStkrS. OR THE FADIXG LEOPARDS SPOTS 73 black sons of Africa, in this country, would be a lonesome fraction of acquired civilization. The fact is undisputablc, the black man cannot get along without his brown and yellow brother; neither does the white brother care to separate himself entirelyfromhiscolored kin. If thereis to be any separation, it ouL^ht to be a thorough one. There ought to be a law prohibiting the black- skinned Negro from intermarrying with the white-skinned Caucasian Negress, and vice versa. If the frequent mixing and mating of these classes is not intermarriage, what is it? The southern lawmaker ought to look into this matter, and prevent the Negro from further mix- ing with the mi.xed, so the mixed may only mix with the mixed, that their colored offspring may not lose their identity. If he prohibits one class from mixing, he should be fair and prohibit all mixing. GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE.— Negro writers often misplace credit in lauding men and women who have some Negro blood in them, and who have achieved success in life; attributing that success or intellectual ability en- tirely to the race. We will take an example out of a book written by a man who is himself of mixed blood. He starts out in giving the gen- ealogy of a certain well-known man as follows; "His father was a white man, and his mother 74 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION was three parts white." He ends by saying, "He was a life-long Republican, and a man of whom his race should be proud." What race? His own (Colored Caucasian) race; the black or the white? Which? This writer has, of course, the big, black race in mind. He would make the reader believe that this man's talent or intellect is all "black." But if he really means to convey the idea that this man's own people, the Colored Caucasian race, should be proud of him, then he gives credit to the ability, capacity and in- tellect of this wonderful new race, where credit is due. When the Negro, like any other race, is mixed with Caucasian or any other foreign blood, his greatness or capabilities can no more be attributed to the black blood than to the for- eign blood in him. When Negro writers speak of the wonderful advancement of the Negro, let them be fair and not palm off on a reading public the remarkable intellectual growth and capability of a mixed people as all "black great- ness." When we speak of Negro greatness, we ought to confine ourselves within the bounds of genuine, unmixed magnanimity, and not sand- wich in every fair-skinned man and woman the southerner calls "smart nigger." We have said before that ninety per cent of the so-called "smart niggers" of superior cap- OR THE TADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 75 ability are of mixed breed; and that this asser- tion we wish our readers to bear in mind. Also the further fact that the most progressive people in the world have always been more or less of mixed stock — that progress and commingling go hand in hand. SOME SMAR 1 NEGROES.— We wish we could give several hundred names, emphasizing the foregoing facts, but we can only give the names of a small number of men and women here, owing to space. Our readers will kindly remember that we give the below names merely as illustrations, and that there are hundreds of others equally as worthy of a place among the noted men and women of mixed blood in the race. Honorable Frederick Douglass was consid- ered the most noted Negro in America. One- half Caucasian. Great orator, anti-slavery editor, marshal of the District of Columbia, Recorder of Deeds of Columbia, a leading Republican. Born about 1817, in Maryland. His second wife was a white woman. Professor Booker T. Jf^ashington, one of the foremost educators in America. One-half or more Caucasian. President of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial school; champion of Negro industrial education, noted orator and successful financier and teacher. He was born 76 HOOrS RACE ASSIMILATION at Hale's Ford Post-office, Franklin county, Vir- ginia, April i8, 1856. His mother was the cook on the slave plantation, and named Jane Fur- guson. His owner was James Borroughs. Honorable P. B. S. Pinchback, successful Negro politician. Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, United States senator, lawyer, prom- inent Republican, man of wealth. His mother was known as a mulatto who may have had some Indian blood. His father. Major Pinchback, a Mississippian, was the owner of his mother, by whom he had ten children. In 1836 Major Pinchback went to Philadelphia with his slave wife and manumitted her. She remained with him after her freedom. Honorable Theophile T. Allain, State's sen- ator of Louisiana, agitator of educational meas- ures and internal improvements in his state. Politician and business man. Born October ist, 1845, on the Australian plantation; his mother being a, pretty brown woman, his father, her owner, was Sosthene Allain, a millionaire of great culture. This gentleman set aside the cus- tom of the land and treated his little brown wife with the greatest respect, surrounding her with all the comforts and pleasures at his command. He loved his son Theophile so intensely that he often refused to dine without him at the table, and when traveling abroad he accompanied him. * ■' ' — ^ OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 77 It. ■I ^ >^^ ^ A GROUP OF "SMART NEGROES" BORN" DURING SLAVERY. 1. Robert Harlan. 3. P. B. S. Pinchback. 2. J. T. Settle. 4. T. T. Allain. 78 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Rev. Henry McNeal Turner, D. D. LL.D.^ bishop of the A. M. E. Church. Philosopher, politician, orator, eminent lecturer, author, in- tense race man. United States chaplain, etc. He was born near Newsberry Court-House, South Carolina, February ist, 1833. He is the oldest child of Howard and Sarah Turner. His father's ancestry was but little known to him as his mother was a German white woman, but on his mother's side it is well known, she being the youngest daughter of an African king's lineage. Rev. Lemuel Hayes, A. M., who was born in 1753 of an African father and white mother, and who was a distinguished theologian — the first titled man of Negro blood in America — should not be forgotten by his people or the white race as a remarkable man of mixed African and Cau- casian blood. A historian speaks of this early admixture of the two races as follows : "A native African and a white woman! 'Holy horror!' cries somebody. 'How curious they did not hang him.' They were honorably married and he was popular. The black face was a thing of beauty to his wife, who saw a man with an in- tellectual soul and loved him. Love laughs at locks and bars, and even the color of a man's skin. Both parties will cross the line." Honorable Josiah T. Settle, A.B., A.M., LL.B. An able lawyer, eloquent orator, legis- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 79 lator. Was assistant attorney-general of Shelby- county, Tennessee, etc. He was born September 30, 1850, on Cumberland Mountains, while his father and mother were en route from North Carolina to Mississippi. His parents were named Josiah and Nancy Settle, Nancy being the slave wife of Mr. Settle, who belonged to the famous Settle family of Rockingham, North Carolina. He had no white wife at the time he began to raise a family with his slave. After a few years residence in Mississippi, he manu- mitted his children and their mother. But he was informed that he could not remain in Mis- sissippi, as the laws of that state forbade ''free niggers" to reside therein. In March, 1856, he carried them to Hamilton, Ohio, where he bought them a house and located them, spend- ing his summers with them and his winters on his southern plantation. Then another difficulty arose. His northern neighbors informed him that he could not continue his relations with the woman unless he married her. He answered: "That is what I have always desired to do." In 1858 the mother of his children became his law- ful v/ife in the presence of their children, and by that act also legitimate. He espoused the Union cause when the war broke out, and re- mained with his colored wife until his death in 1869. This is one of the most beautiful ex- 80 HOLM'S RACE ASSIIVIILATION amples of the love and loyalty of a southern gentleman, for his children and their mother of color, that we can find in the history of that dark day. It reminds us of a number of like cases, as we have found them at the present time in many parts of the South. We regret to say that this country is just as much in the dark thraldom of slavery for the colored woman who has found her affinity in a white man, as it was in the days gone by, as far as a legal union is concerned, and her rights before the law as a legal wife. Colonel Robert Harlan, born in Mecklenburg county, Virginia, December 12, 18 16. His father was a white man and his mother three parts white. He was a shrewd, persevering business man, a legislator and public-spirited man. He resided in England a number of years. Samuel Jefferson Davis, successful business man, a millionaire. Born on the Davis planta- tion in Mississippi, in 1840. When Jefferson Davis was chosen to the highest office in the Con- federacy his slave, Sam, went to Milledgeville, the first capital, with him. At the close of the war, Jefferson Davis gave him $500.00 and told him to move to the North to live his new life as a free man. Sam obeyed and is now one of the richest Negroes in the country. Rev. Bartlett Taylor, a financier and one of OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 81 the great pioneer Christian workers in the Negro race. He was born in Henderson county, Kentucky, February 14, 181 5. His mother be- longed to Jonathan Taylor, who was her master and his father. Bishop James Varick, the founder of the Af- rican Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, was born about 1750. It has been difficult to tell to 82 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION what nationality he belonged. It is certain, how- ever, that he was of Dutch extraction. His father was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, but moved to New York with his parents when a child. It is certain that through the veins of Bishop Varick flowed the blood of the Negro, the Dutchman and the Indian. The great dome of his cranium shows him to have been the pos- sessor of a remarkable mind. In him seemed to have centered the characteristics of three races, in that early day. Rev. B. F. Wheeler, D.D., who is the author of a book on the "Varick Family," has this to say of James Varick's genealogy: "In the history of New York city the rich and distinguished Varick family has figured most conspicuously in its social, political and com- mercial life for the last two centuries. One of the members of this cultured Varick family was mayor of New York city. The Varick Bank of New York city is named in honor of, and con- trolled by this same strong and influential fam- ily. Varick street, on which I have walked many times, which runs from Clarkson street to Canal, is also named after this distinguished family. It is possible that Varick's mother at one time was a slave in the family." This same biographer of the bishop states that the hair of, this man was straight and his beard curly. Among the leading colored Caucasian women OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 83 we would mention Mrs. Mary Church Terrell, Mrs. Josephine St. P. Ruffin, Olivia D. Wash- ington, Fannie Barrier Williams, and a host of others, equally noted. THE FULL-BLOODED NEGRO HAS TALENT. — In this chapter we have perhaps made the impression that we do not give any credit to the ability of the full-blood African who has exhibited wonderful mental capacity and natural capability in many instances in this country. \\'c wish to say that we give full credit to the pure-blood Negro, for all that he has done in the way of exhibiting his ability to obtain a full grasp, in many instances, of the learning of the Caucasian. He has by no means been entirely exempt from becoming a "smart nigger." In each succeeding generation he climbs higher and comes nearer the recognized standard of the Caucasian mind. Extraordinary ability is rare in any race, and it is not confined to any one race, but is about equally divided. It may be latent in the full- blood Negro in America, to a large extent, but it is by no means absent — no, not even in the wildest African savage. ALmy African slaves brought to this country had the high intellectual forehead of "Uncle Tom" in Uncle Tom's Cabin, and these "niggers" were always considered dan- gerous by the slave dealers. Before they set their HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION MOSES MEETS PRINCESS THARBIS. Moses, the great Hebrew law-giver, conquered, by means of love, the impregnable Ethiopian stronghold and married Fnncess Tharbis. OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 85 foot on American soil they were ordained by Nature to become "smart niggers." By some mysterious process of evolution Nature had al- ready endowed them with a marked mental ca- pacity. But was it of late formation — this su- perior intellectuality in the savage African? We think not. The same dark-skinned people had possession of it before the pyramids were built. We do not know the ancestry of Phillis Wlieatley, the little African slave girl, who pos- sessed such a wonderful intellect. She may have had the blood of Princess Tharbis, the daughter of the powerful Ethiopian king whom Moses married, in her veins, for all we know. We do not know the ancestry of Toussaint L'Ouverture, that Negro soldier, statesman and martvr, who stands without a parallel in the history of the modern Negro race. He may have had the blood of a great Pharaoh coursing through his veins. From the earliest history the Nigritic or Ham- itic branch of the human family has been the "mixer" of the world. In Africa superior blood has always mixed with the inferior, whenever coming in contact with it. In America it does the same. While the direct or indirect admix- ture of foreign blood evidently gives superior capability in the Negro race in America as well as in Africa, there have been some instances in 86 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION which giant intellects have developed in the ap- parently pure-blood Negro of today. The Negro is more capable of mental growth, taking him as a whole, than any other unmixed primi- tive race. But this book is not written to prove to our readers that pure blood is an infallible sign of mental and physical superiority. Today the theory of pure-blooded superiority falls flat. Any one advocating it is either prejudiced or a fool, or both. This is true of the white race as well as the black. It is our object to repudiate this theory in this book. The civilized world has outgrown it, this country proclaims it a lie; ignorance and racial prejudice alone worships at the altar of this egotistical, pure-blooded shrine in America. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 87 CHAPTER IV EDUCATION AND EQUALITY EDUCATION IN A REPUBLIC MEANS EQUALITY. — As long as there are some peo- ple illiterate and some educated, in a republican form of government not thoroughly Christian- ized, so long must there necessarily be social differences and a marked inequality; but in no republic can there be an inequality among its citizens when all have obtained an education at the expense of the state. Furthermore, there can be no radical race distinctions, color lines, castes, etc., among its intelligent citizens, as they are directly opposed to and detrimental to the highest principles and ideals of a true republic. The race hatred, as manifested at the present time between the white and colored people, is the drifting sand under the foundation of our republic. If education will not eradicate this anti-Republican spirit of race hatred, then this flaw in the foundation of our country will wreck it, and we shall experience a calamity! Equal educational advantages and equal abil- ity make all men equal if nothing else can, re- gardless of race or color, and to contend other- wise betrays rank idiocy or helpless egotism. 88 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION No people have a moral right to provide educa- tional advantages for another people, and then, when educated, brand, them as social inferiors and political outcasts. When their minds have been trained, redeemed, refined, — made capable of meeting, on intellectual ground, any man of any race on earth, — there can be no inequality. What folly it is, indeed, to allow, or be the means of allowing, the white, yellow, brown and black- est Negro an education, and then become a men- ace instead of a blessing to his country? The prime object of education, of free schools, is to make better citizens. If this object is defeated education is a curse and not a blessing, and ought to be prohibited for the best interests of the land. We wish we could impress, with life-long in- delibleness, upon the minds of all whites, North and South, the tremendous fact that equal social privileges must be extended to the educated colored people, as well as political and industrial rights, or every opportunity to obtain an educa- tion must be absolutely closed to them at once. Few people realize what fifty years of struggle upwards have accomplished among them. At the beginning of the war of the rebellion the illiteracy was almost one-hundred per cent; this proportion has been decreased to forty per cent for the country at large and to forty-five per cent in the South. Now that a firm footing has OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 89 been obtained, what will not another fifty years bring forth? There will be little or no illiteracy found among them at that time. We wonder if there is one intelligent reader of this book, no matter how embittered he may be against the Negro, Avho believes that ten, twenty, fifty million people — educated American people — will submit to the base inferiority to which they are subjected today. Show us a single instance in history where such a thing was possible among any people of any nation or race. There is no use for the Tillman and Vardaman crowd to try to convince the country that the educated Negro can be "held in the tongs of the law," as the Mississippian puts it. He is bound to procure an equal privilege in holding the "law-tongs." A horse or mule may be a silent partner in the development of a country, but not a thinking, educated man. An educated Negro is not a mule or other beast of burden for a white man to ride. If he attempts to ride him he is bound to kick. BRUTE FORCE MAY BE USED.— If the race prejudice on both sides is an incurable in- sanity, if the method we suggest of disposing of the undesirable element, and the assimilation by legal amalgamation of the eligible is impos- sible, then the race problem can settle or solve itself only by falling back on the brute or prim- 90 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION itive condition of man, when ultimately the fit- test will survive. Such retrogression is possible, but not allowable in this late day. The civilized world would protest against the extermination of the colored population in America. The North would put its big foot of protest on the neck of the race hating anarchist and forbid it. When a crisis arrives it would not allow either race to take advantage of the other. A race war would be impossible with the interference of the North. No matter how well the South might be prepared for the struggle, its cause would go down ignominiously. And in case the crisis ar- rives when the United States is in a fierce com- bat with the Japanese, the cause of the Negro would win without the interference of any white- skinned nation, and the southern states would come permanently under the control of the Japanese government. THE JAPANESE MAY OWN THE SOUTHERN STATES.— If the educated colored people of the South are permanently de- prived of their citizenship and equal opportun- ity by the southern whites, it will only be a mat- ter of time when the southern states will fall into the hands of the Japanese. The Japanese are looking for a footing on American soil. Because of their color they have been insulted and ex- cluded from the States. Ten million colored OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS ■ 91 people are in sympathy with this yellow brother, and would welcome him with open arms should he decide to cast his lot with them. The Japan- ese and Negro are the greatest fighters in the world, of this we give scientific proof in another chapter. Should these two races ever unite and amalga- mate on American soil, the most powerful na- tion the world has ever known would in time result. What such a union would mean to the American Caucasian is easy to foresee. And, for that matter, it is just as easy to foresee the possibility of such a union. It is within the power of the whites of the country today to pro- mote or retard such a union, just as they will it. The Negro will love the white man if the white man will love him. If education will not fit him to take up life with equal opportunities with his white brother, should some unknown colored brother appear and offer him equality, he will accept it with a glad heart. The southern states are peculiarly fitted to re- ceive the Japanese, and they would feel at home among the black, brown and yellow people al- ready there, and the Negro would no longer be disfranchised and held "with the tongs of the law" because of his color. The southern white man fears Negro dom- ination, but if he believed in fair play toward 92 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION the educated colored man, and would seek his best interest along with his own, there would be no reason to fear him. This fear betrays the weakness of the white man on the one hand, and the power of the Negro on the other. It is only the sworn enemy of the colored man who fears him. Mr. Jas. K. Vardaman, ex-Governor of Mississippi, we have heard make a public con- fession that he feared "nigger" domination. He is the Negro's enemy, notwithstanding his declaration that he is the "niggers' best friend." The friendship he bears toward the Negro is similar to that of a cat toward a mouse. He likes to deride, belittle and damn them; he likes to play with them to his heart's content, and then — "put them where they belong." Should the Japanese obtain control of the southern states these men will move out. The Jap is as much of a "nigger" to these men as the Afro-American. In the Vardaman state Italian children were in one instance debarred from the public school because of color. They also were classed as "niggers," but they contested the claim to a black heritage and were finally admitted to a white school. A GREAT ARMY OF CHILDREN.— We see with our mind's eye a great army of children — black, brown and yellow — with bright, anx- ious, eager, inquiring features — thousands of OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 93 o o X 'J X 3 33 < o 94 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION them — distributed all over this great Southland. Many very poor, half-clad, barefooted, tramp- ing miles throught heat, cold, rain and sun — for what purpose? To gain that pearl of great price — an education. Their minds are alert. They feel, hear and absorb. Their brain fibre is re- fined, Casuality and Comparison, the reasoning faculties of the mind are enthroned, and like a flood of heavenly light knowledge is poured into their souls. They see visions of the future, when they can take an active part in the affairs of life. They have ambitions too, and want to rise. One day they find themseJves ready, well equipped for their chosen vocations, but they hear it: "Stay down there, you nigger, stay down!" and they stay down a little longer. WHAT THEN ?— President Gompers, of the American Federation of Labor, has said: "Labor today stands erect, looking the world in the face, insisting upon equal treatment and equal op- portunity, and resenting any attempt at injustice or wrong." If you substitute "the educated Negro" for labor, in reading the above quota- tion, you have just what we wish to impress upon your minds. This is a paramount fact. The educated colored people are beginning to quietly resent the indignity to which an ignor- ant white populace often subjects them. These whites envy the Negro an education, as they do those who by thrift have accumulated property. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS * 95 SOUTHERN WHITE ILLITERACY.— In many parts of the South thirty-five per cent of the white natives are illiterates. Many of them are semi-barbarous, and live in the most degraded and poverty-stricken condition im- aginable. The educated and prosperous Negro looks down upon these helpless creatures, and believes that they are inferior to him, intel- lectually and socially, which is a sad fact. A story is told by a traveling man who crossed the country from one city to another with a team and driver. After traveling all day in a road torn by rains, and obstructed by high stumps and fallen trees, night overtook them — a real southern night in the woods. After los- ing their road and bearings they hopelessly wandered about until they spied a light. After much trouble they succeeded in reaching it, and found white natives living there. Could they stay over night? They most assuredly could. Supper was prepared for them in the fire- place, they never having used such a "new fangled thing" as an iron cookstove. The house contained two rooms, and in them a few pieces of homemade, rough furniture, including a bed. The travelers were tired and wondered where they could sleep, there being six children and the parents in the house. After supper they enjoyed a very interesting, if not intellectual, 96 • HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION A STUDKNT IN BROWN. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 97 conversation with the old folks. They noticed that one child after another climbed upon the bed and fell asleep, and was then placed in the corner of the room on the floor, until all six laid there in a row. Then the old folks retired to the next room and told their guests that they might now "go to bed." The travelers were tired and soon fast asleep. In the morning they awoke early, and to their utter astonishment they found themselves lying by the side of the children on the floor, while the old folks were snugly "tugged up" in the only bed in the house. The author has never had the experience of being transferred from a bed to the floor in his sleep, but the rest of the story is a literal fact. We take from the Woman's National Daily, St. Louis, Mo., the following timely editorial under the head of "A Story and a Moral." "A South Carolina contemporary, in advocat- ing compulsory education in that state and de- nying that it would mean Negro domination, goes out of his way to vouch for a little story told of a woman who has spent her life as a school teacher in that state. The school teacher says: 'On my father's plantation were two families, one white and the other black, living as hired laborers. The head of neither family could read or write. Naturally, I tried to get the parents of the white family to send their children to 58 HOLiM'S RACE ASSIMILATION school. The Negro parents sent their children to school voluntarily. When cotton picking time came, the weighing and recording of weights, even of the white family, fell to one of the Negro boys who had been taught to read and write. Today that Negro boy, now a man, owns land and is a taxpayer. Every child of the white family is illiterate and not one owns land. I have tried to get at least one of these white chil- dren, now a mother, to send her children to school. She, like her parents, refuses to educate her children, saying that if she sent her girls to school the first fruit would be love letters to some man.' " The Southern American Weekly (white) says editorially: "There are many homes among the poor white people in the South today that con- tain inmates who are scantily provided with the bare necessities of life. The children are with- out nourishing food and without proper raiment. In parts of the year not a few of our white people in the rural districts live without meat. It is no unusual thing for them to be without flour bread. They are so poor because they are so ignorant, and they are ignorant because the South is in the hands of an oligarchy that has thought no more of the welfare of the white masses than they have thought of the black people. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 99 Did not the oligarchy defeat the Blair bill for national aid to education? Did Alabama need national aid for education? Let the fact that out of 600,000 children of school age in this state there is an attendance of about 200,000 in the public schools, with an average duration for the year of 102 days, let this fact make answer. It is a great political system to disfranchise people on account of ignorance that the dis- franchising authority is the more responsible for than is any one else. Heaven have mercy on the oligarchy." The fact is evident to our readers that the same forces in the South which endeavor to keep the Negro down and in ignorance, keeps the poor white masses down and in ignorance. The political machine is the master of the situation. The people are not consulted. In the same pa- per quoted above is the following: "There is no real popular government in the Southern states and no real democracy anywhere in the South. We all know this. The masses are now, and they have always been, a nonentity in the South. The oligarchy has run things in government and in every other relation of things down here. It IS and has always been, in effect, 'the people be damned!' And they are." 100 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION These poor, degraded people do not even realize that they are in the direst kind of slavery, a slavery which chains the soul as well as the body. And the fact that they are white makes them more helpless, because of their belief in their superiority over the fast advancing Negro people. While thousands of black families yet live in one and two room cabins, there are many hundreds of white families living in precisely the same condition, and the illiteracy and pov- erty is the same in both homes. It is a pitiful sight to witness these white people in their pov- erty, especially if one takes into consideration the opportunities and advantages they have in the way of improving their condition, if they would. The author has witnessed the direst poverty in his work in the slums of Chicago, but he has never witnessed anything so hopeless as a species of poverty in a country that flows with milk and honey. DARKEST AFRICA IN AMERICA.— There is no need of a darkest Africa in Amer- ica, much less of a semi-barbarous white peo- ple. The North and South spent millions of money and thousands of precious lives in the war of the rebellion, because of the presence of the Negro. That sacrifice and devastation of both sections should forever be a warning and sufli- OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 101 ciency against future entangling. Both sections should, long ere this, have made a more per- sistent and sweeping effort to educate the masses of both races in the South. Dr. John W. Abercrombie, president of the University of Alabama, a southern gentleman of broad, liberal and philanthropic views, deliv- ered a lecture at the Citronelle, Alabama Chau- tauqua, in 1909, on "Lawlessness — Its Cause and Cure." He emphasized the fact that the South must educate its white and colored children alike in the true principles of citizenship. He con- demned, in the strongest terms, the present lynch- ing evil. He said that many times a Negro is lynched for no other crime than that he was black. He said that the schoolhouse was the only avenue through which a better feeling be- tween the races might be brought about. He contended that the teachers in both the white and colored schools of the South should inspire in the children a true regard for each other. The wrong influence at home, he believed, was re- sponsible for a great deal of the race trouble and prejudice. He said the South was too poor at present to educate all its children. To tax the people for sufficient money to run the schools would be like confiscating their property. Under these conditions he believed the whites should be educated first, and educated right. If the whites 102 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION received the right kind of education they would educate the Negro in turn. Since the South was ruined through the war, and left with millions of ignorant Negroes on their hands, he believed that the government ought to appropriate at least three and one-half million dollars per an- num for the education of the masses in the South. We quote this gentleman because he has looked deeply into this matter, and his judgment is worth a hundred Tillman's and Vardaman's on the race question. He does not need to tell his audience that he is the ^'best friend the nigger ever had," as ex-Governor Vardaman did a few days later on the same platform. His presence and manner of address is sufficient to convince his hearers that he has at heart the best interest of his brother in black. Would to God that the South had many more such men, brave enough and wise enough to tell the truth. Dr. Abercrombie does not deny the fact, as does Vardaman and others of his school, that the Negro can be educated. Why has the govern- ment forced the guardianship of these people upon the shoulders of their unwilling former masters without a provision or recompense? After the South was completely wrecked and im- poverished, the government left these unfor- tunate ex-slaves in the hands of their unfor- tunate ex-m.asters. These ex-masters, for the OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS lOS most part, did not believe in the education of the Negro, neither do their children today. For some unknown reason they fear an "educated nigger." Enforced guardianship, under these conditions, is nothing sweet to contemplate. There could be little love reciprocated between the ex-slave and ex-master, and it is a wonder, indeed, that any existed between them. And to look at the more practical side of this question-- what could the southern people do, when pov- ertv stalked in their midst in all its ghastly real- ity? Was it their business to build schoolhouses and hire teachers to educate the emancipated slave, whom they believed could not be educat- ed? That part rightfully belonged to the gov- ernment who freed them, and that government should be held responsible for all the semi-bar- barism and illiteracy of these people. It is true, some spasmodic attempts were made, as in the passage of the Freedman's Bureau bill, but the tremendous task of educating four and one-half million people in a poverty-stricken country de- manded a thorough system of warfare against ig- norance and superstition. If the government had established 5000 small industrial schools through- out the South, say, thirty-five years ago, and had conducted them under strict governmental super- vision (for whites and blacks alike) , there would be no darkest South today, and no undue preju- 104 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION dice to contend with among those people, who have been educated apart, if educated at all, to hate each other in that bitterness born of illit- eracy and racial differences. Above all, both races should have been taught how to cultivate the soil profitably, how to build up their homes — in short, how to become prosperous. All the intensive farming, along scientific lines in the South today, is the result of northern energy and intelligence. If it were not for the energy and money of the northerner in the South at the present time, there would be fifty per cent more poverty and illiteracy. These schools we have mentioned would have brought the government and the southern people together, where, as now, they stand apart, and there is no love between the North and South; no united interest for the good of all, and the elevation and the education of the Negro as well as the poor whites. On the other hand, these schools would have brought prosperity and independence, because of the in- creased efficiency of labor, and this, in turn, would have brought about a better feeling be- tween the races. Nearly all the prejudice among the northern people who have settled In the South, against the Negro, is due to the fact, it is said, that he is shiftless and incompetent as a laborer, and this, as some believe, is not because he wants to be thus, but more often because he OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 105 does not know how to labor for the interest of his employer. Among themselves they have created the impression that they must labor for the money there is in it, and not for the higher purpose of becoming experts in their calling. We have noticed very often that those who take an interest in their work, and do it well when laboring for a northern man, are not only re- spected and their race benefited, but thev may also soon demand better wages. The northern man has no use for shiftless labor, and will not tolerate it, in the kitchen, on the farm or in the shop, and the Negro is making a fearful mistake if he attempts to try it. The reason we believe the work Dr. Booker T. Washington and others are doing is a great one in the uplift of the race, is because educated labor and efficient service means respect, confidence, unity and equal priv- ileges when it has been fully established. It is the forerunner of future wealth and independ- ence. The thought must also occur to us here, that if the government had provided for the guard- ianship and education of the Negro, right after the war, and had then given him full political rights, and not before, the South would have found little reason to kick against the political and social rights of these people in a later day. No man, of whatever race or color, should be 106 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION granted a full citizenship in the United States of America before he can read and write and is familiar with our form of government. Most of our political corruption is caused by the per- nicious influence wrought upon the illiterate by the professional politician and office seeker. INEQUALITY AND EDUCATION A TRANSPARENT DOCTRINE.— As long as a great mass of Negro population is illiterate there can be no political, industrial or social equality. While illiteracy among the whites may be overlooked, among the Negro people it will never be overlooked. Booker T. Wash- ington and his colleagues advocate industrial equality. That our readers may more fully understand what they mean by this we quote from a book, "The Colored American from Slavery to Honorable Citizenship," in which Prof. J. W. Gibson (white). Prof. Booker T. Washington, and Prof. W. H. Crogman (col- ored), appear as the authors: ''Does Not Crave Domination, But Equa/ify/' — (Page 190.) "The Negro craves not domination. He simply asks for equalization of rights and privileges, such as belong to American citizens under the funda- mental law of the land. As an American citizen he cannot ask less nor be contented with less." The educated class, which embraces the mu- latto and all others of African descent, will never OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD-S SPOTS 107 be satisfied with anything less than equal oppor- tunity with every other citizen of the white race. And why should it be? As we so often repeat in this book, the bluest blood that ever landed in this country, of both the black and white races, Hows in their veins. And as the lower element becomes more educated and mixed with this higher class, it will make the same claim, and demand the same rights. If we look but a few centuries back into Euro- pean history, we find that the great mass of people came through the same identical process of evolution there. The only difference is that the dominant white politician in the South is the feudal lord and the poor white and colored citizen the serf. The author's great grandfather witnessed, in his day, the tying to the stake of the serf and the whipping of him by the lord, in that country of giant intellects — Germany. To- day — what a marvelous change! The children of the colored people have a better opportunity to obtain an education in the states today than had the poor children of Germany and other European countries a generation or Uvo ago. There is little sense in the cry that the Negro u^ants social equality. There is no such a thing in existence in America as social equality among the whites, why, then, should it be feared be- tween the two races? There are lines drawn be- 108 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION tween the laboring man and professional man, the professional and moneyed man, the rich and poor, the high and low, the aristocrat and la- borer. The various classes are pitted against each other and do not live for the welfare and happiness of each other. The American people are too self-centered and voracious at the pres- ent time to allow any altruistic sentiments to unite the various classes. Society is just as much shocked when it finds the daughter of an aristo- crat in the company of a young laboring man, as it is when it finds the daughter of a laborer in the society of a decent colored man. The verdict invariably is that these girls have "thrown themselves away." Whereas, if they marry a worthless bummer of their own class it is taken as a matter of course. Dr. Booker T. Washington and other prom- inent men and women of the Negro race have been entertained by white men and women who would not think of entertaining a farmer, a cross- road storekeeper or a white servant girl. When it comes to worth, ability, education, the color line must necessarily vanish among people of culture and true ethics. And in the business world the selfishness of the American people — the love of money — will in time obliterate the color line. A prominent Negro, Mr. J. H. Lewis, has well said that the business world knows noth- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 109 ing of color, that human selfishness, the desire of every man to get money, would eventually banish prejudice. That the almighty dollar is thoroughly color blind. That money commands respect. "Rare," says he, "is the merchant or manufacturer who will refuse to shake hands with a hundred thousand dollars." While it is a lamentable fact that money is the supreme god of the American people, and that it will cover a multitude of sins, yet talents, education, worth, will not long go begging among a great people. True talent and persist- ence of efifort has always been recognized, sooner or later; and the American people are, after all, too great not to let justice triumph over wrong in a final decision. When a president of these United States can dine with a prominent mem- ber of the Negro race, it is not likely that a com- mon citizen will in time find it a disgrace to associate, on common ground, with the respect- able class of colored people. When education and love enters, the vile devil of inequality and prejudice must flee. Only among the narrow and selfish can he find an abiding place. We mean the right kind of edu- cation, of the heart, the head, the soul. Of wrong education we have a plenty. It has already caused the foul spirit of anarchy to infest the hearts and arouse the lower faculties of the mind 110 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION to dark plots and evil deeds. We want the spirit of Universal Brotherhood inculcated in the minds and hearts of the American people. We w^ant it taught to every child — preached to every man and woman in the land. We feel that this "land of the free and home of the brave" will be torn asunder, limb by limb; will lay prostrate in the dust, bleeding, dying, in the most terrible slaughter on man's record, unless prejudice is obliterated between the races in our midst. A trained mind cannot submit to social inferiority. WHAT JAPANESE THINK OF IT.— The following is what Kaju Nakamura, editor of the Japanese-American Commercial Weekly, said of the Japanese situation: "Of the several reasons assigned by the people of California for their hostility to the Japanese, the only one that is real is race prejudice, which, strange to say, I have found stronger in this country — this land of the free — than in any other country in the world. It is, I believe, this race prejudice, this most horrible of all diseases of the human mind, that is responsible for these at- tacks upon the Japanese. God, or whatever you may believe to be supreme, made us, and He never drew lines between each race, one race to be superior over the others ; nor did He teach one race to despise others, but He colored each so as to best suit the climate of his abode. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 111 Negroes, Chinese, Japanese, feel hunger, pain, gladness or shame just as much as Cau- casians feel them. One has blood that runs as warm as the other. They love their friends, hate their enemies, and they cry when sad, just as other people do. We Japanese are human, you Americans are human. Opportunity may have done more for one than for the other, but at the root of things we are all alike. Could that one thought be impressed on those who are most loudly crying out against the Japanese today, I believe that the Japanese question, if there be one, would disappear like fog before the sun." It is an open question before the thinking white citizens of these States: Shall America go down in history as the race hating nation of the world, persecuting and trampling upon every race, regardless of their ability or worth, if their skin be colored? 112 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION CHAPTER V THE COLOR LINE DO NOT CHAMPION THE NEGRO AT THE EXPENSE OF SOUTHERN WHITES. — We revolt against the task of en- larging upon the color line subject, and would gladly refrain from discussing it in these pages if we could attain the object in view in any other way. But it is apparent that our work would be in vain did we not expound, in unmistakable language, the existing relations between the white and colored people. In discussing these existing conditions, we do not wish to convey the idea that we are blind to and do not respect the position of the Southern people in this regard. Furthermore, we do not wish to impress the reader with the idea that we are championing the cause of the American Negro at the expense of the Southern whites. We wish to say that we really champion nobody. Our only aim is, as we say in our introduction, to lay bare this social cancer, that we may treat it with scientific cer- tainty. We love the country of our adoption and the people thereof. A true Southerner is an un- prejudiced, warm-hearted, kindly gentleman, OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 11.5 and to know him thoroughly is to love him. We have no fear that he will take unkindly to what we say, though he may not see just at present how the reforms advocated in this book can be suc- cessfullv applied. HARD THINGS HURLED AT NEGROES' FRIENDS.— We also wish to re- mind our Southern brother that from time to time very, very hard things are hurled at some Northern and other friends of the Negro, who unfortunately step across the color line they do not discern with that inbred acuteness of the Southern gentleman. This the beloved and la- mented Bishop Potter did at Richmond before his death. The luncheon he took with a fellow colored bishop at that time was repeatedly vomited up by the Southern press. It is our ob- ject to throw before you, as a fit illustration, a bit of this vomit at this time, as Bishop Potter was a prominent Christian character, and his position was a notable one. And in referring to this and like instances, it matters little whether they took place yesterday or ten years ago; the same class of men hold precisely the same view in regard to the Negro of today, they or their fa- thers held forty years and more ago. This is evi- dence that there has been no change of sentiment or change of heart in the children of former slave-holders. 8 114 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION A HIGHLY -CENSURABLE ACT. — (From Lynchburg News.) "Bishop and Mrs. Potter, of New York, who are occupying the residence at 600 West Franklin street, Rich- mond, during the general convention of the American Episcopal Church, this evening enter- tained at luncheon Bishop Ferguson, of Africa, the only Negro entitled to a seat in the house of bishops. This from our Richmond advices yes- terday. Thus has Bishop Potter flaunted odious insult to the Southern people before the world's vision. He has done this quite deliberately, quite flagrantly and with a degree of callous in- solence that absolutely startles and bewilders. This New York Bishop is no mental incompe- tent. He is no ill-informed man. He is in no posi- tion to claim ignorance of social conditions in the South. He knows, and knew very well, the way by and through which he could oflfend the people of this section, wound their sensibilities, arouse their indignant protest. He knew no surer means was at hand to accomplish this end than by preaching social equality between the races, or worse still, by overt act show that he embraces the hated doctrine. And yet knowing all this, he has consciously resorted to a procedure that was unnecessary; that was brought about by the bishop's own deliberate volition, and for which appears no sort of reasonable excuse or explana- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 115 tion. This Bishop Potter did while in the South, while the guest of a Southern city and in a resi- dence of that city, temporarily leased by him — temporarily leased from a Richmond citizen, who would doubtless regard the act of a lessee in entertaining a Negro at his dining board, as much an act of social vandalism as he would es- teem it an act of physical vandalism had Bishop Potter smashed the doors of his residence and shattered its windows. This he did, knowing that as a result human bitterness would be engen- dered, seeds of trouble and contention sown which, in due season, might produce results cal- culated to rend in twain the great Episcopal Church of America. * * * When Bishop Potter in Richmond gave an ofifensive object lesson of his belief in social equality between the races, he has become a breeder of resentment between men; a feeder to race estrangement, an agitator of angry passions. Is Bishop Potter consistent in his belief upon this social equality question, we wonder? Is he sincere? If so, he ought not to oppose its application, even though it should knock at the door of his own home in New York and thrust its presence and philosophy among the members of his own family. Would he say it nay should it thus come to him and his — this doctrine which he practiced in Richmond on Friday? We wonder; aye, we wonder, indeed. 116 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION The writer of this editorial was reared in the Episcopal Church, and for more than twenty years has been identified with its membership. This being the case, he has viewed with no lit- tle anxiety the discussion and actions of the pres- ent convention in regard to the race question. Present signs, we submit, point to breakers ahead for American episcopacy. The church must recognize the South's demands upon the race question, and engraft acceptation thereof upon its polity, or invite endless trouble. The separation of the races in church matters, and separate conventions for the white and Negroes — these things in the end will prove the only efficacious solution of the existing problem. Bishop Potter has aided in hastening the crisis, when clear, definite, decisive action will be re- quired. If he and men with his views are to prevail upon the issue joined, then a Northern episcopacy and a Southern episcopacy will evolve from a now united church. No compro- mise upon the question can live. Either the South's view must be maintained or division must ensue. Between these alternatives the church will, before many years, be compelled to choose, unfortunate and unhappy as be the consequences." WOULD DENOUNCE JESUS. — The writer of the above editorial says that he has OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 117 been a member of the Episcopal church for twenty years. We respect him for his honesty, for he does not pretend to say that he has been a Christian for that length of time. An intelli- gent Christian could not and would not disgrace himself and the South in the use of such scathing language toward the bishop of his church for the performance of a noble Christian duty. If Jesus of Nazareth would appear and sit down to sup with a colored bishop of His church, the same class of men in the South who denounce such men as Bishop Potter was, would denounce Him. And where can we find a true Christian who does not feel in his heart that Jesus Christ, the reputed Son of God, confessed no recognition of a color line? Who dares say that he did, in this late day? By His Father in heaven all men were created free and equal, man's depravity alone has wrought inequality. The earth out of w^hich the wTiter of the above editorial and his like are formed, was taken from the same heap out of which the humblest Negro in the South was made, and both will return to it when they die. Where is your color line there? And should the writer of the above article re- pent and be saved, and he and the humble Negro die together, they would together knock at the door of heaven, and St. Peter would open and let them both in. Where is your color line there? 118 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION This is the humble but fundamental doctrine of the true Christian faith, is it not? To bring out this fact to our readers, we have chosen this appropriate incident relative to Bishop Potter. This and many other similar incidents show the reader that many southern whites, who, for the most partclaim to be an intensely religious people, have even drawn a sharp color line in religion. A smart colored woman told the author that she asked a southern white lady whether the colored folks would be like the white people in heaven. *'No," she answered, "they will be servants of the white people there the same as they are here." The author, too, has heard this same statement more than once from the lips of very pious southerners. So, while it is now admitted that the Negro may have a soul, he is eternally doomed to serve the southern white people in heaven. We think it very kind of the southern Christian theologian to give his black brother and sister, and his colored offspring, a chance to at least enter heaven as a servant. It is better to get there as a servant than not to get there at all. THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT.— "But," they say, "you don't understand. The 'nig- ger' rnust be kept down." Let us see. Here we have it: "I favor unqualifiedly and without re- serve the abrogation of the Fifteenth Amend- OR THE FADING LEOPARDS SPOTS 119 ment of the Constitution, and it is my hope through the United States Senate, to demonstrate to the nation that there is only one practical way of settling this matter, and that is by plainly showing the Negro his proper place in our sys- tem of government. The race question must be settled, and that soon. It cannot be disposed of, however, until the nation as a whole has been convinced that there is a distinction be- tween the white and the black. GAP JUST AS WIDE BETWEEN NEGRO AND WHITE.— "The laws now specifically recognize the difference between the white man and the Indian, the Chinaman, Es- quimo or the Malay. There is just as wide a gap between the white man and the Negro.* The Negroes of the South are becoming more criminal every day. Notwithstanding the mil- lions of dollars we have spent in attempting to educate them, they are becoming more disre- spectful of law and more animal like in their characters and desires. * * * The abrogation of the Fifteenth Amendment w^ill place the Negro where he belongs. * * * If 1 get to the Senate there will be an opportunity to speak to the en- tire nation. The North will know what the South already knows, that the climax is at hand. It will come to appreciate that Thomas Jefifer- *See Chapter XIV. "Where Indians and whites marry." 120 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION son was not speaking of the Negro when he said that all men were created free and equal. He knew that the Negro was a mere chattel. * * * The crisis is nearly due. The matter of white supremacy or black domination in the South is at fever heat, and the sooner the North and West realize it the better it will be for the nation." — Ex-Governor Vardaman of Missis- sippi. The southern whites fear "black domination," but it is really the domination of their colored progeny, backed by the black, that they fear. Let readers remember this fact. INDIANS AND NEGROES VOTE.— We think we now understand. ( ?) But the argument that the laws now specifically recognize the dif- ference between the Indian and the white man, is, we fear, at least a weak one, so far as Okla- homa is concerned, which has become a state since the above was first spoken. Oklahoma has a full suflfrage clause in its constitution, covering every man, white, red, yellow and black. The con- stitution was adopted by a majority of 109,000. The vote against it was 75,000. The Indian population of the state is the largest in the Union, being 75,000, of these about 15,000 are voters. TILLMAN DOES NOT WANT THE NEGRO'S HEEL ON HIS NECK.— (From a 'Speech in the senate) 'T am not opposed to OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 121 Negro education at all, provided it is of the right kind, knowing that education increases in- telligence and intelligence increases the useful- ness of the citizens. What I said and meant and by which I stick is this: That the Republican poli-cy of the last forty years has been to compel the South to recognize the political equality of the Negro. That in its essence would mean the domination of the Negro in South Carolina and Mississippi and many parts of other southern states. We have disfranchised every Negro we could under the Fifteenth Amendment, and the only instrumentality available was to require an educational qualification. There is now an agi- tation in South Carolina for compulsory educa- tion. That would mean a heavy burden to pro- vide more schools which the white tax payers would have to bear, and there could be no dis- crimination against the Negro on account of race or color. (He does not believe that labor produces w^ealth and pays taxes). Hence we would present the spectacle of educating the Negro at a very heavy expense to hurry forward the contest for supremacy between the two races, as soon as we should have given them the neces- sary qualifications to vote, and be undoing what we found absolutely necessary to preserve our civilization. We never intend to be governed by Negroes, whether educated or uneducated. 122 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ANTI-NEGRO PHILOSOPHER. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 123 The Republican party is now seeking to debauch the South through Mr. Taft, who offers us two offices in every thousand of our population and a pretended advancement of our material inter- ests to join that party. If the Republicans will throw down and abandon, once for all, their ef- forts to compel the South to recognize the joint equality of the Caucasian and African by re- pealing the Fifteenth Amendment, we can then have the control of our state affairs, and can then train them to make better citizens and aid in that 'uplift' which Mr. Taft is so anxious to see brought about. But we never expect to 'lift' them high enough ourselves, and allow anybody else to lift them high enough to put their heels on our necks or govern us again, and the conflict of the races, which seems to me inevitable, will only be hastened by such talk as Mr. Taft in- dulges in." COLOR LINE IN POLITICS.— An edi- torial appeared in the Mobile Register, referring to the famous Dr. Crum case, that caused so much debate in the United States senate. Here is fully expressed the South's idea of color in politics. It matters little how competent and faithful a man may be in the performance of his duty, if he has a trace of Negro blood in his veins he cannot "properly represent the govern- ment." The editorial is as follows: "The rule in the appointment of men to federal office 124 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION should be: to appoint that person only who by common report is of such standing that the peo- ple might, if they were called on, elect such per- son to the designated office. Where it is well known that by no possible combination of cir- cumstances such persons would be chosen by the community the appointment should not be made or even thought of. Under this rule, no colored man would be placed in an important public office in the South, such as the collector- ship of a port, as was done in Charleston. The collector is not simply a clerk of the government, to receive and be responsible for revenues of the port; he is also a representative of the govern- ment, and, by virtue of his office, ought to as- sume and be accorded a high position, officially, commercially and socially. Whatever are the qualities of Dr. Crum, the collector of Charles- ton, or his ability to care for the collection and delivery of the revenues, and even to look after the commercial interests of the port, it must be admitted that, by reason of his color, he cannot associate on equal terms with the business men of the community, and is wholly cut oflf from the exercise of all social functions whatever. He does not, therefore, properly represent the gov- ernment, and the government is without a repre- sentative in Charleston, except in the limited sense that it has there a curator of its revenues. The protest of the Charleston people has been OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 125 Steadfastly presented to the attention of the presi- dent (Mr. Roosevelt), but to him it appears to be the product of racial prejudice, and, accord- ingly, not worthy of being heeded. If the presi- dent could entertain the hope that, by persistence in keeping Dr. Crum in the position of collector, he could overcome the opposition and obtain for Dr. Crum the recognition every collector should have, there might be some sense in per- sistence; but the president has no such hope. The jjientnl habit of the ichite community is not goiny to change, even though a thousand Crums are appointed to office. The senate has the power of rejecting the re-appointment of Dr. Crum, and, it is reported, will reject it. In so doing it will be of good service, for the appointee does not possess all the qualifications for the office, and ought not to hold the office." THEY RUB IN THE COLOR LINE.— We are conscious of the fact that there are men throughout the South today who take advantage of every opportunity to rub in the color line sub- ject. Such men as Senator Tillman, for instance, have made it a paying business to lecture on the race question; or, to be more explicit, "rave on it." This class, as we intimate elsewhere, that does not even spare a bishop in the exercise of his private rights, does not represent the true sentiment of any country or any people. They are the remnant of a defunct aristocracy, or their 126 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION on-hangers, and die hard. They are a set of blatant, blasphemous anarchists who inflame the hearts of an ignorant, self-conceited southern populace to mob violence and hellish crimes against a poor, defenseless people, who have been kicked and cuffed and tongue-lashed by these crack-brained enemies of our free institutions and Republican form of government, without a blush of shame. They never will submit to the changing conditions, or see anything better in the Negro than a chattel. We sincerely sym- pathize with them. They have undergone tre- mendous, unrestorable losses through the eman- cipation of the slave, and a lifetime will scarcely eradicate the bitterness thereof among these poor children of men. THE NEGRO'S PLACE.— The most de- plorable thing about it is that they persist in treating the race question in such an unscientific manner, that it is merely a species of fault-find- ing. The desire to "plainly show the Negro his proper place in our system of government," is no treatment of the question under discussion. The Negro, as a whole, has no proper place where all may be justly located in our system of gov- ernment. While some of them are not yet fully competent to exercise the rights of full citizen- ship, as is so often contended, the majority are as competent as any foreigners that ever landed on our shores; and some are as competent as a OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 127 Vardaman to fill a senatorial chair in our na- tional capitol. And of this fact true Americans need not be ashamed, but intensely proud, as it shows the world that the mixed American peo- ple are the most progressive, intellectual and in- vincible people on the earth; and that the whole world will be drawn into the united American races before the trumpet of Gabriel sounds. We here refer to the union of all races; and we shall show the reader in this book that such a union is inevitable. THEIR MINDS ARE WARPED.— Vol- taire once said that he had been so busy in grind- ing out natural laws, for so many years, that his mind had lost its power to reason correctly upon moral subjects, and this same fact is applicable to these southerners, who are born and raised to "keep the nigger in his place." Their minds are deficient in those mental elements which create the moral feelings that recognize and sense the highest Christian and humane law of Universal Brotherhood, as taught by Jesus and other great leaders of religious and moral thought of ancient and modern times. They are the dare-devil- spirits who work for effect, and their own selfish ends, regardless of consequences or moral de- cency. They belie and damn the entire colored race just because they can. Like a wicked boy, spoiled in the raising, they set a big dog upon a small, defenseless one. They indulge in this 128 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION immoral sport with a wicked eye and the craving of an abnormal nature. The degeneracy and sensuality of the old slave master is, as the Scrip- tures say, visited upon the descendants of that master. All sensible men and women of both races should pity these poor, deluded mortals. To hate them would be a crime, because they are irresponsible. ANOTHER ANTI-NEGRO PHILOSO- PHER.— Thomas H. Norwood of Georgia, a former United States Senator and a city judge, w^hen retiring from the bench which he had oc- cupied twelve years, delivered an address on the race question. The judge said that after in- vestigation and long contact with the Negro as a defendant in his court, he had reached the con- clusion that the Negro is incapable of receiving and using more than the rudiments of an edu- cation. The Negro as a slave was cared for by the white man, he said, but the present genera- tion is retrograding to the status of the savage and rule by force. This is shown by the constant disregard of laws, repeated resistance of arrest and shooting down of white men who attempt to control them. The mulatto is the curse of both the white man and the Negro race in the South, said Judge Norwood. They stir the others to deeds of violence and create discord. Illicit miscegenation he held, should be repressed by the most vigorous laws. It should be made a OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 129 capital offense, the guilty man hanged and the woman sent to the penitentiary for life. This man claims he has studied or investigated the Negro for a long time — in his court as a de- fendant. Has he ever made careful investiga- tions out of his court as a friend? Is it possible to investigate and study ten millions of people by the few hundred miserable examples that are brought before the bench of a city judge? A man must have the wisdom exceeding that of Solomon, to thus draw conclusions of any value whatever. And as regards resisting arrest, to which Judge Norwood referred as evidence of retrogression; the facts are as follows: When a Negro is arrested in the South for any crime from chicken stealing to murder, there is im- minent danger of lynching without trial or a fair chance of defense, and rather than submit to such a painful and ignominious end, he fights when cornered and dies like a man. Let the officers of the law guarantee safety and a fair trial to their colored prisoners, and there would soon be a decrease in resisting arrest. A BROAD, UNBIASED INVESTIGA- TION. — What do we think, who have also in- vestigated the Negro and race question, not from the standpoint of inbred prejudice or in a city court, but in the homes of the poor, the humble, the cultured, the professional, in school, among children, in church, in society, everywhere, — as 130 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ''he u 0.^ ev^> U ♦Hf'C'N HE VOMITS POLITICAL RACE DOPE. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 131 an unbiased, careful student of human nature. What do these wide-mouthed philosophers know about the Negro anyhow? Have they the con- fidence, respect and heart-secrets of the intelli- gent colored folk? Have they entered their lives, thought their thoughts and experienced their hopes and fears, their joys and tears, and felt the burning, choking sensations of humiliation, to which they are so often subjected without re- dress or a word of complaint? Do these agitators realize that they will be regarded the fools of this age a hundred years hence — that they are treading a mill that will grind long after their mortal bodies have been given over to the worms and have returned to dust; and that it will grind so fine that their im- mortal self (if they have not lost their identity) will be in danger of hell-burning remorse? The paramount question will soon confront America — What shall we do with the white color line maniac of the country? GOD'S FINGER OF APPROVAL IS UP- ON THE MULATTO.— If this man from Georgia and others like him mean that the aver- age West African Negro in his native jungle is not capable of receiving more than the rudi- ments of an education, they may be partially right; but when they say this of the American Negro, they are wrong. And when they say that the present generation is retrograding to savage- 132 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ry, they are decidedly wrong. When they say the mulatto is the curse of both the white man and the Negro race in the South, they say right. The mulatto is the greatest curse (?) that God Almighty has ever raised for the purpose of lifting up a whole race of people, and to lay bare the hidden foulness of the prevailing wrong social condition in this country. These state- ments may sound radical, and out of place in a work given to science, reason and justice rather than religious sentiment; but we shall give you plenty of sound, scientific evidence to back up every statement made, before you close this book; and if we can impart to you a glimpse of Divine Providence in the marvelous evolutionary process that dom- inates the American Negro, as we proceed, we believe you will be better prepared to draw your final conclusions when all has been said and done. We say that God has placed his finger of approval upon the colored Caucasian, and that this race is destined to become one of the intellectual and industrial giants of America and the civilized world. This is why the mulatto is considered such a curse to the South today, is it not? Ninety per cent of all the great people in the world's history, of whom we have any record, have been of a mixed origin ; perhaps this is why the mulatto is a curse. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 133 A beautiful conception of the Rev. Dr. Dixon, author of "The Leopard's Spots.'' 134 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION CHAPTER VI NORTHERN PREJUDICE A SCATTERED FEW HOLD COLOR LINE IN CONTEMPT.— We have said con- siderable about the so-called "smart nigger," as the enlightened colored gentleman is designated. We shall have occasion to mention him again. But before we speak of him further in this chap- ter we shall take up northern prejudice in order to convey more clearly the chain of thought be- gun in the preceding discussion. There is an old proverb, "Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you." The southerners have long had a serious trouble, and this same trouble is now confronting the northern Yankee in the South. We honor every northern sympathizer with our work, who believes in and champions the cause of the poor, down-trodden, despised colored race. We have in mind, while we write these lines, several persons of ability and influence who would willingly give their best thought and energy to untangle, adjust and alleviate the dif- ficulties of the colored people, if they had in their possession the key that unlocks the door to the "Hall of Reason," so that the light thereof might illuminate the black caverns of mental OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 135 obscurity in the white man's boasted canopy of human justice, and knock the prancing steed from under the proud parader of heaven-born supremacy. Unless there is a decided change in the attitude toward the colored race, of many northern people in the North and of many who settle in the South, we have not the slightest hope that a better sentiment will be created, beneficial to the race, intellectually, socially, industrially or morally, as far as they are concerned. We do not mean to say, though, that the Negro is desti- tute of the friendship or sympathy of northern people who have settled in the South. But it is only among the scattered few who take a broader interest in and a more substantial view of life and the human race; and who have cast aside the narrow, self-centered religious and material interests, and look forward to a better condition for all mankind, who welcome and love the good colored people. By many of these the color line is held in profound contempt; and for rea- sons founded on their religious faith and a true understanding of the law of human progress and justice. In the North, where the bad Negro element is not conspicuous to warp the faith in the race, this class is vastly in the majority. We are sorry to say, though, that one bad Negro sometimes may turn one-half of a northern com- munity' against the 'race. The big riot at Spring- 136 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION field, III., some time ago, is a fair example. There is a class of Negro haters in the North, composed of the scum of society, that is ever ready to hang and burn ; but if the Negro were displaced by the Jap or Chinaman, the result would be the same. This unstable element is, in some parts of the North, as plentiful, or in proportion as numerous, as the Negro in the South. But don't let our readers be deceived by any false statements ; the millions of substan- tial northern people are the best friends the Afro- American race has on this side of the Atlantic ocean. Any colored man or woman first travel- ing in the North, will at once feel the spirit of libertv that pervades everything. THE COLOR line" FEVER.— That the blind, silly pretentions of the common populace, with regard to the color line, should be repu- diated by substantial citizens is no wonder; for it is sickening, indeed, to hear the opinions of many of these base pretenders when they speak of the "nigger," and especially when one knows that these very ones are of less credit to the moral tone of a community, than even the least respect- able Negroes in it. Scientific investigation has convinced us that the insane prejudice of this class is but a symptom of a deep-seated moral disease, with which they are afflicted; for among the morally sound whites, North and South, we OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 137 have scarcely ever heard a single word said against the colored race as a whole or the color line, but have always found more sympathy than complaint, often with the addition of a hope ex- pressed that a better day might dawn for the race. We have knowledge of many instances where northern whites, of most respectable Christian character, invited their colored help to eat with them at the family table after settling in the South. The color line hubbub of today is not simply a harmless fad, indulged in by such as have no higher employment for their shallow minds, but it is a serious, deep-seated affair, that does not only belittle and snub the best colored man, but works permanent injury to the highest interests of both races. The growing sentiment among the present generation of whites, that the Negro is not wanted, is the outgrowth of this color line cry, and consequently the strained con- dition between the races becomes more acute. We give just one instance here to show you how it works among northern people in the far South, who have contracted the color line fever. We quote from a local newspaper: "Fairhope is doing what Citronelle did several years ago — turning down Negro excursions. The Bay Steamship Company has an excursion billed to land at Fairhope next Monday. Fairhope 138 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION owns their own wharf, and say that they shall not land." Fairhope like Citronelle is essentially a northern town. It was built and is inhabited by a single tax colony. A people who should be broadminded enough to welcome any folk who desire to spend a day of recreation and en- joyment in their vicinity. These Mobile excur- sions are made up of a promiscuous crowd. Sometimes a little shooting fracas happens among them, and one of their number may be killed, as was the case in Citronelle a few years ago, but in the main it is a good-natured crowd, out for a good time. Now, the idea we wish to convey here, without undue reflection on these towns or people, is this : A certain class of north- ern people in the South do not wish to be incon- venienced or bothered with the "nigger." In other words, they have no use for colored folks, they do not want them around if they can get along without them. They have not gained their confidence, and know absolutely nothing about these peculiar, interesting children of men. This seems to be the prevailing sentiment wherever a northern community is found, if not openly expressed, as in the towns above named, it is nevertheless quietly assumed. Now, the reason is not so much on account of color, with many of these northern friends, as on account of the fact that the Negro today is not what the average OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 139 American white man and woman believes he ought to be, as we have said in a preceding chap- ter. This color line cry has undoubtedly become acute on account of the forces in existence, which move the masses of the colored race upwards, round by round, into the higher intellectual and social scales of civilization. In some instances the colored man has the highest and holiest fra- ternal feelings in his heart, when he expresses a desire to at least under some circumstances, ob- literate the color line. Such a desire was expressed by a camp of colored Spanish war veterans. We give it as editorially commented upon by an old prominent southern paper. And in connection with the following editorial comes to our mind a statement Booker T. Washington made in his speech in the Auditorium, during the Jubilee week in Chicago, after the Spanish-American war. He said: "We can celebrate the era of peace in no more effectual way than by a firm resolve on the part of northern men and southern men, black men and white men, that the trenches that we together dug around Santiago shall be the eternal burial place of all that which separates us in our busi- ness and civil relations. Let us be generous in peace as we have been in battle. Until we thus conquer ourselves, I make no empty statement when I say, that we shall have a cancer gnawing 140 HOLM'S RACE ASSnilLATIOX at the heart of the republic that shall one day prove as dangerous as an attack from an army without or within." After all these years have passed the following incident shows that Booker T. Washington's words have fallen upon barren soil. THE COLOR LINE AMONG SPANISH WAR VETERANS.— ''Recently a camp of Spanish war veterans in Washington, composed entirely of Negroes, proposed consolidation with a white camp. The proposition was repelled with energy. Not content with that attempt to obliterate the color line, Past Commander Wor- rell Ball renewed the effort the other night at a reception to National Commander-in-Chief Walter Scott Hale, at Grand Army Hall, where both white and Negro veterans had gathered, by declaring that "the color line does not exist in the Spanish War Veterans." His declaration was not only hissed, but many whites left the hall. The color line is definitely drawn every- where. Its eradication is impossible. All effort in that direction is not only futile, but operates as a positive injury to the Negro, as it tends to arouse race antagonism." This editor says that the color line is definitely drawn everywhere, and that the eradication of it is impossible, and wherever attempted it "oper- ates as a positive injury to the Negro." OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 141 First, why? Because it "tends to arouse race antagonism." Secondly, how? By giving him the shadow of a hope of social equality. Thirdly, because his skin is dark or black, his hair kinky, and he has once been a slave, and by the law of "might makes right," must be eternally doomed to the realms of an inferior being. Fourthly, to sum up the whole matter, the com- mon phrase of the South is appliable — "The nigger must be kept down." The editor does not say all this in the above comment, but he who runs may read between the lines all that is meant to be conveyed in every reference to this subject. THE COLORED GENTLEMAN.— Once upon a time he may have crawled up to his master, and kissed the dust from his feet in hum- ble submission, but conditions have changed. The "smart nigger," the enlightened colored gentleman of today is a dififerent psychological product. While he may have inherited some of the worst elements in two races, he also decid- edly inherited the noble qualities which form the foundation upon which a noble race may well be founded. We are prepared to meet the criticism of the biased. We have knowledge of instances of the 142 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION noblest sacrifices, the bravest deeds of heroism, and the chivalrous characteristics so well marked in him, that to dispute this point would be non- sense, or rather indicate a sad lack of informa- tion on the part of the investigator. Space does not permit us to give illustrations here, but a little investigation on the part of the reader will prove to him the truth of our statement. COLORED CHILDREN OF THE GENTLEMAN.— Should we compare the children of this class with those of the northern whites, we find a marked contrast and a heavy balance on their side in many cases, in regard to obedience to parents and respect for both whites and blacks of mature years. Any unbiased southerners will testify to this fact. This has been to us one of the most pleas- ing qualities found in these people. It counts for much. And then when we find that these children are also taught to be thrifty and in- dustrious and make something of themselves, we feel a sensation of hope and brighter days for the American colored folk. When we stop and think of the contrast between these little folks of color, who are for the most part kept busy in the field and home, or at something in the city or in school, and then are reminded of the great army of white boys and girls, North and South, who idle awav so much of their time that OR THE 1 ADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 143 *■*.- -»j mt*' GROUP OF COLORED CHILDREN OF THE COLORED GENTLEMAN. 144 HOLM'S RACE ASSIAIILATION could be devoted to some useful as well as in- structive vocation, we cannot help but believe that these little dark people are on the right road to future moral and industrial greatness. We admonish parents to ever keep before them the duty of teaching their children to be indus- trious. It is with a philanthropic feeling, un- doubtedly well-meaning and genuine, that time and money are at present spent in northern cities for the establishment of well-equipped, extensive playgrounds for children. This is all good and well for the smaller ones, but that larger chil- dren should thus idle away their time in play, is not conducive to good morals or future good citizenship. The foundation for usefulness and industry must be laid early in a child's life. In other words, it must be taught early to do some- thing and form the habit of doing something. It is with great pleasure and profound admira- tion that we often watch the little brown hands do useful things and a great variety of things, and the little minds ever busy to conjure up some way in which the thing in hand might be done a little quicker and a little better. As for intel- ligence; these children certainly deserve great credit. But it is phrenologically known that Negroes are generally bright in early childhood, and in the cross breeds none of this native alert- ness seems to be lost; neither have we found that OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 144 the Stamina of the Negro is lost in the children of the fairer parents, or in the offspring of a white man and a fair colored woman. The re- sult of such crossing depends invariably upon the constitution and health of the parties who thus cross, as it does with people of the same race. We do not give illustrations to prove these statements here, but have simply touched upon this matter in passing, to prepare the reader for a fuller discourse. A BAD ELEMENT, NOT A CREDIT.— It is not the colored man's fault that he is not what the whites would wish him to be. The power that moves and controls the destiny of all mankind, includes him and shapes him as well as every other creature in the evolutionary process. There is an element among them, to be sure, that is not a credit to the race or to our age. And we arc convinced that the southern states must, in the near future, provide means to rid themselves of this degenerate, criminal class. Why such men as Senator Tillman, ex-Gov- ernor Vardaman and others should so hopelessly lose themselves in the race question, is more than we can comprehend. An incredible amount of harm is done the South by such men. They do not represent the real sentiment of their country, or any country, but arouse the devilish, groveling 146 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION instinct of the bloodthirsty beast of prey, with- out a shadow of justice or reason. Let human justice step in, calm, considerate, and the race question will be solved and settled for all time, and a superior people will be the result; and this great Southland will blossom like a rose, and its dusky citizens will prove indispensable to the greatest of all countries on earth. We here ask, is it fair, is it just that the en- lightened, respectable colored people of the South should be classed with their unfortunate, depraved black brothers? Should those who have striven against mountains of obstacles, and have risen in spite of them, be thus classed? Should any white man. North or South, with any sense of decency, of justice, ever open his mouth and say "all Negroes are alike?" OR THE FADING LEOPARDS SPOTS 147 CHAPTER VII COLOR AGAINST WHITE A WRONG FEELING.— A feeling pre- vails anionic a scattered class of colored people in the South and elsewhere, that the whites are invariably opposed to them socially — that there can never exist a feeling between them to the ex- tent of co-operation in business, society and re- ligion — visiting and returning visits, and in other ways cultivate the Christian spirit, as becomes a free people of a free country. No\Y, while wc have found that the common run of whites, which constitutes a majority, are opposed to and prejudiced against socially, in- dustrially, politically or religiously mingling with color; we have discovered, and are aware of, a spirit of liberality or toleration in a cultured few in nearly every neighborhood throughout the country, that points toward a better fraternal feeling and the social emancipa- tion of at least the better class of people of color in the near future. Furthermore, it cannot be denied that the colored people themselves are to blame for a great deal of the nefarious color- phobia contagion prevalent in America. When we started out to prepare this book we promised 148 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ourselves and all concerned that we would tell the truth, so help us God, and that promise stands. The Negro cannot forever fall back on the fact that he has been a slave, and consequently is irresponsible. That he was taught to steal and must steal still; that he was taught, by cruel treatment, to hate the white man, and that he must hate him still; that he was in poverty, superstition and ignorance, and must continue to plead poverty, ignorance and immunity from all responsibility. We tell an absolute truth when we say that there exists as much prejudice of color against white today, as white has ever harbored against color. We have made numerous experiments along this line, and have, for the most part, found that the better class of Negroes have no fraternal feeling or sociability toward the white man in the South. No matter how kind the white man may be toward them, or how far he may press his society upon them, there is gen- erally little or no response, and he is made to feel that he is none too welcome among them. Yet, we have heard the complaint by this class, that the white man will not recognize them or treat them with respect, socially. A FRATERNAL SPIRIT AND A TIE THAT BINDS.— Not long ago a refined, in- telligent southern gentleman, who has been a OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 149 confederate soldier, told us that in all his long life and varied experiences with the "darkey," he could sincerely say that he would far rather have a good colored family for a close neighhor, and his intimate friends, to any whites. He could call upon them at any time, in case of need or emergency, and they would generally stand ready and willing to assist you and do what they could for you. And these old southerners do not speak thus flippantly, or without tangible reasons. Perchance, their thoughts sometimes revert to the "dear old plantation, \vay befo de wah,'' and they once more feel themselves nestled in the big, soft arms, against the broad, heaving bosom, beneath which the throbbing of a big, loving heart could be felt; and they again catch the broad smile, and see the row of glittering white teeth, and the play of sunshine light up that big, black, maternal face; and they again hear the cooing of the old plantation mel- odies, as they are gently rocked to and fro, until they lose themselves once more in the dreamland of slumber on the armsof theirold black mammy, their dear old mammy, long since gone to the dreamland from whence there is no return. No monument may shade her lonely grave, telling of her life of love and devotion to the holy cause of rearing some of the greatest men and women of their generation, yet she was a heroine. 150 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION <',>' .-m- ' '«*k^,^^«-flH>t ''^^k^^^0'-' &-*' *^i^^ v,1 ¥ h THE OLD BLACK MAMMY. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 151 In all human associations there are some ties that bind — they are in the blood — that no amount of succeeding prejudice or growing chasms of reversed conditions, or upheavals of social controversy, or man's inhumanity to man can sever. Such a tie, if we look for it, we still find underneath all the hubbub and rubbish of late years' degeneracy of both whites and blacks in the South. It is often asserted that this lofty sentiment, so strongly rooted in the hearts of the true southern gentleman, expresses only his appreciation of the faithfulness of the Negro as a servant; but that it is not meant to convey any thought of equality. This is un- doubtedly true in most cases, but where this good will is exercised between the races, there can be but a short step left to a final social understand- ing. Many men and women. North and South,, who have the kindest feeling toward the Negro, dare not express their sympathy for fear of pub- lic ridicule and social ostracism. They are justly branded as moral cowards; but the Negro who believes that all white men are his enemies, and are trying to "keep the Negro in his place," is not only a coward, but a breeder of dissension and an enemy of his race as well. WHAT CAN BE THE FIRST CAUSE OF THE IMPENDING SOCIAL ERUP- TION? — What can be at the bottom of or the 152 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION first cause of the present impending social erup- tion between the races? This question is often asked. The Negro illiterate is a silent figure and a harmless one, so far as he has not been inocu- lated with the poison of dissension by the per- nicious agitator. There are Vardamans and Tillmans in the Negro race as well as in the white race; men who do more harm than good. We believe in healthy agitation, and encourage it everywhere; but we condemn a spirit of hat- red and prejudice wherever we meet it. Now the facts we have before us are these: The enlightened Negro has education and in- telligence enough to know right from wrong, and that he ought to condemn the wrong and up- hold the right in both races. The white man has long and faithfully fought the battles of the Negro. He has spilt his blood and generously sacrificed his life for him; he has spent millions upon millions of his money to educate him and better his conditions; he has not even hesitated to enter the jungles of his native haunts to bring light and the gospel of truth to the dark con- tinent. The best brain and the greatest minds of the white race in America are even today championing the cause of the Negro. Should not the Afro-American turn about and stop the boastful spirit of bragism — of what he has done since his emancipation — and give credit to the OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 153 faithful men and women of the white race who have assisted hi'm, and without whom he could have done but little under prevailing conditions worthy of his great race? We contend that the Negro has not done more than he ought to have done; and today he is not doing half as much as he ought to do in the way of bettering his con- ditions. Again, in connection with this thought, we have the fact that nearly all the people of mixed blood are leaders of the race, and that this relationship which exists between the races ought to be a means of cementing them instead of separating them. This process of cementing, if it may be called that, is going on at a tre- mendous rate in many parts of the country, as we prove elsewhere. So it cannot be that racial hatred on the part of the colored man, exists because of ignorance or paternal relationship. The first cause must be traced elsewhere. It lies not in the lack of intelligence or education, or in the lack of blood admixture ; but in the mental habit of finding the flaws and shortcomings of the white man. Naturally imaginative in his make-up, he often pictures to himself, and argues the point with others, that all men with white faces are his enemies. And it is curious, sometimes his own face is nearly as white as his father's! 154 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ^^■. K% t* % 'J He is a sort of leech that lives by other men's toil. The result of cigarettes and "dopL." OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 155 THEY HAVE KINDLED THEIR OWN FIRE. — The fire of their own kindling is roar- ing, and the soup in their own domestic pot is boiling over. They are stirring with their might, and are endeavoring to inhere the unattainable without a semblance of qualification, in many instances. These same people of color who so vigorously stir their pot, are harping continually on one string, trying to convince us, meanwhile, that they are innocent angel-martyrs, and absolutely irresponsible for the present unsatisfactory con- dition between the races; and yet, they are the shapers of their own future — the architects of their own fortune. They stand today in a posi- tion where they can prove themselves a true brother to the white man, and finally compel him to recognize them as such, if they will it. On the other hand they can show a spirit of ha- tred and importance that will forever rupture the relations and future welfare of a great, mixed American people. THE MOST DANGEROUS CLASS OF NEGROES. — We now have in mind a class of Negroes who do not think deeper of or have a more tender regard for a white man, than that prompted by avarice. We have often come in contact with this hog. He covets the very ground upon which a white man walks, and works his 156 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ruin wherever he may. He is the greatest enemy the race has today. If the white man would not find for him employment and the means of live- lihood, he would exercise very little care for the welfare of his white brother. It is the mighty dollar that prompts him to be on friendly terms with the whites. Those from whom he cannot so well succeed in getting this coveted United States currency, are not considered his friends. He is also a devotee of the tipping evil. The white man who slips a dollar into his palm is a fine gentleman. He likes to get something for nothing from the white people. He is a sort of leech that lives by the blood of other men's toil. The same spirit of avarice that prompted his remote ancestors, to sell into slavery their own children, is here manifested. He will sell his own wife and daughters into a life of shame. This is by all odds the most dangerous Negro we have. He is the man who believes that the white man owes him something. He claims that the South does by right belong to him, as his forefathers, when slaves, fought the wilderness and under the master's lash subdued it and made it inhabitable, and an inheritance that he must some day claim as his own by right of the sub- jugation of his progenitors. We have heard him express the hope that some day when the un- avoidable crisis is due, England, France, or some OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 157 Other great foreign power would intervene, and he would then gain full possession of all the wealth of the South. But the crowning sign of mental decrepitude manifests itself in the total absence of regard for all whites and even for his own people, and in the hateful "let me alone" spirit of independence of a poisonous, reptilian nature. Only so far as he is compelled to associate with the whites to get their money or means of subsistence, will he consent to submit to the social customs of courtesy and decent behavior in their presence, and were it not for fear we doubt whether even that much of good humor would be forthcoming. No confidence in and no respect for all whites, and for his own people whom he calls "niggers," is the accepted rule of his social calibre, and consequently no social harmony is emitted from this sort of being. Every respectable colored man and woman should openly repudiate him and censure him on every hand. He is a stumbling block to his own people, and a snare, deception, and imposition to all with whom he comes in contact. In his scien- tific research the author has had more trouble in obtaining a true diagnosis of this class than any other. He met with more cunning, sham, and hypocracy in this scattered class than in the class of the sin-steeped black quarters of large 158 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION cities. It does not take very much of the wrong agitation extant, to incense this class to all kinds of violence. Injustice breeds contempt and red- dens a hand in anarchy. SECRET ORDERS AMONG THE NE- GROES. — The many secret orders among the Negroes, we believe, should inculcate a spirit of patriotism and love of country, that would root out all wrong impressions and desires to become traitors of a great country and a great people, who have given them educational advantages and freedom in such vast numbers as no other country in the history of the world has ever done before. We do not say that the secret orders are creat- ing anti-American sentiments among the Ne- groes; but we do say that there can be, and to some extent undoubtedly is, unconsciously creat- ed such a danger. The hundreds of thousands of members of the various secret orders are today the shapers of the destiny of the colored people in America; no intelligent member of the race will deny this. They are even more potent at present than the church and school. We do not speak carelessly when we say that the military training in many of these societies is one of the greatest impending dangers to which the peace of the country, the welfare of the race, and the loyalty of the Negro is exposed. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 159 We have been told by some of the leading ministry of the colored church that the Negro is society cursed — that the secret orders are dis- placing the interest in, and crippling the vitality of, the Christian church. No man, not even a Negro can, at a dollar or a dollar and a half per day, belong to two or three secret orders and at the same time be a live member of a church, and support a family in the bargain. Somebody is going to suffer as a consequence. His wife may have to take in extra washing or more con- genial work in order to keep all dues paid, and wear herself out in the effort, as many a brave and devoted colored woman is doing. But, vou say, what has this to do with the sub- ject under consideration? Just this: The Negro is an extremist. He will go into a thing he likes up to his ears, and suffer as a consequence. The show, mystery and discipline of many secret orders are attractive to him, and he goes into them with the blind enthusiasm of his emotional nature, without first counting the cost. And with guns and swords, and other parapharnalia of martial warfare at hand in some of these orders, and an exaggerated consciousness of their eifi- cacy, it would be an easy matter to incense him to commit wholesale murder throughout the en- tire South, at a time when some black bastards and white imbeciles will cause a general race 160 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION feeling. Guns and swords are to fight with. We have never found any other legitimate use for them. Every Negro family in the entire South is well supplied with fire-arms. The entire col- ored press and pulpit should condemn the use of fire-arms as a dangerous plaything, detri- mental to the best interests of the race, and have them displaced by the spelling book and reader. Guns and swords are relics of barbarism, and any people, white or black, who hoard them are designers of iniquity and in league with hell! Every state in the union should have a law, com- pelling the owner of a fire-arm to be registered and pay a license fee of not less than fifty dollars per annum. And for the violation of this law a penalty of three years' hard labor on a state or county road should be provided. All, or nearly all, secret orders claim their foundation in the Christian religion. Let us see whether this claim is a substantial one, or whether it is only a supposition after all. Our purpose is to show the reader of both races that if the secret orders are based upon the true Chris- tian religion, they ought to constitute a tie that should bind the two races so firmly together that no trouble, of whatever nature, could possibly rupture that relationship. No fake brotherhood can tie the two races and make them one. FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINE.— Inorder OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 161 to illustrate our point we will take out of the Sermon on the Mount the fundamental doctrine of Universal Brotherhood, which every Chris- tian church and brotherhood, founded upon the teachings of Christ, must follow: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth ; but I say unto you. That ye resist not evil ; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy; but I say unto you, Love your en- emies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite- fully use you, and persecute you." For what purpose are we commanded and persuaded by Jesus to do thus? For this sublime purpose: "That ye may be (regardless of race, color, poverty or riches) the children of your Father which is in heaven; (here he gives us tangible reason) for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, (those of your particular race, 11 lt)2 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION '-Hi \ ... \ W i' ^.'j^ ¥•¥- /^ ^^/^51 'X. ers: for they shall be called the Children of qad:\_r^ "^-fl'in^Mr- SERMON ON THE MOUNT. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 163 color or clan only) what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, (those of your par- ticular lodge or church or society) what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." We would like to quote more extensively, the religion of Jesus as taught by Himself in the Sermon on the Mount; but every reader who is willing may turn to the fifth chapter of Mat- thew, and obtain for himself the true doctrine, pertaining to the Christian religion. All other so-called Christian doctrines vanish into noth- ingness when compared with those of the foun- tain head. The secret orders may all be founded upon the Bible— everything, good and bad, is founded upon that— but the religion of Jesus stands for a Universal Brotherhood, so broad and far- reaching that it tolerates no sect, secret order, class, race or clan— "do not even the publicans so?" His religion makes every man a brother and every woman a sister. Let these principles of Universal Brotherhood be taught from every pulpit and in every school in the land, both white and colored, and a great people, whose voice would truly be the voice of God, would be the ultimate result. And what 1«4 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION a magnificent country these United States would be with such a people, and such boundless re- sources at their command ? THE PINK-SKINNED MAN IS HIS FRIEND. — There are some things that the Afro-American must remember. The best friend the Negro ever had, since his pre-historic ances- tors were driven into or entered the steaming jungles of Africa, is the man of pink skin. Then, again, remember that the Negro has always been the greatest enemy of himself, from the earliest recorded history to the present day. And that the treatment received at the hands of his white superiors during the darkest days of American slavery, never exceeded the atrocity practiced upon himself as a naked savage in the jungles of Africa. Let us remember also, above all else, that this white enslaver has left his mark on the black enslaved; and that through his failings he has humiliated himself, in the blood that courses through the veins of the Afro-American. But for this and their existence on the western conti- nent, ten million more savages would still be groping in the trackless jungles, perhaps hunting their fellow man for food, sucking his blood and devouring his quivering flesh. We have often heard the complaint that all white folks judge the colored folks by the stand- ard of the criminal class. We know they do not. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS IM Many of the colored race inspire hatred toward the white race through their children, by many careless and pernicious remarks in their presence. How much of the present race feeling is thus created in the young of both races is hard to determine. It is often said that white children are born in the South to keep the Negro down. How many Negro children are born to make trouble for the whites is hard to estimate. It is contended that the ignorance of the Negro and the bad treatment received by the whites, is the cause of the present bad feeling toward the Caucasian. But the intelligent Negro knows very well that it, too, is ignorance on the part of the whites which causes the race feeling; and that this ignorance and lack of fraternal feeling is the cause of a great deal of the prejudice to- day. If the white and colored in this country could be educated up to the fact that each must live for all, and that the mistakes of one must not be held up before the other, color line and prejudice would soon die. And, naturally, we would live happy together. LOVE BEGETS LOVE.— Booker T. Wash- ington has well said: "Both races will grow strong, useful and generous in proportion as they learn to love each other instead of hating each other." Love is manifest in all Nature's handiwork. 1(36 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION When man learns to understand the infinite wis- dom of human variety, his happiness is assured. He will then fully comprehend the fact that every man is his brother and every woman his sister — that the God of Nature has in His in- finite love and wisdom given a variety of hues to the skin of man for a divine purpose — that we have mental and physical dissimilarities for evolutionary growth. What a creature is man that he should revolt against the inevitable? Should he not bow in humble submission to the Infinite? Should he not rather thank Him for such beautiful var- ieties of colors, bodies and minds for our im- provement, elevation, enjoyment and happiness? The repetition of my race, my color, my clan breeds contention and hatred, uncalled for in this age of enlightenment. It should find no lodge- ment in the minds of true American citizens. We are "a people" and "the people," and not this race and that — a white and a black, a yellow and a brown. Those who insist upon the recog- nition of "my race and my people," are the un- mitigated enemies and traitors of our country, our God and our future welfare. "United we stand, divided we fall," should be the watchword of all the people. If the peo- ple insist upon absolute color lines and marked separation in the future, our union cannot sur- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 167 vive the onslaught of Father Time. And for whom would it be darkest, should a race rup- ture dismantle the spirit of calmness in this great Southland? P^or none other that the man of color. Let him plunge into a race war, and he is doomed! \\'hat forty years and more of bloodless warfare against ignorance and poverty has wrought, one year of martial warfare would hopelessly cripple. Tell it again; scatter the seed abroad to every man, woman and child that Love is all-powerful^ and that the Hames thereof burn to the quick the foulest enemy that ever crawled on God's green earth ; and that the bite of serpents and the sting of scorpions of the human kind cannot harm those who put on the armor of Universal Brotherhood. A TERRIBLE DAY FOR AMERICA.— Capt. Richmond P. Hobson, gives a graphic de- scription in Cosmopolitan magazine for Septem- ber, 1908, as a possible outcome of war with Japan. We quote him as follows: "If, through delay in the arrival of our new fleet, (after the first one had been destroyed) Japan had time to repair and prepare her in- jured fleet, and our new fleet upon arrival, fool- ishly crossed the ocean and met disaster, then Japan would come into permanent control of the sea, and the Pacific coast would be invaded 168 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION in force. Our nation would be turned into an army, but only reverses would attend attempts to dislodge the Japanese in full control of the slope from the coast to the mountains. The one sure way to proceed, the one that would be ulti- mately adopted, would be to draw upon our vast resources, quickly build a new fleet of great pre- ponderance, and send it around. "Its approach would signal the loss of control of the sea to the Japanese, and their forces would retire. With the mainland clear, our next move would be an expedition to recover Hawaii. This would involve a great transport service, but we would have created it in advance. After reduc- ing Hawaii and occupying it in force, our next move would be a great expedition against the Philippines. The stupendous army and the transport service would be at hand, and the Philippines would fall. Our next move would be an even greater expedition against Japan * * * America's ultimate victory would be complete, but it would be bought at a terrible price, not only because of the fabulous cost of armament and of pensions for a hundred years, not only because of the suffering and death of hundreds of thousands — even millions — of men, and the misery of their families, but the years of warfare and hatred would leave us a nation of soldiers, with militarism in complete control; our free in- OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS lt)9 stitutions would totter, and liberty for mankind would be delayed for long centuries to come." Now, we would cautiously remark that Mr. Hobson does not make a single allusion to the ten million colored people already in our midst, whose sympathy would easily be enlisted with the little yellow man, who has, like the Negro, suffered humiliation and exclusion at the hands of the dominant, money grabbing, race hating American. The war Hobson has in mind would not be a war of nations as much as one of races — the colored races pitted against the white. Japan and China are a kin if it comes to that, and the Afro-American, who has tasted of the sweets of civilization, is also a distant relative. All of them, when once united, would stand man to man in defense of equality with the white-skinned man; and who dare prophesy that they would not get it? The Chinaman and Japanese have for centur- ies been taught that they are heaven-born — descended from the gods — and they will, when once powerful enough in a thorough union, demonstrate to the world that this assertion of their superiority must stand. The Negro, or rather colored Caucasian of America, through whose veins flows the blue blood of the south- ern aristocracy, is also ready to demonstrate that he is as good as his white father or grand parent. And the black man is catching the same spirit. 170 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION If that terrible day should dawn in America, that would find the nation crippled and bleed- ing — when color is pitted against white — it would remember, as never a people remembered before, that no republic can live, no modern na- tion survive, in which race prejudice and color lines exist. America must stand united or die divided. A legal amalgamation of the races is essential to our national life. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 171 CHAPTER VIII CRIME, LAW AND PUNISHMENT EYE FOR EYE, TOOTH FOR TOOTH. — The elements of crime are the same in essen- tial features in every part of the civilized world. Since the tablets of stone were handed down from Mount Sinai there have been certain acts recog- nized by almost the whole human family as in- imical to social order or individual rights. In the various stages of human development divers forms of punishment for crimes com- mitted have been devised and inflicted on the guilty. False notions of religions have, for instance, been instrumental in some misguided, semi-civil- ized peoples in promoting crime, and also in applying methods of punishments, shocking in the extreme to all highly developed and more sensitive minds. Many men, in different ages, have taken spe- cial delight in administering punishments for real or imaginary crimes committed by certain defenseless people. The Mosiac principles of punishment — eye for eye, tooth for tooth — has adhered to the practice of courts and juries throughout all the intervening centuries with 172 HOLArS RACE ASSOIILATION wonderful persistence. It is only within recent years that some states in America have ventured to relax the law of a life for a life in the case of murder. It is not within the scope of this book to enter upon a thorough discussion of the law of crime and criminal procedure. Fact is, the writer is so absolutely opposed to the common method employed in the punishment of the criminal class, that to enlarge upon this subject would bring up a question that would require more space than could be allotted to it here. THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS PRAC- TICE. — It is hardly necessary to say that we are opposed to capital punishment for crimes com- mitted. Our opposition is based upon scientific reasons. First, we maintain that most crime, for which punishment is inflicted, is committed by beings who are unfortunately developed, mentally and physically, and are consequently more or less irresponsible. To take their lives does not im- prove the morals of a people, while, if justly considered, it adds only another crime to the one perpetrated by the criminals. Secondly, we maintain that crime is the result of the abnormal development of certain mental faculties in the brain of the criminal, and that all men possess these same mental el'^ments in OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 173 a weaker or stronger degree, counter-balanced by other faculties promoting good, and that if a criminal, who is on the wrong side of mental balance, or out of self-control, is killed, the higher elements of his mind are also murdered. In other words, the good man in the criminal is killed along with the bad one. And no class of men, state or government, has a moral right to kill the good in the supreme economy of life, to rid themselves or society of the evil thereof. Furthermore, we maintain that no human be- ing should be thrust into a dungeon or locked into a prison for any considerable length of time. We consider this the most outrageous practice that has ever been contrived by monsters in hu- man form. If there is a purgatory anywhere in God's universe, it has its counterpart most glar- ingly portrayed in the black dungeon and iron cage of the ancient and modern prison system. HORRORS IN AMERICAN PRISONS. —A report published by the American Prison association is in effect an arraignment of the whole prison system in the United States. Two hundred and ninety institutions in 37 states were visited and carefully inspected. With a few ex- ceptions it was found that all sorts of horrors existed which could not be justified under any statute ever enacted. Prisons were hotbeds of disease, dangerous not only to the inmates but 174 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION to the outside public. The character of the food and the way of serving it were revolting and de- moralizing. Overcrowding was a frightful evil. In Birmingham, Ala, 240 men were found in seventy-two cells, and twenty-five women in ten cells. In Los Angeles 135 men were found in eighty-eight cells. One person to a cell, the prison association says, is all that should be al- lowed. "It is a strong temptation," says the re- port, "to specify particular cities where nameless abuses exist; where little children are kept in rooms with polluted and diseased adults; where a poor insane victim of brain disorder howls all night in company with ruffians; where an honest fellow, unable to pay a fine for a spree, is locked in with thieves. These are not pictures from novels; they are bald prosaic facts set down by honest eyewitnesses in answer to printed ques- tions." Imprisonment without occupation, the report declares, is a straight path to insanity. In 143 jails the men prisoners have no occupation, while in 155 the women prisoners have nothing to do. The association is strongly in favor of labor colonies where persons may be taught in an intelligent way to lead better and useful lives. It favors keeping prisoners until their reform is reasonably assured, but it is insistent that where no efifort at reform is made, the whole in- fluence of jails is debasing. In many jails in- OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 175 flucnccs for good are meager, if not wholly lack- ing. Twenty-five jails do not provide any read- ing matter for prisoners. In eighty-eight no re- ligious services of any kind arc ever held. Un- doubtedly American prisons need investigation and reform as badly as any institution in the country. THK rxiTKD STATES PKXAL SYS- TEM IS A FAILURE.-Brand Whitlock, the loledo, Ohio reform mayor says: "Our penal system is a failure; only we do not know it yet. Governments have tried it for thousands of years, and our government is reported as saving that tiie tendency to crime still exists. Our penal system only hurts and never helps its victims, directly or indirectly, whether they are innocent or guilty. It deters some from committing crime and makes hypocrites of more, and it wholly ig- nores economic or social causes for crime and makes no allowance for personality. It is a fail- ure because it is founded in fear and hatred, and cruelty and cowardice. It mercilessly grinds the poor and the weak in the interest of the strong. It Droceeds from and dwells on the bad in man, not the good.* We shall have a system that will .rnJ''^^^" ^IcKcnzie Cleland says : "By this system crime has in- creased so rapidly that the authorities are now. in this year of our Lord mnetcer hundred and nine, afraid to publish the facts, afraid to make known the truth. The last Government statis fcs on crmie were published in 1890. two decades ago. In ] WO the figures were gathered, but the Government suppressed them " 176 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION do good only when society recognizes its own re- sponsibility for crime and lives up to it, and when it dwells upon and develops the good in man instead of the bad. * * * It might be well for the government to get out some statistics showing why there is more crime after financial panics and industrial depressions than in good times. Why the hold-up man and purse- snatchcr always turns up with the first cold weather, and why, when the mills shut down, there are more hoboes and yeggs on freight trains. You might pursue all these little crimes to their original source and cause. It would not be long before there would be no necessity for statistics on crime, and then, in some idle hour, the clerks in the statistical bureau might occupy themselves with tracing the relation between the vulgar crimes of force and violence and the ar- tistic crimes of craft and cunning — artistic crimes which do not have to break laws because they make the laws to suit themselves." WHO MAKES THE CRIMINAL?— Let us ask you here — who makes the criminal and how does he originate? In chapter eighteen of this book we give a full scientific answer. Can we accuse the Author of all life for crimes committed by His erring subjects? Such a doctrine has never found great prominence. Man has, since the dawn of reason, believed in OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 177 the influence of an evil spirit — devil — the author of all evil. This belief has been prominent in every age; but today, in this age of spiritual illumination and reason, man has come closer to the heaving bosom of the Almighty, giver and preserver of all life, and as a consequence he has knocked the horns from off his majesty, the devil, and the clattering noise of his cloven hoof is no longer discernable. Man has gained a clearer conception of the natural laws under- lying and dominating human kind. We are now beginning to realize that the evil we have to fight, the devils we have to combat, are the conflicting elements in human nature. In the complicated machinery of our minds we find the elements of Destructiveness, of Combative- ness, Amativeness, etc., on the one hand, and the elements Benevolence, Spirituality, Human Na- ture, etc., on the other. These elements are necessary in our mental make-up as free moral agents. Because of Combativeness, Secretiveness, Amativeness, Destructiveness, etc., we do not cut off our arm that strikes, or leg that kicks, or cut out our tongue because of blasphemy or ly- ing. What do we do? We try by the counter- balance of Human Nature, Benevolence, Con- scientiousness, Spirituality, etc., to control our tongue, elevate and poise ourselves. In the com- plicated machinery of society the same elements 12 178 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION of so-called good and evil exist. Why must the evil thereof be forever strangled, beheaded, or indungeoned? Why not make other provisions for the safe-keeping of the bad element of so- ciety, and still others that will ultimately prevent the existence of said element, so that society, like the individual, may finally be balanced? We shall show the reader that the criminal must be scientifically dealt with, if society is to be saved and humanity is to be improved. THE LYNCH LAW.— The southern people have for many years resorted to the lawless prac- tice of lynching Negroes without trial and con- viction. At first this lawless method of punish- ment was designed for those only who had com- mitted rape on white women; later it was re- sorted to for other grave crimes like murder, while at the present time any Negro who is ac- cused of burning a building or stealing a chicken, may be lynched, shot or burned by an organized "law and order league," or by a mob organized on the spot for a lynching bee. About twelve years ago it was generally believed that this atrocity was about nearing its end, but notwith- standing previous agitation by such noted persons as Judge Tourgee, Dr. Morehouse, Ida Wells- Barnett, Frederick Douglass and others, the evil seems to be deeper rooted in the depraved hearts of the offspring of lynch-advocates today than it OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS ]7<> ' ever was in the hearts of their parents. We sup- pose the law of heredity is not dormant in this,- regard. As a small white boy said to his father not long since: "Papa. I have seen one nigger shot, one nigger lynched, and now I want totee one burned." Of the 5,000 lynchings in the last twenty-five years, ninety-five per cent were Negroes charged with assaults on white women and girls. It has been noted that these killings have become more cruel and on slighter reported excuses. Burning at the stake, which was begun in Texas sixteen years ago has been more fre- quent than shooting and almost as frequent as lynching. It is a hard matter to get a correct figure of the actual number of Negro killings throughout the South per year, as we are aware of the fact that many such killings are never re- ported to the newspapers. Five thousand in the last twenty-five years, we consider far too conser- vative to cover the actual number murdered by white outlaws. It is the terrible debasing effect these killings produce in the community, that the people must some day reckon with. When laws are openly defied, anarchy may at any time de- bauch the country. Within the radius of thirty-five miles of the writer's former home there were five killings within two years. Three were lynched for rape. One of them was accused of this crime by a white 180 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION • ".""vn'^iin'^A.yw^w'))". ' """" """"" ' " ' " !! , ' JM ' , ■ ' : ' .■ ft \f I i 1-J taiiit ■aJ^UnajlMliaMteiMaa^Bta BURNING AT THK STAKE. OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 181 woman in order to shield a relative, who, she later confessed, was the real culprit who threat- ened to kill her. One was lynched for killing a man, and the other one was murdered by white fiends while peacefully slumbering by the road- side, for no other crime than that he was black. The night-rider outrages were but other features of the same lawless tendency, manifested by the same class of whites. THE NEGRO AS A CRIMINAL.— "There is too much crime among us," says Booker T. Washington, in his book, "My Life and Works." "The figures for a given period show that in the United States thirty per cent of all the crime committed is by Negroes, while they constitute only twelve per cent of the entire population."* Everybody who has seriously studied the Negro question is aware of this; and no one could give a better reason for the existence of this undesirable condition than Mr. Washington. He says, "A large amount of crime among us grows out of the idleness of our young men and women." This is a true statement as far as an ordinary surface observation is concerned. We contend that the sporting proclivity in the pres- *Without doubt Okolona has a larger Negro population than than any other North Mississippi town, yet criine here is almost unknown." — Okolona Sun. 182 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ent generation is too intensely cultivated, owing to favorable opportunities brought about by the changing conditions throughout the South. When a young Negro sport can earn as much money in a city in one week as his father used to earn on a plantation in a month, he is generally a candidate for partial idleness and crime. He is a stumbling block to the honest colored man who deserves decent wages, and who works hard to maintain a respectable home and educate his children. • The idleness of the young men and women of the race is often traced to the criminal neglect of a certain class of shiftless parents, who fail to rear their children by precept and example in the ways of respectability and industry. Parents of this class who steal from their white neighbors as well as their black, cannot expect their sons and daughters to refrain from stealing, and com- mitting graver crimes when opportunity per- mits. We fully expound in chapter eighteen, that like begets like — a thief begets a thief, a rapist at heart begets a real rapist, a murderer at heart begets a real murderer, etc. Booker T. Washington says: "I condemn with all the indignation of my soul the beast in human form guilty of assaulting a woman. Let us all be alike in this particular." OR THE FADIXG LKOP^ARD'S SPOTS 183 We wish to remind Mr. \\'ashington of the fact that a "beast in human form" must be con- ceived, born and reared, before it can commit the unspeakable crime on a woman. Why not go back a little and attack the cause, the source of the beast nature, and condemn it first with "all the indignation of our soul?" Is not the parent of an ill-begotten child responsible for the result of that issue, be he white or black? As two con- sumptive parents will beget children with con- sumptive tendencies, so, too, will criminal par- ents beget criminally inclined children. It is nothing but the pcnned-up beast nature in the parents that breaks out in their children. This beast nature icas first cultivated in the African slave in America by the unbridled beast passions of the slave-master avho owned them, and has now become a second nature in both races. Onlv by refinement and a cultivation of the higher faculties in the races, as they commingle, can this beast nature be ultimately restored to its normal channel. We condemn, in the strongest English at our command, the hell-born custom of Amer- ica, which forbids the commingling of the races for moral and religious culture, while it tolerates the mixing for evil purposes; thus utterly cor- rupting both people. As long as there is no re- spect for the colored womanhood of America, by the white man of the country, so long will it 184 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION be impossible to cultivate and infuse a higher moral tone in the race. We wish to impress, in- delibly, upon the readers' minds that as soon as legal intermarriage displaces the old custom of illicit mixing, the beast in both races will dis- appear. FEW OUTRAGES COMMITTED IN THE NORTH — WHY? — How often do we hear of Negro outrages committed on white women in such great Negro centers as Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and other places in the free states of the North? Very seldom. And those Negroes are not unlike the southern Negro, as they have largely migrated there from the South in recent years. It is in the old slave states that nearly all assaults on white women are reported to transpire; and just where the unnat- ural social relations between the races are strong- est these outrages are most frequent. This goes to prove, without further argument here, that it is not so much the Negro, or the colored man, or the beast in both races after all that is to blame, as the unnatural relations maintained be- tween them, which gives all the privileges to one, and none of the advantages to the other. A re- spectable colored man, who has married a white wife, cannot travel with her in these old slave states without being in imminent danger of ar- rest and mob lynching. We know of several OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 185 cases where black men, who had married white colored women, got themselves into trouble when their wives' Negro blood was unknown. In such portions of the South where foreign influence has somewhat changed conditions, these outrages on women seldom occur, and a colored man is there safest with a white wife, or apparently white, as also is a white man with a colored wife. So we say again, in this connection, that the beast in both races can best be eliminated from our midst, by displacing the old custom of illicit mixing with a legal intermarriage provision in the entire country. WHO DOES THE LYNCHING IN THE SOUTH? — It is a wrong supposition that these lynchers arc always composed of the scum of so- ciety. They often represent men of intelligence and high moral (?) standing in the community. The reason they resort to this method of lawless execution is self-evident. The Negro is a poor, most often defenseless creature, and to kill him means just one less in the community, that is all. It is yet so deep-seated in the mind of the old South that swift and certain death, regardless of the offense, must befall the Negro (for any real or imaginary crime committed for which the lynch law seems to be provided), that to think of saving the valuable energy of that human be- ing for the good of the State, has not, it seems, 186 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION even occurred to them. With all the wisdom and moral sentiment of the South, no provisions for the real Negro criminals of this class have been made other than death, and consequently that much loss of valuable energy to the State has incurred, that cannot be replaced. Why not make provisions for the establishment of State Eunuch Institutions, where this energy may be turned to good account? Instead of making such provisions, all kinds of schemes are con- cocted to exterminate this class of criminals. And as the cause is not removed, they will not run short of material on which to practice and wreak vengeance, and by which to inculcate fear in those who may be next executed. A very credible editorial discourse is given in a promi- nent southern Alabama newspaper, which por- trays well the highest sentiment on this subject. We give it below, as it will be of value in connec- tion with what we say: THE SUBSTITUTE FOR LYNCH LAW. — "Although lynch law maybe accepted by some as the best available remedy for the prevention of certain forms of crime, no one, we think, can regard its permanency as an institution with any but greatest apprehension, as being in essence a violation of the constitution under which we live, and therefore destructive of good govern- ment. Should we not attempt to devise a method OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 187 of procedure that, while meeting the special ex- igencies of life, will conform to law? There ap- pear to be rvvo influences at work in bringing lynchings to pass. One is the feeling that in many localities there is actually no police pro- tection; and, therefore, lives must be protected by an invisible entity, a fear inspired by the sud- den appearance and violent action of the vigi- lance committee, or of the mob. It is sought to impress upon the minds of the evil-disposed that, although no policeman be present, and the inhab- itant is alone and unguarded, there yet exists a force within call, that when aroused, is vengeful and strong. The other influence is the repug- nance that all honorable men have in bringing into public view the victims of brutal assaults, forcing them, in accordance with the forms of law, to attend an open trial whereat the criminal is tried for his crime. A third influence, al- though a less one, is the desire for the satisfaction of the hatred and revenge that are aroused when a crime of brutality is committed. Taken gen- erally, lynchings are performed with a cold determination, showing that the two greater in- fluences are at work. How shall we accommo- date our laws so that persons in isolated situa- tions will be secure, and the tender and delicate victims shall be spared the humiliation of having their woes publicly exposed, yet no principle of human right be disregarded? 188 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION A KIND OF MOCK TRIAL.— "It would seem that the way to go about it is to change the forms of law so as to give them some of the fea- tures of lynch law, i. e., immediate arraignment, swift trial, and punishment without delay; and all, without the publicity that attends our regular procedure. There should be legal provision for immediate arraignment, with special forms of trial, so that it will be assured that in a very short time the whole matter will be disposed of; and there need be no publicity, provided that there is assurance of a fair trial. The object of pub- licity is to prevent injustice, unfair trials, and despotic infliction of punishments; but in these days of general information and civic freedom, it is possible to bar out the public without sus- picion that anything unfair will be practiced at the expense of the accused. Why, indeed, should the victim of a brute's criminal lust be brought into court at all, or forced to testify about so horrid an experience? The accused must be confronted by his accuser, if the prin- ciple of our laws is to be obeyed, but is it at all necessary that this should be in open court, or in any court at all? It can be as well done in the privacy of the home, with judge and jury only present as the guarantors of the observance of the legal form. VIRGINIA HAS SUCH A LAW.— "We OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 189 understand that Virginia has a special statute af- fording speedy trial, with private procedure in certain cases, and that since that statute was passed there has not been a lynching in the state. We might as well study such a law and see how far it may be adopted for use here. \A'e should eagerly seek out the best remedy for our unhappy situation and apply it; for the situation is truly unhappy, and it is growing worse instead of better, and is already well nigh intolerable. Let us arrange so that the Law shall be the ex- pression of the absolute needs of the time, and it will then be found, we believe, that we will enlist in its enforcement all sorts and conditions of men, regardless of color. The result cannot fail to be to our great advantage." — Mobile Register. STATE EUNUCH INSTITUTIONS.— We have intimated the establishment of State Eunuch Institutions. Wc believe that every state should have its penal farms; and that espe- cially here in the South the Negro criminal should be taken care of on such farms. Missis- sippi has its penal farms which are far in ad- vance of penitentiaries or prison walls. Though only as yet in a crude, experimental stage, a num- ber of abuses being reported, they have been made to pay the state a revenue besides all run- ning expenses. Georgia has also abolished her 190 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ' %. % cZ TIIRE15 PEXCIL STUDIES IN CRIME BY THE AUTHOR. OR THE FADING LEOPARDS SPOTS 191 unspeakable peonage system, and is falling in line with Mississippi. The occupants of penal farms cannot only support themselves, but could be made to do splendid service for the people of the state in the way of building public roads. "Prominent men," of the vigilance committee, will bump over country roads that are a disgrace to a Hottentot and resort to lynching bees? and help to kill several hundred powerful Negro men annually, whose energv might be utilizecTin bettering the highways of the state. Wc contend that every southern state should set aside and equip a farm for the reception of Negro crim- inals of a class that should be rendered sterile by the authority of the state; and that this author- ity should extend to white criminals of a like class. We contend that the lynching of Negroes for any crime committed is inhuman and bar- barous; and that all law abiding people of both races should demand of the officers of the law that the perpetrators of this crime against justice be apprehended and severely punished. During the campaign President Taft said to an audience of colored ministers concerning the lynching evil: 'The best remedy, and the necessary one, IS an improvement in the administration of our common laws, and the holding to strict account of officers of the law who do not use all possible means to prevent and suppress such outbreaks." 192 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION We know positively that at some lynchings the officers of the law are in sympathy with the mob, and assist instead of retarding it. We be- lieve that the federal government ought to step in and inquire into these lynching outrages, and bring the law-breakers of these mobs to justice. When the state will not protect its citizens the government must. THE STERILIZATION OF CRIMI- NALS. — The criminal class is a class to be de- plored, but not hated. Hate is born of igno- rance and breeds corruption. A deluded, venge- ance-wreaked mob which hangs orburns a crim- inal is as deplorable a criminal class as the crim- inal himself. This particular criminal class is the outgrowth of a corrupt social system in the South and elsewhere, and now, since it is with us and increasing, it must be scientifically dealt with — the only just method to rid the country of it. In this enlightened age any race of people can be improved in any desired direction by proper means. A progressive farmer does not hesitate to cut off an unruly, vicious, unprofitable portion of his flock, in order to produce the desired re- sults. What the intelligent farmer does, the state, in the case of unruly members, must do. But the South has done little to curb the Negro or white criminal class. Promiscuous cohabiting among them and with the whites increases this OR THE FADING LEOPARDS SPOTS 193 class to an alarming degree. There is also noth- ing effective done to check the spread of tuher- culosis, which claims many thousands annually. In fact, nothing effective is done among this peo- ple hy the southern states to build up .md im- prove their conditions to any extent along social, moral or physical lines. The sterilization of the criminal and degenerate class would inllict no hardship upon it, and would prove a great bless- ing to both races. We do not believe that any serious objections wouhj arise among the better class of colored people, should this measure be inaugurated throughout the South. The daugh- ters and wives of the better families among them, as well as the lower class, are exposed to the de- pravity of these inhuman beings, and the white man's law is generally of non-effect when it per- tains to these people. We are aware that no col- ored maiden can hardly obtain justice or protec- tion at law, be her paramour white or black. If a law, providing for the sterilization of the feebleminded, degenerates and criminals is re- puted to be needed in \\'isconsin, of all the world it is most needed right here in the South. We are proud of Wisconsin, and especially of ex- Assemblyman Mr. Elver, of the Wisconsin Leg- islature, for so bravely fighting for a measure several years ago that means so much, that is of such vast importance to mankind, especially 194 HOLMS R.\CE ASSIMIL.\TIOX when once adopted among the mixed southern people. Be it "cruel, inhuman, contran* to di- vine law and unconstitutional," as legislative op- ponents in Wisconsin have argued, it is neverthe- less etcrnallv right. "Lead us not into tempta- tion, but deliver us from evil" is of non-effect, if we continue to allow evil to be bred by the wholesale and let hell multiply. We are glad that several northern states discourage evil prop- agation. The American Prison Association in session at Seattle, Washington, in August (1909), spent most of its open session in a heated debate on a paper written by Dr. H. C. Sharp, formerly sur- geon in the Indianapolis Reformatory', on the "Indiana Plan" of performing surgical opera- tions on hopeless idiots and confirmed criminals. A delegate moved that Dr. Sharp's paper be sup- pressed on the ground that the Indiana plan was contrar}* to the Bible. One delegate objected to the debate being continued before women, who composed at least one-third of the audience. Thereupon the women delegates at once took the lead in the controversy, led bv Mrs. Weeks, pres- ident of the Philadelphia Social Purin* League. Mrs. L. R. Easr^'ood of South Dakota, advo- cated chloroforming idiots and that made the delegates laugh. During the debate it was announced that Con- OR THE FADING LEONARD'S SPOTS 195 necticut and California had followed Indiana. The motion to suppress the paper was not put to a vote. President Gilmore said it would not have received three votes. The debate on the "Indiana plan," for pre- venting the propagation of criminals and idiots, developed almost unanimous sentiment for the plan. The discussion, according to President Gilmore, of Toronto, Canada, was one of the most profitable the association has held for years. Judge B. R. Lindsey, of juvenile court fame, said among other things: "Our criminal law, as it came down to us through feudalism, was an instrumentality of government far from perfect. * * * "Th^ time may come, however far in the future it may be, or, however unprepared we mav be for it, even now, when the state will come to deal with a criminal much as we now do with the insane." CONTRARY TO DIVINE LAW.— Talk about the effort to improve the human race being contrary to divine law? Can anything be more absurd and shallow? Does not man possess the wisdom and power to co-operate with his Cre- ator in improving, by crossing and recrossing the various species of plant and animal life? And he has not hesitated to employ this power to its full extent. Not even felt that he was violating a divine law and a constitution. Luther Bur- 196 HOLM'S RACE ASSLMILATION bank must be an unpardonable sinner, for he has done such an inestimable amount of work in the improvement of plants. In the improvement of the human race every legitimate means should be employed; and noth- ing is more eflfective than the sterilization of that class, absolutely unfit to multiply, which popu- lates the world with misery, gloom, despair, hell ! Should any people hesitate to adopt this measure when it concerns only a class, absolutely unfit, upon whom it works no hardship whatever, while an unspeakable amount of benefit is at once conferred upon the eligible and upon all people? ARE THE JUNGLES CALLING HIM BACK? — In his great lecture on "Rape" at the Citronelle, Alabama Chautauqua, ex-Governor Vardaman, in his dramatic voice cried: "The jungle is calling him back, the jungle is calling him back!" Now, any one who has lived among the Afri- cans in their native country can testify to the fact that sexual purity is one of the finest character- istics of the race. The writer in the book, "The Colored American from Slavery to Honorable Citizenship," says: "Among the heathen Africans, whatever else may be said about them, the world will have to admit that they are the purest people, outside of polygamy, in their connubial and virgin morals, OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 197 upon the face of the globe. White women to my personal knowledge, hundreds of miles inte- riorward in Africa, can remain in their midst and teach school for years without being insulted, which proves to a demonstration that where our natures have not been distorted and abnormal- ized we are the most honorable custodians of fe- male virtue now under Heaven. "It is not the nature of the black man to out- rage white women, unless it is one of our Ameri- can retrogessive abnormalities, which has possi- bly grown out of the degradation entailed upon us by the singular prejudice and degrading con- ditions under which we exist. The whole range of West India Islands show by their records that only one rape has been charged upon a black man since 1832, and that occurred twenty years ago, while eleven rapes were charged upon white men, nine of which were perpetrated upon black women and two upon white w^omen." Then the writer touches, in a short paragraph, upon the same causes to which we attribute the deplorable state of affairs we find in these states — 'Tt may, however, be due to the fact that there the laws and institutions recognize the black man as a full-fledged citizen and gentleman, and his pride of character and sense of dignity are not degraded, and self-respect imparts a higher prompting and gentlemanly bearing to his man- 198 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION hood, and makes him a better citizen and inspires him with more gallantry and nobler principles. For like begets like." Then he goes on to say: "While, in this country, we are degraded by the public press, degraded by the courts of the coun- try from the United States Supreme Court down, degraded on the railroads after purchasing first class tickets, degraded at the hotels and barber shops, degraded in many states at the ballot-box, degraded in some of the large cities by being compelled to rent houses in the alleys and the most disreputable streets. Thus we are degraded in so many respects that all the starch of respec- tability is taken out of the manhood of millions of our people, and as degradation begets degra- dation, it is very possible that in many instances we are guilty of doing a series of infamous things that we would not be guilty of if our environ- ments were different." Abnormal characters of both races, born under the"South's policy." will necessarily come under the law of restraint, even should this "policy" be abolished when the oligarchy of these states re- ceives its final sentence of political death by the people. But we predict that it would not take longer than a few generations before all the taint of this cursed "policy" would have vanished among the colored people. The nature of these people is so pliable that a "right policy" will OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 199 effect them as favorably as a wrong one has ef- fected them unfavorably. The Negro man is by nature a gentleman, using that word in its true sense, and the colored man of African descent will prove himself a gen- tleman if environments will give him half a gentleman's chance. 200 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION CHAPTER IX THE TEMPERAMENTS THE MENTAL TEMPERAMENT.— The Mental Temperament has its constitutional basis in the brain and nervous system. Its pre- dominance in the organization is due to inherit- ance, and if moderately inclined to be prominent at birth, it may be strengthened by training and culture, so that its place may become primary in the life of the individual thus born. It is char- acterized by a body comparatively slight, and a head that is large in proportion to the frame that supports it. The face is oval and forehead large and broad in the upper part. The physiognomy is delicately molded if not sharply drawn, and the countenance is prominent and expressive, the skull delicate and thin and the hair fine and soft, llie body is not strongly marked as in the Motive Temperament; the muscles are small and com- pact, being adapted to rapid actions rather than to great strength. In short, the whole system is high-strung. We believe that we meet with no contradiction when we say that the Mental Temperament is almost an unknown quality among the native African Negroes. There may be a few excep- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 201 tions ; if there are, we have not found them. We have met with many cases of the Vital-Mental Tf)& TI)feeTeTY}pe/arT)ei)ts TEMFERAIMENT is a condition of the mind. When certain brain organs, through which the mental facukies of the mind act, predominate, then we have, what we call, either a Mental, Motive or Vital Temperament. We illustrate this in the above drawing, where the three localities of the Temperaments are shown. When all three are equally developed we have a Harmonious Tempera- ment. When two predominate we have, for instance, the Mental- Motive, the Motive-Vital or the Vital-Mental Temperament, These facts must be borne in mind in connection with the follow- ing portraits of the Temperaments : 202 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Temperament, even among the decidedly dark, but none that approached the purely mental, save in those who were of pronounced Caucasian blood, like Prof. Atkins, Olivia D. Washington Mental Temperament. Colored Caucasian. Second wife of Booker T. Washington, de- ceased. and others. Phillis Wheatly, and others of her type may have represented the purely mental. When this Temperament predominates, and there is a good degree of vitality to sustain it, the person may exhibit remarkable capabilities. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 203 for the reason that the very nature of this Tem- perament indicates a special activity of the mental faculties through the large, refined, culti- vated brain organs. When the upper or coronal INS Mental Temperament, Colored Caucasian. Fine scholar and instructor. organs of the brain are largely developed and those of the base of the brain but moderately so, the tastes and delicacy of feelings, and refinement of manners, of such persons, may easily be dis- tinguished from all others. Such are rarely found among the criminal class, and when they •204 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION are they owe their degradation to the most ter- rible adverse circumstances. Persons of this Temperament may be found in sedentary occu- pations which require more brain than bodily exercise. Teachers, artists, authors, and the var- ious other professions which require brain-work are filled by them. Women who have this Tem- perament lack plumpness and the delicately rounded, symmetrical figure, so much admired by men in women, yet they have a beauty of delicacy and refinement that charms and attracts all men of a robust, rough, vigorous constitution. This is well illustrated in Dr. and Mrs. Sumner, chap- ter seventeen. It is apparent that this class of white women are on the increase in this country, and while they are charming, intellectual com- panions, they can, under most maternal circum- stances, not become the mothers of fine, vigorous, healthy children. Only by scientific crossing with robust constitutions, in which the Vital Temperament predominates, can they become a blessing to posterity and true wives and mothers. And the same fact holds true in the case of Ro- land, Ph.D., whom we illustrate and describe in chapter sixteen. In connection with the illus- trations here given we have named these ex- amples, as they fully convey our idea of the Men- tal Temperament in whites, and how, by scien- tific intermarriage, these top-heavy conditions OR THE FADING LEOPARDS SPOTS 205 may be beautifully modified in their progeny, if it is so desired. THE VITAL TEMPERAMENT.— The Vital Temperament has its constitutional basis in the nutritive system, that is in the organs of ^mx^^^^^'^s^ Dr. Joseph C.Price Vital Temperament, Afro- American. Great ed- ucator and noted orator. digestion, respiration and circulation. The stature is generally above the medium, and the chest is full, the abdomen rounded, the limbs plump and tapering, and the hands and feet rela- tively small, while the neck is comparatively 206 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION short and thick and the shoulders broad and round. The head and face correspond with the other parts of the body, in that both are well filled out with adipose tissue, while the expres- sion is cheerful, frank and happy. In the Vital Temperament we often find rep- resented the mulatto and other fairer breeds as well as the dark and full-blood Negro. In those of a fair color we may sometimes find eyes of gray-blue or brown color and hair of brown or red tinge, but the darker or black generally have the close, kinky hair and black eyes. In the dark or black, bilious elements enter that confer more physical endurance than is possessed by the fairer ones, or the sanguine type of the Vital; but the latter class, however, possess more activity and sprightliness, and consequently are the moving spirits in the American Negro race — those who have the most push, the ability to push, and push the hardest. If we compare them with the full- blood Caucasian, they are found to possess, for the most part, more endurance; and if their san- itary conditions and mode of life were improved, they would be decidedly so. There is no race of people on earth that can adapt themselves to and stand as varied a condition of life as the Af- rican Negro and his descendants of mixed blood. The absolute squalor and disregard for all rules of health and moral stimulation in many homes OR THE FADLXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 207 of the poor southern Negro, would undermine and exterminate our Caucasian race; yet the breeding capacity of these people is tremendous, and were it not for the deplorable condition of life among them, that is the cause of removing so many thousands annually by consumption and other diseases, they would ultimately take the entire South by sheer numbers. Whether they will or not is yet an open question. The Vital Temperament seems to predominate 111 the race, therefore it is the strongest, though not the longest lived people, whose descendants will, without doubt, be numerous throughout this world when the white-skinned people' have be- come extinct. We find in a book called, ''Self- Instructor in Phrenology and Physiology," by the well known authorities, O. S. and L. N. Fowler, revised by the not less famous Nelson Sizer, the following statement: ''All black an- imals are powerful, of which the bear, Morgan horse, black snake, etc., furnish examples. So black fruits, as blackberry, black raspberry, whortle berry, black Tartarian cherry, etc., are highly flavored and full of rich juices. So'also the dark races, as Indians and Africans are strong, muscular, and very tough." The Vital Temperament is most common among the colored women, while among the white American females the Mental Tempera- 208 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION MotWe. " < Balai7ced. TEMPERAMENTS. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 200 ment is fast displacing it, and consequently is disqualifying them as breeders of a superior pos- terity. Excessive mental training saps the con,- stitution of its sacred, magnetic, feminine quali- ties, and leaves the subject in a cold, reasoning atmosphere, instead of in the warm, attractive, magnetic fcminality. No truly superior man of ability looks for an encyclopedia, a library or bookstore, in the brain of a woman, when looking for the mother of his future children. The woman of today who is so top-heavy or exces- sively loaded with these things, that it over- shadows and shrivels her fcminality, or genera- tive functions, is not the fit mother of a superior race. Education in women is not only desirable but necessary, even if only for congenial compan- ionship to her husband, but if it robs her of the sexual or animal qualities necessary for the per- petuation and improvement of the human race, then it were better if she remained illiterate and thereby fulfilled her mission and be blessed by succeeding generations. Excessive mental de- velopment also retards marriage, and often the best years of a woman's bearing period slips by before she enters the state of motherhood. Negro and colored Caucasian women of the Vital Temperament ripen young, marry young, and leave ofif bearing younger than those of a Mental or Motive Temperament. They of the 14 210 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Vital Temperament are very passionate, both men and women, but changeable in mood ; lively, cheerful, amiable, frank, and candid, fond of good living; play and sport; and at the same time apt to fall into habits of eating and drinking that are injurious. Thus, with strong social affections, they are more liable to irregularities in the way of frivolity and dissipation than persons of the Motive Temperament. When, however, the moral principles are developed to restrain or regulate their conduct, they generally lead very happy, useful lives, enjoying and promoting en- joyment. THE MOTIVE TEMPERAMENT.— The Motive Temperament has its constitutional basis in the bony and muscular system. We find it in some Negroes, but most generally leaning more or less toward the Vital. The Motive Temper- ament is the result of climatic and geographical conditions. W^e find it most fully represented in people of high or mountainous latitudes, but rarely met with in low, hot climates. All fight- ing races are good representatives of this Tem- perament; the North American Indian being an excellent example, as are also the various Euro- pean and some Asiatic races. But as we have just intimated, we find the Motive Temperament in the Negro — not the Roman nose and promi- nent features of the Caucasian or the Indian rep- OR THE FADING 1 '^OPARD'S SROTS 211 Motive Temperament. Colored Caucasian. Prominent Divine of the A. M. E. church. 212 HOLM'S RACI-: ASSIMILATION resentatives; it being a class by itself, of which the Jap and Chinaman are akin. Should we select an army for a long, desperate and fierce conflict, we would invariably choose one from the Negro or Mongolian races, and our first choice would be the Negro. The Negro and Mongolian representatives have not the com- bative and other fighting qualifications as prom- inently developed as is found in some other races, but when thoroughly trained as soldiers, they have a toughness and tenacitv in battle that chal- lenges every other race of fighters in the world. The Jap has, we think, already demonstrated this scientific fact, and give the Negro training and a fair chance and he will do the same; and every race and clan, including the proud Anglo-Saxon, would stand aghast, bewildered and confounded, with open eve and mouth, like a suckling babe! Let the American Negro and colored Caucasian take better care of their health, refrain from all immoral, debilitating influences, lift up the moral standard of their women, and then, some day, they will be fully equipped to demonstrate their power, and reap laurels that will set upon their kinky-haired head with eternal glory and honor. The shambling, shiftless, snivelling be- ing of today may have within him the making of a man of tomorrow. It is all a matter of latent possibilities that count in the future of a race, OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 213 and not the high-strung, overwrought capabili- ties of today that may break tomorrow, and fall to the ground exhausted. There is a height, a great height, that man can' reach if he will ; but if once reached he must, by the unalterable law of growth and decay, stub his toe on the pinnacle of fame, and fall back to mother earth from whence he rose. This is the way Nature maintains ee]uilibrium at whatever cost. The wonderful blending of the various branches of the Aryan race with itself and other races in America, produces results never hereto- fore attained in the history of man. America is the battle ground of the races. It is the place assigned by our all-wise Ruler to be the gathering place for all people, and the feeble cry raised against the amalgamation of the races is but the whine of past glory that dies hard. The Cau- casian race yet stands supreme. If this people^ who is destined to elevate all mankind, fears the inroad of foreign blood, it battles against its highest interests, casts a shadow of disapproval upon its path of unsurpassed triumphs, and tolls the bell of its own doom. Japan was a barbarous country not long since; today it demands the re- spect and cordial treatment of every nation, and woe to the one who gives it not. The Afro- American has the same constitutional qualities yet undeveloped, and to continue the enmity be- 214 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Ho9. Frt d &rwKJ^oujhss. Mulatto. Motive-Mental Temperament. OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 215 tvveen the races indefinitely, would prove fatal to all. To insure the continued supremacy of the Caucasian in America, it is not only advis- able, but necessary, to absorb all the other races who have come here, even at the expense of the loss of pure blood thus incurred. A mixed race is the greatest race; none excepted. The Motive Temperament is characterized in the Caucasian by large bones, strong, hard muscles, prominent joints, and an angular figure; and the height is rather above the average. In the Negro the shoulders arc broad, the abdomen is moderately full, f^'""S ^^Q^ Anglo-Americans 94- ^o Esquimaux 86. -22 North American Indian^ 84.00 Native Africans 83.70 Mexicans 81.70 American Negroes 80.80 Peruvians and Hottentots 75-30 Australians 7'i.oo Gorilla, adult 34-50 Idiot 22.57 16 226 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION WHAT INDICATES MENTAL POWER — The weight of the human brain varies from 40 to 70 ounces; that of idiots from 12 to 36 ounces. It appears that neither the absolute nor relative size of the cerebrum, but the amount of gray matter it contains, is the criterion of men- tal power. While a large cerebrum generally indicates the presence of more gray matter than a small one, yet it is ascertained that the gray substance depends upon the number, and depth of the convolutions of the brain and the deeper its fissures, the more abundant is this tissue. The gray matter of the brain seems to be the source of thought, or the physical substance through which the mind can generate thought, while the white substance is the reservoir of im- pressions. While quantity generally indicates power, quality is the absolute source of mental power, and as we say in this chapter under the heading. Brain and Mind, it takes a certain amount of cross-breeding and breeding-up to obtain the highest mental quality. Soft, fine hair, fine intellectual features, and a gen- eral physical refinement, invariably accompany mental power. ' THE SIZE OF THE HEAD.— We never rely on the size of the head as an indication of special mental capacity, unless we find quality along with size. When we have both quality OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 227 and size, we have a certain indication of power, l^hough tape measurements taken around the head, from Eventuality to Parental Love, gives some idea of the size of the brain, tlie fact that some heads are round, others long, some low, and others iiigh. so modifies the measurements that tlicy do not convey any very correct idea of the actual quantity of the brain. The following measurements were given out some years ago by the Fowlers and others, and are generally considered as right: Incites to occipital Opcninit of car to Circumfcrcnrc of Adult weiRht in spine hclow Par- upcninR of ear head in Inches. pounds. ental I.ovc. over Firmness. If) 100 9 19/2 110 101/2 10 to 11 20 120 WA 11 to 12 21 130 12 12^ 22 150 14 UVi 23 175 15 IbVi 24 195 15 16 Female heads are about half an inch to an inch smaller than the figures given above. Their weight is also considerably less. The heads of children are larger as compared with the weight of their body. 228 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION CHAPTER XI DISSEMINATION AND ATTRACTION DISSIMILARITIES AFFILIATE FOR EVOLUTIONARY GROWTH.— The nat- ural law of dissemination was in operation when the African Negro w^as transported to American soil. Camille Flammarion, the eminent French astronomer, says, "Progress is an abso- lute, irresistable law." The law of progress and dissemination are identical. This same law we find in operation in all history, ever since dis- similarities existed. It is true, like attracts like. "Birds of a feather flock together;" yet all birds of the same species dififer, males from the fe- males. The author has often watched fowls in the selection of their favorite mates. He once obtained three high-bred, imported geese. The gander had been mated with one of the females for several years. He then obtained a native male and female, much smaller and inferior. The two ganders at once engaged in a fierce com- bat until they had to be separated to keep the native from killing the fullblood. As soon as separated the high-bred gander proceeded to court the native goose desperately. When the ganders were again put in the same pen the bat- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 229 tie continued. The native gander had to be killed. The high-bred gander continued his love for the native goose, and entirely neglected the two beautiful females of his own breed. Does Nature make a mistake? We think not. The offspring of the two geese were larger than the female and hardier than the male. The na- tive cattle are now bred up in precisely the same manner throughout the South. All animals mix only with their kind. All races and tribes of men have, in the past, mixed with their kind more exclusively than with any other. In the environment of primitive man it could not be otherwise. There are yet obscure sav- age tribes in some parts of Africa and elsewhere, where it is not considered wrong and where no evil effects follow close family marriages. But in all such environments there is no advance- ment whatever. The dark races have as much right to mix with the white race as it has with the dark or black. Nature does not forbid such comming- ling of racial blood, because all blood of all races is alike. Bishop Alexander \A^alters well said in the conference on the status of the American Negro, held in New York in May, 1909: 'Tn the scriptures we read that the man (Adam) called his wife's name Eve because she 230 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION was the mother of all living (to live) . St. Paul, the eminent divine and philosopher, has declared that 'God hath made of one blood all the na- tions of men to dwell on all the face of the earth,' and the best authority on physiological subjects declare that there is not a particle of difference in human blood. And yet blood is one of the most varied substances in nature. In no two kinds of animals is it alike." As the blood of an African cannot be distin- guished from that of a Caucasian, it follows in the course of correct reasoning that both races have a common origin, as already inferred, that environment alone has caused the difference we observe today. And as Nature demands a dif- ference of physical and mental make-up in mar- ried persons, the mating of extreme opposites, as in the Hamitic and Japhetic, produces the great- est physical pleasure and mutual love between the sexes thus mated. This is the reason why offspring are possible between the colored and w^hite men and women when neither can produce with their own. In our inquiry we heard an intelligent colored woman say, who has a white husband: "Mix- ing is so sweet, how foolish both races are to try to deprive us of this God-given privilege." Dr. J. W. Bate says in his book, "Marriage Guide," "It may be safely affirmed that a dif- OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 231 ference of physical temperament between mar- ried persons is conducive not only to mutual af- fection, but to fertility. Nature appears to de- sire marriages between different families and na- tions, because such crossings of the various races improve and invigorate the species. Humboldt and others have observed that tlic offspring of Europeans and Ethiopians are peculiarly robust and active. From numerous observations of a similar nature, he argues that the best mode of eradicating Iicreditary diseases, gout, scrofula, consumption, epilepsy, madness, etc., in their in- cipient stages, is by the commixture of the species in marriage; the mutual antagonism of physical elements thus blended preventing the transmis- sion of disease to the next generation. "The mental weakness of the European royal families, who have been for generations the pro- duct of marriages almost incestuous in the degree of consanguinity of parents, is strongly confirma- tory of the truth of these principles. Walker, in his admirable and interesting work "On In- termarriage," proves beyond the possibility of caval, that insanity, idiocy, and numerous phys- ical ailments occur four times above the average proportion in the offspring of "family mar- riages." \\'hen persisted in for some genera- tions the race usually becomes extinct. Nor is this confined to man alone — the rule extends 232 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION from man downward through the whole realm of animated nature." It is astonishing, indeed, that the various races in America should make any serious at- tempt to "keep the races separate," when all must live side by side and mix in their every-day lives as one people. All breathe the same at- mosphere of liberty and all ought to enjoy it alike. It is here not a question of the obscure savage and the refined civilized. All forces here in operation now promote, and will con- tinue to promote, racial admixture. Savage tribes do not mix as readily as civil- ized with the savage. Nature's object in mixing is growth; where that cannot be obtained there is no commingling. The civilized have always mixed with and absorbed the savage, and this process will continue until all races have been elevated. We find men who will reason that the law of attraction, for the preservation of species is un- alterable, and must not be violated. That like must affiliate with like, at least as far as man is concerned. That we may "tinker" with plants and animals, and try to improve upon Nature, but that man must religiously adhere to his own race, clan or people, and refuse to mix or asso- ciate with any others on equal terms. This idea is founded upon the illusive belief that there is OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 233 more than one species of man. Such reasoning is decidedly narrow, and betrays a lack of insight and investigation into Nature^s laws, and the hu- man family. Nature endeavors to maintain equilibrium throughout all her productions and functions. To illustrate, we will take history and say that we have three distinctly, separate peoples or races, who have no intercourse with each other, who even hate each other. One dwells in Af- rica, one in Europe and one in Asia. One is a low-cast, barbarous race, one semi-civilized, and the other is crammed with temples of learning, libraries, high culture, and is admirably civil- ized, as ancient civilizations go. Now, PRO- PORTION IS A PARAMOUNT NAT- URAL LAW. We find as we carefully follow the history of these three nations or races, that the barbarous is lifted up, the over-cultured pulled down, and that finally the semi-civilized raises its great, broad, bushy head and assimilates both and swells, grows and devours, until it be- comes a monstrosity, when in turn it, too, is ab- sorbed by others. Thus the process will con- tinue in the future history of man in spite of all reasoning to the contrary. Prof. O. S. Fowler said many years ago: "The acknowledged Anglo-Saxon superiority is directly traceable to the wholesale interming- 234 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ling of the ancient Briton, Picts, Celts and Ro- mans, both with each other, and the Normans, Danes and others. We find in nearly every in- stance where nations are not thus crossed they are either stationary or on the decline; like Spain, Africa and Eastern nations. The influx of foreigners from all Europe, Asia and Africa, into our country, is indeed the most auspicious omen of future development and greatness." Nature does and can by the union of opposites, instead of similarities, efifect astonishing im- provements. And it is well known to up-to-date scientists that if dissimilarities did not exist; if there were no two dissimilar procreative attract- ing poles in the human family, there could be no evolutionary process, and consequently no hu- man advancement. THE LAW OF SPECIES.— The law of spe- cific procreative attraction exists for the perpet- uation of the various species of plant and ani- mal life. It is the law of species. The law of attraction, for the opposite sexual poles in repro- duction and growth, is a co-partner with the law of dissemination (scattering) in the econ- omy of life. The absence of either would cause a chaotic condition. With the law of procrea- tive attraction, for the reproduction of species, only in operation we would find all the thou- sands of separate plants and animals in so many OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 235 separate localities on earth. For example, there would be thousands of acres of wheat in one part, separate from all others. We would find large wooded places; every species alone. Immense orchards of single varieties would cover millions of acres; and close by might be found thousands of acres of poisonous ivy, deathly nightshade, apple-fern and hundreds of other loathsome plants. Should a man by accident stray from his habitation and run into such a bewildering mass of poisonous growth, escape would be impos- sible. On the other hand, should he run across the several hundred miles of the snake habitation, he would be shocked out of his identity. Then, again, he might encounter an ant hill several miles high, containing all the ants on earth. Or he might run into the various animal territories, and escape under all circumstances would be al- most impossible. THE DIVINE PLAN OF MAN'S RE- DEMPTION, — The above arrangem_ent, on a small scale, would be an ideal paradise to dwell in. But the law of scattering drove man and animal out of the Garden of Eden, whatever and wherever that may have been, to populate the world. The law of fruitfulness was based upon the law of scattering, for without scattering there could be no multiplication and growth. Soil, 23(i HOL.MS RACE ASSIMILATION food and climate, in various parts of the world, were instrumental in producing the various physical types, temperaments and colors of skin. Ham, Shem and Japhet were not black, yt-dlow and white; dissemination caused their posterity to gradually assume these types. We here touch upon a profound thought — viz., the Divine plan of man's redemption: First, the scattering, for the purpose of multi- plying and creating a variety of races; secondly, the gathering together of these races again into one family, for the purpose of final extinction. Continual inbreeding deteriorates, cross- breeding enhances; causes fruitfulness and growth. The savage African would remain a savage still, another thousand years or two, did he not sooner come in contact with other races. As a race he is in his second childhood, and cannot hope to rise independent of all foreign blood, and rule his people. The various branches of the Caucasian family in America are, even in this early day, threat- ened with race suicide. How long will it be be- fore scarcely one puny child will arrive in every white home in America? We have on record numerous cases where one or two weakly offspring would be born to a white man by his white wife, and ten bright, vigorous ones by a colored woman. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 237 We wish our readers to hold the thought that mental and physical dissimilarities cross for evolutionary growth and fruitfulness. When all differences in the human family have disap- peared in extreme physical refinement, a general decline in population, and final extinction will ensue. Do our readers catch the thought we wish to convey? The time will come, and is comparatively near, when men will not worry about over-population, but a positive decline in our white population. The government then in control will advocate a scientific system of fruit- ful marriages, as a matter of self-preservation. It may then even invite the indomitable Jap and the darkest man in existence as our son-in-law. Races can no longer stand apart and advocate their integrity and live. A bewildering amount of mixing covers the entire past history, when there was no means of communication, how can now be prevented the final union of all the races, when commerce and traveling by land and water makes every race, clan and color our next door neighbor? We are coming to it fast — the final union of the children of Noah. THE GARDEN OF EDEN.— We are led to believe that there was a time in the history of this world, when plant and animal life was first introduced, when the law of dissemination was not yet in operation. If the Garden of Eden 238 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION was governed without scattering influence, Adam had an ideal habitation. xMoses plainly speaks of the time in Gen. VI., ist to 9th verses, when the sons of Noah feared the law of scat- tering. These early people tried to resist the operation of this law, but it scattered them abroad on the earth, and caused them to even speak difTferent languages. This process was ab- solutely necessary in order to create dissimi- larities in the human family, essential to per- petuate the race. It is evident that had the race continued to live in the same place the ultimate plan of human growth would have been defeated, and man would have early become extinct. That an oak tree, for example, should spring up spon- taneously over the entire earth at the same time, without first a seed being planted, is beyond an ordinary mind to comprehend. It seems far more rational to believe that the first oak and man existed in a specific place, for a specific purpose, until the law of scattering became operative. WOULD EXPERIENCE A CALAMITY. — Should the law for the perpetuation of the species be dropped from the category of natural laws, and the law of dissemination alone remain in operation, this world would experience even a greater calamity than that just described. A OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 239 The Lay/>^€>f Species forhidls Mixing. The new lot of chickens in his barnyard would quack like a duck yet not look like one, while a strange lot of ducks might cackle like hens and crow like cocks •J40 HOLM S RACE ASSIMILATION farmer would sow a certain kind of grain, but would invariably reap strange combinations of other grains and weeds he never knew or sowed before. The new lot of chickens in his barnyard would quack like a duck, yet not look like one, while a strange lot of ducks might cackle like hens and crow like cocks. Strange beings would be born, undreamed of monstrosities, living, crawling, creeping things, unnamed and un- nameable; beautiful, poetic, symmetrical dreams of perfection; winged and unwinged angels would fly and run swifter than the wind, then disappear to give rise to yet other beings, other freaks for still others to play with, until all would be a loathsome, unspeakable confusion. Man could not long survive. DISSEMINATION GROWING STRONGER.— We believe that the law of dis- semination is growing stronger and more active as the world grows older. We see evidences of this in the animal and vegetable world. Strange plants and animals have been distributed and successfully raised in many parts formerly un- known. And the same fact is true of man. Birds W'ho carry seeds of plants from one coun- try to another unconsciously obey this law, so also did the slavers who brought the Negro here and throughout the world. Phillis Wheatley, the inspired Negro girl poet, undoubtedly re- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 241 ceived a true impression of this fact when she wrote : "'Twas mercy l)roiight me from my Pagan Land, Taught my benighted soul to understand That there's a God — that there's a Saviour too ; Once 1 redemption neither sought nor knew." In the workings of Almighty God there is no thread broken, save by erring man, in the great plan of human redemption — of the final reunion of all nations and races into one people, one gov- ernment, one tongue. The world is getting smaller rapidly. Every thinking man and woman knows that, at the present rate of prog- ress, the day will soon arrive when the entire map of the world will be changed. This will come about in a peaceful manner, accompanied by wonderful progress, or else war and extermi- nation will bring it about, just as man may will it in the final process of growth and decay. THERE IS A DIVINE PURPOSE IN MIXING. — In the mixing of the Negro and Caucasian in the South we see a divine purpose. Let us be frank with ourselves. Had this mix- ing not taken place to the extent it has, or not at all, what would today become of the pure- blood African in our midst? We expect a strong contradiction here, but the fact remains true; were it not for the millions of mixed blood, the hope in the heart of the pure-blooded black man would be faint indeed ; not because he is destitute 16 •242 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION of ability to rise, for he is not, but because of the evidence that would then exist that he belonged to another race of beings with which human beinosi- ti . : is clear to the unbiased reader that race integritv is nothiDg but a fad: that there is no race, of any consequence in the world, that can boast of absolute purity. All advanced Euro- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS io^' peans have a variety of complexions. Such pure- blooded people as the American Indian. Es- quimaux and some African and Asiatic tribes, are looked down upon with scorn by the mixed peo- ple of a higher order; and the same fact will re- main true here as long as the Negro is a factor in the Afro-American race. Any Negro who boasts of the purit}' of his blood in these states is his own greatest enemy, not because of the fact that he is pure, but because the anti-Negro senti- ment is thereby incensed. Rub in the fact that the American Negro, the Afro-American, the Colored Caucasian, is homo- geneous, related by an inseparable tie to the white race, and is bound to remain inseparable, and as sure as there is a wise, overruling Provi- dence, peaceful and happy relations will ensue. Agitate the "my race and your race" feeling, enlarge upon this dangerous and pernicious prac- tice of inborn hatred, and instead of a calm there will be a storm; instead of sunshine and song there will be darkness and despair; instead of love and happiness there will be pain and sorrow. As we reiterate in this book. Nature main- tains equilibrium throughout all her marv^elous works ; and does not recognize anv race of people on earth as her elect. If she did. such a people woold be compelled to remain intact from the inroad of all foreign blood. That would make 260 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION it a distinct race; as distinct as the horse is from the ox, and amalgamation would be forbidden by Nature. There is but one race of people with many dis- similarities, necessary in the evolutionary process of human kind — and how marvelous to behold is this process at work! ONE RACE SAYS MAXIMO GOMEZ.— In closing this chapter we wish to present to the reader that memorable letter, written by Maximo Gomez, the great Cuban patriot, to Roman Blanco, the Spanish commander, when the same proposed a union of the revolutionary forces with the Spanish army, to drive out the Amer- ican invaders. "Senor: Your audacity in again offering terms of peace astonishes me, knowing as you do that Cuban and Spaniard can never again live peace- ably on Cuban soil. You represent on this con- tinent an old and bloodstained monarchy; we fight for American principles — that of Wash- ington and Bolivar. You say we belong to the same race, and you invite me to combat the for- eign invader, but you are again mistaken. There is no difference in blood and race. / believe there is only one race of humanity, and for me there are but good and wicked nations. Spain has been up to the present a wicked nation. The United States is endeavoring to fill toward Cuba the duty of humanity and civilization. OR THE FADING LEOBARD'S SPOTS 261 "Among classes and races, from the savage In- dian to the cultured European, a man is only worthy of respect according to his humanity and noble sentiments. In this light I view nations. I have only admiration for the United States. I have written to President McKinley and general Miles, thanking them for American intervention in Cuba. "I do not see the danger to us from the United States to which you refer. If it should so hap- pen, then history will pronounce her judgment. For the present I have only to repeat that it is too late for co-operation between your army and mine. Su atento servidor, Maximo Gomez.'' RACE PRIDE IS A POLITICAL ISSUE SOUTH.— Collier's Weekly says : "Probably it would be impossible to prophesy a day more un- happy for this continent than the one in which the southern white should abate one iota of his race pride." Maximo Gomez, whose letter we quote above, perhaps expresses the feelings of the southern republics better on this question than any one else. While there is considerable individual race pride among the various classes in the southern republics, it has never ripened or formed into a political body or become a polit- ical issue as in the southern states. The southern politician realizes that to "abate one iota of his 262 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION race pride" means political death. He is bound to keep up the race integrity cry for political reasons. And it has so far been comparatively easy to rub it into the blind intellect of an igno- rant populace and make it "a go." Even the black Negro (married to a yellow woman) has contracted the disease and now begins to set up a race integrity howl. If the Negro would be- long to the same political faith as the southern oligarchy, and be useful as a political boost, it would pat him on the back and call him a good brother and race integrity would never find its way into politics. The race integrity politician has filled the South with yellow babies, and is the parent of several millions of colored people, thousands of whom he has disfranchised, because the son is wiser than his father and will not yield to his political wishes — stay out of politics and let papa run things. The race pride of the South is rotten in the face of this fact! Its politics are rotten because of it. It is utterly degraded! Can a just God have mercy on a man who dis- franchises his own son and degrades his own sweet-faced daughter because their skin is dark? No calamity is too great for a people or a coun- try that tolerates such an outrage! OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 263 CHAPTER XIII THE ANTI-AIISCEGENATION MOVEMENT EDITORIALS FROM PROxMINENT SOUTHERN PAPERS. — "Judge Harris Dickson, who was one of the leaders in a suc- cessful movement to give the city of Vicksburg a clean government after years of abuses, is now engaged with other men of equally high stand- ing in a well organized efifort to build up a more healthy demand for racial integrity; to prevent the practice of miscegenation and to punish offenders of both races who commit such crimes against decency. The Anti-Miscegenation League of Vicksburg is extending its sphere of influence over surrounding towns, and, as the need for some such work as the league has under- taken is very evident, the growth of the move- ment may well be expected to reach great pro- portions; not only in the southern states, which have statutes against intermarriage between the races, but also in the states of the North, which permit the marriage of whites with Negroes. In his speeches on the subject the Vicks- burg novelist, journalist and lawyer has used very plain language, and, indeed, the question is one for plain discussion among men, with little 264 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION place for oratory or flowers of rhetoric. There are laws enough in the southern states to punish offenders against the rules of decency which should protect the country against amalgamation of the races, but there has not been heretofore any general awakening of the better elements in the white race to root out existing evils threaten- ing racial purity. One of the methods of the Anti-Miscegenation League to secure evidence against offenders is the distribution among its members, and others in sympathy with its ob- jects, of printed blanks to be filled in with the names, addresses and habits of persons coming under observation who practice such misde- meanors as the league hopes to prevent, and to punish. While this may be effective in a meas- ure, those who are leading the movement realize that the greatest good must be accomplished by appeals to the higher instincts of white men and by changing the current of their thoughts from self-gratification to race knowledge and the im- pulse of racial protection. When the thought- less have been made to seriously think, half of the battle will have been won for the maintenance of the integrity of the Caucasian tribes in Amer- ica." — Mobile Register. The following editorial comments by the New Orleans Times-Democrat show how the move- ment is taking hold and demanding attention OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 265 elsewhere than in Mississippi: "At a mass meeting held last Tuesday night under the auspices of the Port Gibson, Miss., Law and Order League, emphatic resolutions denouncing miscegenation were adopted, and the members of the league pledged themselves to a vigorous crusade for the protection of race purity. Those who addressed the meeting discussed this dis- gusting evil in plain terms. No attempt was made to condone the faults of white men who are degrading themselves and their race by the practice. The attitude of the Mississippi leaguers is uncompromising. In attacking the vile offense they evidently intend to strike at w^hite offenders as well as black. Anti-mis- cegenation sentiment, instinct with right think- ing men and avomen everywhere, is at last find- ing voice. The written and spoken denuncia- tions of the crime against race have found prompt and universal response. The audible protest is rapidly increasing in volume. Race purity is no longer a theory, it has become an issue. Not long ago the citizens of St. Francis- ville. La., in mass meeting assembled, declared themselves for its suppression. A vigorous anti- miscegenation league has been organized at Vicksburg, and now at Port Gibson the standard of revolt has been raised against the intolerable condition which undeniably exists. Having at- 266 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION tained the dignity of an issue, it can be no longer ignored in the present campaign nor by the Louisiana legislature soon to be elected. The secret influences which have strangled previous anti-miscegenation measures will find this work dangerous in the light of the present indignant sentiment of the decent white people of Louis- iana. No man, or any set of men in official posi- tion, will dare oppose an anti-miscegenation bill openly.* None can deny that the revolting prac- tice exists in Louisiana, or that it threatens, not alone untold damage to the living, but future disaster. The evil is repulsive enough as we see it today, but the logical consequence of its con- tinuance and tolerance must appall even those degraded by its practice. There is no defense for miscegenation, nor even a semblance of apology. The cancer has eaten its way to the surface. It is hard to speak plainly upon such a subject, but now that the manhood of the South has found courage to voice its views and attack the evil in open forum, there can be little doubt of the issue. Louisiana needs a law against miscegenation, with adequate and equal penalties for white and black violators. If every white voter of the state, who loves his home, regards the welfare *The reader will here observe that all such anti-niisccgcnation legislation is not designed to elevate l)ut further degrade the colored race. Legal intermarriage would stop all illicit mixing and elevate both races. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 267 of his children and glories in the pure strain of his blood will take the field for the enactment and enforcement of a law to protect race purity and to enforce respect for common decency, the long step toward the preservation of a white Louisiana will be taken at the next regular ses- sion of the legislature. Once we secure the law, we shall undoubtedly find means for its enforce- ment.'' PROFESSOR HOLM WRITES HON. HARRIS DICKSON.— "Hon. Harris Dickson, Vicksburg, Miss. Dear Sir: — I have seen something in the papers concerning the Anti-Miscegenation move- ment which you and others represent. As a scientist and investigator, I feel a deep interest in this, and would thank you very much if you would let me know what is being done to check illicit miscegenation in the South. If you have any literature on the subject that would help to enlighten me, I would feel grateful to you for sending it to me or for informing me where I might obtain it. "Wishing you the best of success in your en- deavor to bring about better conditions, I am Very truly, John J. Holm." 268 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION HONORABLE HARRIS DICKSON ANSWERS.— "Prof. John J. Holm, C , Ala. Dear Sir: — I have your letter of the 12th inst., inquiring about the Anti-Miscegenation move- ment. "Like yourself, I feel a deep interest in this matter, and have been somewhat active in stir- ring up public sentiment on the subject. Sev- eral public meetings were held here in Vicks- burg, and a league formed for the purpose of gathering information and instituting prosecu- tions. We have thought it best, however, to make haste slowly, and build up such a resent- ment against this practice as will find expression in the jury boxes. "I am enclosing you herewith blanks for sig- natures of the members; also what is known as an 'information blank.' These information blanks were sent out to all who signed the mem- bership blanks, with the idea of gathering in- formation from every quarter which can be used. While this has met with some success, it has not been as thorough and complete as I should have liked to see it. It has, though, had the efTfect of breaking up numbers of cases which were very OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 269 flagrant, the people evidently fearing prosecu- tion. "My own opinion is that it will take years of agitation before our people can be aroused to treat seriously a condition which has been re- garded as somewhat a matter of course amongst the lowest class of whites. "I shall be very glad to give you in the future any possible information on the subject. Very truly, Harris Dickson." MEMBERSHIP IN THE ANTI-MIS- CEGENATION LEAGUE.--It being cur- rent rumor in Vicksburg and Warren county that certain degraded white men are living notoriously in illicit relationship with Negro women to the debasement of both races and the outrage of common decency; "And it being my firm belief that if such in- famous practice exists that it should be stamped out by punishing the guilty ones according to law and exposing them to that universal con- tempt which they deserve, "I, therefore, agree to become a member of the Anti-Miscegenation League and to furnish the Executive Committee thereof with such in- formation as I may now have, or which by rea- sonable inquiry I may hereafter obtain. 270 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION "And I further pledge myself to do everything in my power to arouse public sentiment so that the laws prohibiting this revolting crime may be rigidly enforced." Name. Post Office Address. INFORMATION BLANK Fill out as best you can, and wherever possible insert the names of witnesses who will swear to each fact. Then mail promptly to Executive Committee, Lock Box 164, Vicksburg, Miss. Name of man • • Name of woman Age, personal appearance and color of woman Age of man Exact location of house • • • • • Neighbors on either side and opposite. Particularly the women Where do they buy groceries Does woman buy on man' s credit Who deHvers milk Bread Groceries Where was the furniture bought Who paid for it Have they ever lived together in any other house When does the man enter and leave the house. • Does any other man visit the house so frequently. Who owns the house. Who pays the rent How many rooms in the house. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 271 INFORMATION BLANK— Continued Exact number and location of beds. Have they ever been seen in bed together By whom Have they ever been seen undressed together. Do they take their meals together What is their manner and behavior towards each other. What other means of support has the woman . . • Has the man any other home In whose employ is the man Has the woman any children Their color \Vhom do they resemble How does the man treat the children Has he ever acknowledged them • ■ • Does the woman boast of him as her man" Docs she say they are his children Have the parties e\er been arrested for this offense. Who were the witnesses What became of the case Has the woman e\ er been arrested for any other offense Who paid her fine Who went her bond PROFESSOR HOLM ANSWERS DICK- SON, DEFENDING HIS POSITION — ''Hon. Harris Dickson, Vicksburg, Miss. Dear Sir: — I thank you very much for the in- formation you have so kindly given me on the Anti-Miscegenation movement, and especially for your proflfered assistance in the future I must beg you to have a little patience with 272 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION me in this letter, as I propose to go somewhat into this very perplexing question with you. First, I must tell you that I am a Wisconsin reared man, and have studied the Negro in that section; then coming South, some years ago, I have spent a small fortune and considerable time in study and research along scientific lines in various sections of the South, covering every phase of the Negro question. The result of my work, if Providence permits, will appear in book form in due time; and should our people of the Southland reject to inaugurate the reforms we advocate, I am, with many thinking men and women of both races, nevertheless, persuaded that it would be a rational and scientific solution of the race question. How far you and I agree is hard to determine at present, but in essentials we are bound to agree. Facts, you know, are such stubborn things, and you and I, and all of us, North and South, who run against them must heed them. You are indeed right when you say that 'We have thought it best to make haste slowly.' I agree with you that it will take years to arouse the southern people, to treat seriously this de- plorable state of afifairs; and, to be frank with you,' I must say that from scientific observations, I have become firmly convinced that conditions are bound to become worse instead of better, in this regard, under the existing social order. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 273 T am not a pessimist by any means, but I be- lieve that it is easier and more practicable to tunnel a mountain in the construction of a rail- road than to go by detour a thousand miles. In short, I am convinced that laws must be enacted that will conform to the laws of Nature, and then be rigidly applied to this glaring social evil between the races. Unscientific agitation creates discord and enmity, and God knows too much of that kind of crime has already been committed by the Amer- ican people. OFFSPRING MUST CONSTITUTE LEGAL MARRIAGE.— First, and above all, we (the southern states), must have a law that offspring, under all circumstances, will consti- tute a legal marriage. What could be done under such a law, which is based upon natural prin- ciples, is easy to determine. Under such a law all white men throughout this wide country who have a white wife and children, and who are besides maintaining one or more families by Negro women, can be pros- ecuted for bigamy and be punished accordingly, besides being rendered sterile through the opera- tion of another law, which should provide this measure for all Negro and white criminals who commit certain social and other crimes against society. 19 274 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION THOSE WHO LIVE TOGETHER MUST MARRY. — Secondly, another law should provide for the legal union of all white men and women with Negro men and women, with whom they are determined to live. They should be compelled to marry instead of being forced to separate. No MAN OR STATE ON God's Green Earth Has a Moral Right to Separate a Family. In fact, by a higher natural law these cannot be compelled to separate. It would be an un- pardonable crime against Nature's God. 'What God hath joined let no man put asunder.' No haphazard, unscientific attempt at reform can be made along this line, without aggravating this social cancer and thereby creating a far worse condition. That the Caucasian race would be threatened with extinction, or that any serious complication would arise, if legal unions of this kind were enforced, is all nonsense. Why not make lawful that which is sanctioned by Nature? If Wisconsin, for instance, had a Negro pop- ulation of 300,000 instead of 5,000, the laws there in operation would prove just as effective in this regard, and no evil would ensue. The laws, or rather lack of laws, in this re- spect, gives the unscrupulous whites and blacks in the South a free license to commit this social OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 275 crime, while the Negro girls of culture, as well as the lowest of the race, are rendered absolute- ly unprotected. And when we. consider this, is it any wonder that the Negro race is not morally progressing more rapidly, when the devil of lust in both laces of the South is in relentless pursuit of every atom of virginity in it? It makes every drop of my Teutonic blood boil when I see these innocent, sweet-faced creatures led, as it were, to the slaughter, by the men of both races! My Dear Sir, I beg your pardon, but I am in earnest. I wish to call your attention to another matter, which may be considered the reverse of what I have just said. SOME WHITES ARE UNDULY AT- TRACTED AMATORIALLY.— In my in- vestigations I have come across white men and women. North and South, who are unduly at- tracted, amatorially, to certain members of the Negro race. I could give scientific reasons for this natural attraction. That these should be classed among the "lowest whites" is an injustice that should find no lodgment in the minds of true, free Americans, who are supposed to be en- dowed by their Creator with inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and advocate the same for their fellow man. 276 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION I-(tRl!IDDEN FRUIT. "The claim for natural antipathy between the races is not well founded." — Professor IVilliam Pickens. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 277 Speaking without race prejudice, as a scientist, I find that there is a fundamental cause, a divine designation, if you please, that promotes such at- traction, apart from the baser, mere animal grat- ifications. I have nearly always found these superbly adapted to those thus naturally at- tracted. We find paramount reasons for this in the natural law of dissemination or mixing. I know of white women who found their af- finity among and were married to colored men, who were as cultured and refined as the accom- plished Cora Marie Arnold, who became the bride of a Pueblo Indian chief in New Mexico who could not speak English; but I can here give you only examples of a few men out of many hundreds: Case No. i, a man, the son of one of Alabama's greatest doctors of divinity, who oc- cupies a very prominent and responsible posi- tion, is cultured, refined, educated. Has for years supported and lived with a colored woman. He loves her from all appearances, and has no white woman in marriage relation. He belongs to the old southern aristocratic stock. Case No. 2, a man of fine mental training, reared in the North, came South, was at the head of a school; married openly a cultured colored girl, and maintained her creditably, and in honest wedlock lived before the people of a large southern city in the far South. 278 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION THERE IS PLENTY OF EVIDENCE.— Now, I am sure that if you are out for a thorough reformation, and a quick and rational solution of this complicated question, you will have plenty of evidence along this line at hand to con- vince you, as I have been, that we must do just the reverse of what has heretofore been at- tempted in ignorance, with prejudice and ven- geance for a guide, instead of reason and justice. I hope you will not misunderstand me. I have stated "my case" from personal observations long drawn out, and if you have any evidence to the contrary that may modify or change my view, I shall be more than glad to conform my belief to any newly discovered truth that will help to un- ravel the mystery of the race question. T thank you for your patience in the pursuance of this long epistle. I have written thus, because I feel that you are deeply interested in the mat- ters touched upon, and your judgment is of deep interest and value to me. Hoping to hear from you again, I remain. Respectfully yours, John James Holm." OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 279 CHAPTER XIV SOCIAL VICE VERSUS LEGAL INTERMARRIAGE UNNATURAL CONDITIONS BE- TWEEN THE RACES THE CAUSE OF VICE. — We have found by careful investiga- tion that more than five children are born per annum, in every one thousand Negro popula- tion in the South, the progeny of a white parent. From the mayor and other influential men down to the common citizen are supporting and rear- ing families by colored women in one of the prominent cities of the Gulf, and in many other places similar conditions exist, yet the laws strictly forbid intermarriage with color. Many of the colored children of these white fathers are sent to the best white and Negro schools in the country, and are the best educated of any race. Ninety per cent of all the leaders of the race are the offspring of the Caucasian, yet intermar- riage is prohibited by law in many parts of the country. The white man has a free license, un- der these prevailing conditions to rob a colored girl, at will, of her virtue, and prepare her for connection with vice, corrupting her morals, be- coming the mother of crime and criminals such 280 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION as a mob would delight to lynch and burn. We have seen the tears and heard the sobs of moth- ers, whose wayward daughters in short skirts had brought to their hearth white babies, and who are now the inmates of the red light dis- tricts, there to reach the lowest pit of shame and moral degradation. We contend that the colored woman DE- MANDS SEXUAL PROTECTION FOR HER DAUGHTERS. Legal intermarriage would strike the vital spot that curses both races in America. This book tells how and why. In the writer's former home in the far South a white woman was the mother of four colored children, and three colored girls became the mothers of white children in one year, in a Negro population of less than seven hundred. The Negro is not becoming more and more criminal every day, as ex-Governor Vardaman says; but the wrong conditions under which he has lived so long are becoming more and more acute each day. The time for a decided change is drawing near, no one can dispute this fact. IS SHOCKING, INDEED.— It must be apparent to all who have investigated and given any serious thought to the race question, that it would be a safeguard against immorality, and for the highest good of both whites and blacks, if equal sexual protection was extended to both OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 281 races, and vigorously enforced in every section of the country. As long as the sexual relations with and among these people are ignored in a large section of thickly settled Negro popula- tion, it is practically impossible to infuse a bet- ter moral tone among them and the white men and women who are bent on mixing. In the congested quarters of some southern cities liber- tinism has become a vocation among them and the whites that must be appalling, even to the sophisticated. And that white women should brazenly set the debasing example in plying their unholy vocation, is shocking indeed! To illustrate, we will take but one case in a Gulf city from personal investigation. From their quarters in this city white women employ Negro men to go about the public square and solicit "trade," and to conduct men by carriages to the dens of infamy of these degraded white women. And this "business" is said to be under the city's authority! The statement of a prominent Chicago news- paper man that southern cities are more moral than northern cities is far from being true if one compares them size for size. In this way col- ored men and women have been brutally taught the lessons of vice, and as a consequence have a low opinion of all whites in this regard. South- ern cities have houses of illfame frequented by 282 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION K- i' >t ,*' ^ WHEN PAPA IS AT HOME. Beautiful homes are found in which love and happiness reign supreme, presided over by sweet-faced ])rown women, whose children are fathered by white gentlemen of culture. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 283 white men who are not only patronizing those of white women, but are degrading themselves with the foulest scum of Negro depravity; poisoning their bodies and damning their souls! There are certain men and women of both races who are bent on mixing — there is a natural law that seems to impel them to seek their affin- ity among a people not of their race. But in the South there is no hope of them living in true wedlock and respectability together. These are consequently encouraged to drop into the foul stream and land somewhere at the bottom. Do our readers catch the thought we wish to con- vey? A respectable white man and colored woman, or a colored man and white woman, cannot walk the streets of many southern cities together without being arrested and imprisoned. It does not matter whether the officers of the law are themselves supporting a colored woman and children; the law must be upheld and the color line observed. This crookedness is the cause of so much moral debauchery. Neither the white man nor the colored woman (saying nothing about the colored man and white w^oman) have the least encouragement to live a good moral life together; on the contrary the vials of hell and all the angels thereof are poured upon them, should they attempt to defy the existing custom of illicit mixing and proclaim themselves man 284 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Beautiful white children liorn to brown mother and full Cau- casian father in Alabama. The lower one has beautiful golden hair and .skv-I)luc eves. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 285 and wife. There is no other place in the civil- ized world today, save in these United States, where intelligent men and women of two races are prohibited to enter the holy bond of matri- mony, and are thereby encouraged to live a life of shame together. In the southern republics there is not even such a vile prohibition. In fact, the Catholic Church has always exhibited a liberal spirit in this regard, and where she dominates a more intimate and natural relation exists between the races. This fact is evident in the rising republic, Brazil, in whose capital many of the wealthiest, most influential and aris- tocratic people have Negro blood in their veins. Even in New Orleans, Mobile and other cities where Catholics are strong, the races have suc- ceeded in mixing more naturally than in the more Protestant centers of the South. And not only this, there has been considerable less fric- tion between them where the Catholic religion has more closely united them, instead of divid- ing them, as is the case in Protestant denomina- tions. The Catholic Church is the only one we know of where both colors can worship together in the same building in the old slave states. THE ETHICAL SIDE MUST BE CON- SIDERED. — Solomon, the wise man of old, said, "To every thing there is a season." The men who run the political m.achinery in the 286 . HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION South have passed laws prohibiting the mixing of the races, yet the mixing process has con- tinued, in some cases by the law makers as well as the people whom they serve. It has been found that such prohibition does not prohibit, but rather encourages and invites both races to degrade their morals. The most urgent need is a general reformation in both races. They have gone far enough, and the time has come, we be- lieve, when there ought to be brought about a reaction. The old relations have been tried and found wanting. Both races stand guilty before the ethical world ; the white more than the col- ored. It is a pity, indeed, if they do not feel a sense of shame! Now, let the right relations be tried. Let all whites and colored who affil- iate be brought under a special marriage pro- vision, and let the immoral features of the amal- gamation process be abolished. Our position is the true, ethical one, and will be universally conceded as right by all people of moral principles. FORBIDDEN FRUIT IS SWEETEST. — There is more true philosophy in this than ap- parent at first thought. Forbidden fruit is al- ways sweetest. Says the author, George Barr McCutcheon: * "Tell a young man that he shall not marry a young woman outside of a certain limited class or group, and he is less than hu- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 287 man if he does not promptly fall in love with a girl who belongs to the forbidden multitude. And it is quite natural that a high spirited girl, who is elected by the laws of her royal or aris- tocratic station to marry a certain man, should find another man of a different station, far more attractive." While the American people, especially of the South, are sorely afflicted with colorphobia, the fact has never been disputed that the "colored fruit" is both sweet and pretty. We have often heard it said that all "niggers are alike," but we do not remember having heard that all Negroes are homely. The Creole, and other women of mixed blood in the South, are the prettiest in America. They may lose their beauty much younger than women of northern states, but while young they excel all others in vivacity and feminine magnetism. And there is a class of the black type with delicately shaped, small mouth, high narrow nose, large expressive black eyes and a mass of long, wavy black hair, who would be considered beautiful anywhere where a black skin is not a disgrace. Indeed, their black skin seems to heighten their beauty and enhance their charms. They have finely carved figures and are generally strong in body and well sexed. We believe that the dreaded time will come when many more respectable w^hite men will find 288 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION A SWEET, DARK BRIDE. Now, let the right relations be tried. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 289 their affinities among these women, and when such affiliations will be legalized and made re- spectable. And why not? The illicit mixing must be stopped. Is rendering this respectable a greater crime than the present commingling in the dark? It must be a depraved soul indeed who winks at the present illicit mixing, and af- firms it the only possible method to "keep the races separated." Will the South forever cling to the old, debasing traditions? If this be so, then it must finally be swept aside by a tidal wave of progress and a higher ethical standard, that will usher in a new order of things. ALL RACES MELTED TOGETHER HERE. — There are other times, other peoples and other conditions, as the world moves on into other ages. Lord Rosebery said in a speech be- fore the Philosophical Institution in Edin- burgh, Scotland, some time ago: "The United States is a great crucible in which the metals of every race and nation under the sun are being melted together. Will this result in the produc- tion of the perfect man of the future or in an entirely new^ type hitherto unknown to anthro- pologists, which will be the subject of study by the older races of the globe? We are in a quasi- paternal position to look forward to the develop- ment of the experiment with almost breathless expectancy." 19 290 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Who can tell? The amalgamation of the races in America may finally produce, scientifi- cally, a new race of men. It is up to the people of this country whether the Afro-American shall be included in the production of this new race of men by a legal intermarriage, or by illicit mixing. Those who believe that this mixing process will cease when the Negro has attained higher educational advantages, do not know the signs of the times. We fully demonstrate elsewhere in this work that the law of dissemination will continue to scatter the races of the world, and finally assimilate all. This little globe will soon prove too small to keep any certain class or race separate and distinct from all others And in these United States, where all classes and races have gathered, it is a gross folly to prohibit in- termarriage in any shape or form. Nature al- ways endeavors to produce her best. Let the state guard against the propagation of the crim- inal, imbecile, insane and idiot, which a wrong social condition has produced, and we shall soon evidence an all-round improvement. When the laws of man do not interfere w^ith the operation of Nature's laws, man will prosper in the pro- duction of better and higher types of physical and mental perfection in the crossing of the races. As an example, wc will say that if the OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 291 white Negroes (those of very little Negro blood) were prohibited from mixing with the black Negro, as many believe they ought to be, Nature's method of dissemination would be de- feated, and rapid degeneracy would result among them. In nine cases out of ten, those of slight Negro taint are not physically adapted to each other in marriage. If they follow the voice or inclination of their inner nature, they invar- iably find their affinity among the intensely black. Nature prompts them to do so, and it is right. Their offspring are, in most cases, superior to either the black or yellow who pro- duce together. The Anglo-Saxon is not the product of a few generations, neither will the colored Caucasian be. The complete assimilation of various races consumes centuries. The black skin will not disappear as rapidly as some may suppose. In the melting together of the races, variety is the greatest charm; and the country which possesses such a variety today is indeed rich in future, possible development. Any country which can boast of but one race of people is in danger of retrogression. It is the melting together of var- ious races that insures future stamina and prog- ress. Germany is dying with cancer, France is facing sterility in her women. Of the 20,000,000 people inhabiting Spain, only about thirty-five 292 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION per cent can read and write; another two and one-half per cent of the population can read without being able to write, but the remaining sixty-two and one-half per cent are absolute ill- iterates. The Afro-American is assured of a greater future than the Spaniard, the French- man or the German at home. His blood will course through millions of people when the old races of Europe have long been absorbed by other rising races of foreign blood. We have made these foregoing remarks to show the reader that the future welfare of our country demands a general reformation of the sex-relations between the races. Nearly fifty years of unlawful cohabiting between the eman- cipated slave and dominant race has caused enough shame and misery to be forever rele- gated to the ignorance and licentiousness of the EVIDENCES OF FORTY-FIVE YEARS ILLICIT MIXING.— There are many people in the South who deny that mixing takes place to any extent, but all evidences point to the con- trary. We have made careful inquiry in many places. In a certain large city we found about one-fourth of the Negro population apparently full-blood, or at least dark; and one-half ranged from brown to a yellow, while one-fourth ranged from vellow to white. We found a large num- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 293 ber of white men rearing families by colored women, from the most influential citizen down to the common resident. Some of these women lived in beautiful houses surrounded by wealth and luxury, their children receiving the best school- ing obtainable in leading white and Negro col- leges. We found these women true to their men, and kind, lovable mothers. On the other hand we saw the evil side of this process of mix- ing — hundreds of girls in their teens with white babies! At the close of the war, we were told, there were very few "bright mulattoes" in the city, the great bulk of Negro population being black. This, we believe, points strongly toward the fact that there must have been an unusual amount of illicit miscegenation since the war. Fifty years hence there will be no black Negroes, as far as this city is concerned, if the present rate of mixing continues. What is the use of deny- ing these things? The evidences of this deplor- able condition are met in every city, hamlet and cross road. We want legal intermarriages, not because we desire them, but because there is no other way out of the present deplorable condition. A judge, who presided over a municipal court in Georgia, believes that the man who mixes ought to be hung and the woman put in prison for life. Supposing the South undertook to establish 294 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION such a barbarous law, would that prevent mis- cegenation? Never. When a doctor is called in to treat a sick man, if he is a wise, up-to-date physician, he will say: "I will assist Nature all 1 can and let her run her course, and he will come out all right ; if not, God alone can save. To give him drastic medicine — powerful poison — may kill him and I would be the cause of his death." A state, like a wise physician, must let Nature run her course, applying such remedies (laws) as may best eliminate the wrongs of so- ciety, and bring about harmony, purity and peace. If the state meddles with the inherent rights of the subject, in the destruction of his peace and happiness, making unlawful that which he considers essential to his individual well-being, causing him to commit crime in ob- taining his end, then the state is administering powerful poisons which may kill the body pol- itic and cause anarchy and death to reign. In the above argument we do not mean to con- vey the idea that we would sanction or encour- age the black brute, or for that matter the white one, to obtain any legal sexual relation with a white or colored woman. We do not believe in the propagation of brutes in human form, white or black. We believe in a sanctified sexual relation, for the purpose of procreation only. Any other OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 295 sexual relation is prostitution, and the state ought to punish this crime and protect society against it. But we believe it is the basest outrage for any state in the Union to prohibit any respect- able man and woman of any two races in it to unite in legal marriage, classing them with the lewd and vicious, causing social ostracism and a legal persecution that tends to debasement and criminality. We believe this country would be far better off without any marriage laws than to have pernicious ones that encourage crime. The American people, who ought to be the most democratic on earth, are the narrowest, most selfish, unreasonable creatures of any civ- ilized beings in the world today. They are more exclusive and prejudiced than were the ancient Hebrews against foreign races, yet they cross-breed more extensively! CANNOT PREVENT LOVE BUT WOULD NOT ADVISE MARRL^GE.— We refer to Miss Ovington, a white woman of the Negro settlement work in New York, as re- ported by an interviewer after the famous dinner for whites and blacks at the Cosmopolitan Club, which was so extensively discussed in the south- ern newspapers in 1908. She was asked: "Do you believe in intermarriage of the whites and blacks?" "No," she said, "I do not believe in the marriage of blacks and whites. I do not go 296 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION that far. But I do advocate the freest mingling of the races. There is no reason why white per- sons should not meet cultured Negro men and women on terms of absolute equality. How can you better arrive at a solution of the Negro problem than by consultation and co-operation with the intelligent blacks? "But I would not hesitate to accept an invita- tion to dine with a Negro, just as I would not hesitate to meet with a Japanese, although I think marriage with a Japanese is as physically bad as with a Negro." "So if a young Negro met and fell in love with a white girl of the tenement you would not advocate their mariage?" was asked. "No, it would not be 'judicious,' " was her answer. If Miss Ovington believes it is not judicious for a colored man and white girl, who love each other, to marry, what does she mean? Is she, a northern woman, a believer in the custom of illicit mixing prevalent in the South? Must they live together out of wedlock? Is that her idea? Or does she advocate the barbarous method of stifling the affections, the blighting of two lives, the tearing apart of two souls, just because there is a difference in the color of their skin? Miss Ovington does not know the up-to-date, OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 297 i> .. ■ .-. ^■■■■■■- .f ^.'■' ■fp i .■^■Ayy.-y^ i Children born to Caucasian motffers and Negro fatliers in Alabama. Notice the cranium capacity of the boy baby. 298 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION independent woman, who will have her own way in the choice of her affinity and husband, be he a Negro, Chinaman, Japanese or English nobleman. The very idea of depriving the new American woman of the right to choose, whom she intui- tively knows is, the man she wants! The Jap has been debarred from this country — there are influences at work which try to ex- clude him entirely — yet within the last few years there have been more intermarriages be- tween white American women and the "dear lit- tle yellow man" than ever before. Among many are Dorothy Russell, the daughter of Lillian Russell, the prima dona, who astonished her friends by marrying a wealthy Japanese, for- merly of New York. More recently Miss Helen Gladys Emery, the accomplished daughter ot Archbishop Emery, traveled a thousand miles to marry a middle class Japanese, a former servant of her father's house. California prohibits in- termarriage with Japanese, but she found the usual way in going to another state more Amer- ican. We have not space to give further illus- trations. Newspapers report many cases through- out the country. SHOULD BE NO ADAHXTURE OF RACIAL STOCK.— Now comes to the front the retired President Eliot, of Harvard Uni- OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 299 versity, declaring at Montgomery, Alabama, while traveling through the South, that "there should be no admixture of racial stock"— and that in the face of the fact that the races have mixed throughout all the history of the world and that he himself is the product of such admix- ture. He further is reported to have said: "I believe, for example, that the Irish should not intermarry with the American of English de- scent (they are already mixed); that the Ger- mans should not marry the Italians, that the Jews should not marry the French. The ex- perience of civilization shows that racial stocks are never mixed with profit, and that such un- ions do not bring forth the best and strongest children." If this statement were true then the Anglo-Saxon must be a very unprofitable nation of imbeciles, for any small schoolboy can tell Dr. Ehot out of what material the Anglo-Saxon race is built. At one time, so history says, the Romans found an unmixed savage race in Great Britain, of such a low, degraded order that they thought such poor stock would never make de- cent slaves. Out of that degraded human ani- mal the present proud, dominant Anglo-Saxon evolved by the admixture of various foreign blood, VIZ., Roman, German, Dane, etc. Dr. Eliot says further: "There is no reason however, why the races cannot live together,' 300 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION side by side, in perfect peace and unity. In the case of the Negroes and the whites, the races should be kept apart in every respect. The South has a wise policy/' How little this gen- tleman knows about the South and her policy, or the tendencies of the races thereof? It is a beautiful theory — the various races in America living side by side in sweet harmony, yet — "be kept apart in every respect." Angels might be induced to live thus — man never. When Eve offered the forbidden fruit to Adam, "He did eat." Nature ordained it so, God willed it, man obeyed. If the pink-skinned, so-called white race, considers it a crime in the South to pass intermarriage laws for a particular class of white and colored people, the present custom of illicit mixing is a far greater crime. Rather than to continue this crime, the lesser one of a legal union would prove a virtue that the world of today and the future generations of this embittered Southland would applaud. ^ This "hair-splitting," race dividing business is often ridiculous to behold. Many times the conductors on the street cars and trains must ask the passengers, "Are you white or colored?" Sometimes a dark man, who goes out walking with a white colored woman, is arrested for walking with a white woman. He is held in prison until it is proven, beyond all doubt, that OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 301 she has tvvo and one-half drops of Negro blood in her veins and is a "nigger." This "mixed race stock" can intermarry with the blackest Negro man or woman in the South, but with the pure blood whites (?) this stock must only "mix in the dark." The long haired Mississippian contends that "the Negro is bent on raping white women, be- cause he wants social equality." This state- ment is not a true one. He has in his own race a wide range of color, from the whitest to the blackest woman, and has no urgent desire to marry a full Caucasian woman. Where it is necessary to resort to this hair- splitting race division, is it possible, as Dr. Eliot says, that the races "be kept apart in every re-. spect?" THE MEN WHO ARE BENT ON MIX- ING. — It is not the northern yankee who feels called upon to mix with the colored races. The French have mixed more with the Indians of the northern states, Gulf coast and Canada, than all other races put together. The yankee has mixed extensively with the Irish, German, Scotch and others, whose parents came to the United States within the last hundred years. The progeny of the New England yankee and the German is the finest stock in America. It has the shrewd char- acteristics of the yankee and the plodding, thrifty, saving of the German. 302 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION In the southern states there has been very little admixture of blood for several hundred years, save with the Negro and Indian. Only within recent years, since migration from the northern states has become general, has the mixing pro- cess with foreign Caucasian blood commenced. Because of the mixing with the Negro for so many generations, many southern men have in- herited an irresistible desire for illicit sexual connection with the Negress, or with any other dark race, such as the Indian. To illustrate this point we will recite just one case here. A South Carolinian went to Mon- tana to make his home. He missed the Negro there, but found the Indian. He at once pro- ceeded to make love to a pretty Indian maiden, named Mary La Brecka, of the Blackfoot In- dians. She would not consent to the southern method of illicit union he was accustomed to with the Negress. He was determined to have her so he married her. Then his trouble began, for he had a white wife in another place who soon discovered his exploits. He w^as arrested and prosecuted for bigamy. His white wife pro- cured a divorce, and besides a fine and imprison- ment he was sentenced by the judge to ''remarry the Indian woman." He did this without a protest. This example of the northwest gives us a clear OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 303 idea of what the southern states might accom- plish in the way of a moral uplift, if the same laws were here in force and faithfully applied, as did Judge Hunt of Montana. Supposing this little Indian maiden had been a resident of South Carolina, and had been se- duced by a white rascal as thousands of colored maidens are every year in that and all the other southern states, what would have been the re- sults? She would have been an outcast, blighted, disgraced, brokenhearted being, with a white baby in her arms, that is all. No protection by law, no redress, nothing, nothing. The law of that state says the colored and white races must not marry, as it does in the other un-American states of our free ( ?) country. The weak, inno- cent, defenseless may suffer— that's nothing. We must preserve the integrity of our race at any cost. COMPELLED TO ADVOCATE LEGAL TNTERMARRL-\GE.-As a careful student of man, and as a scientist without prejudice we are compelled to advocate, as the lesser evil, legal intermarriage. On the other hand all his- tory testifies that the mixed races of the world have been the foremost, and that Nature com- pels mixing for evolutionary growth; that the Anglo-Saxon is but one example in many of such a growth, evolved out of one of the most unprom- 304 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ising savage races as its foundation. Again, an\r one who has investigated the conditions in the South, and has found, many times, the love, fidel- ity and absolute devotion between the good men and women of the races, cannot, with a heart for love of liberty and justice, advocate a system or uphold a law that will tear asunder hearts and families and homes that God Almighty has es- tablished and blessed. If the South is today pursuing a just policy, its crop of illicit births testify that it is founded on hell! To continue to advocate the South's policy of separation in the day and mixing in the dark, will in time en- tirely obliterate every atom of moral sense in both races, and both will sink into hopeless de- pravity. If a colored woman is good enough to co- habit with, she is good enough to become the lawful wife of the white man. He must marry her as does the colored man his white wife in the North. THE TRUE STATE OF THE COL- ORED WOMAN.— Our object here is to lay before the reader the true state many colored women are in today, and the conditions under which they are forced to live. We are conscious of the fact that the t^vo races are mixing more today than ever before. The race of mulattoes is increasing. And while n o C G n i^ 70 in d OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 305 this is true the same custom which existed dur- ing slavery times still prevails, and the colored woman is a slave to it. With all her wisdom, refinement and intelligence acquired during the past forty-five years, she has not yet exercised herself, with few exceptions, in the demand of a legal union with her paramour of another color. She is still content to remain the tool of the passions of more than twenty-five per cent of the white men of the South, with whom she has criminal sexual connections. She is still con- tent to be branded before the civilized world as the mother of a race of bastards. She has all the attributes which go to make an ideal wife and mother, but she has not the moral stamina to make one under the present terrible adverse con- ditions. These conditions have so depleted her moral sense of decency that she has only a flick- ering idea of sexual purity. Is not our civiliza- tion to blame, that has made her what she is? She is religious— very religious, but all her religious exercises and exaltations do not incul- cate in her the necessity of moral purity, which should prevent her from indulging sexual con- nections with more than one man, or only with the colored or white man she loves. This is true with many exceptions of the higher, respon- sible class. When some leading men and women of the 306 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION races are asked to give their opinion as to the best method that might be pursued to rid the races of this degrading condition which will finally land both into utter ruin, the majority exclaim — "Why!" Then they will explain to you that they do not advocate social equality, or miscegenation, or amalgamation, or any other thing that will in any way interfere with the present debasing practices between them. There is a fearful spirit manifested here that does not become the men and women who have proven themselves heroic along other lines of endeavor. Something must be done. Here is the gist of all the blighting curse en- gendered: Aside from this strange union and sexual satisfaction the colored woman will love the white man, and the white man the colored woman; but this fact must be carefully hid by her in most cases as well as by him. Both thus necessarily harbor a sneaking sense of watchful- ness and cunning, and the children born under this state of mind generally inherit the same sneaking, sexual craving; thus increasing the present growing class of born reprobates. And it does not matter whether her lover be the father of her children, or whether he be white or black, the same results will follow. A white man who keeps company with a colored woman OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 307 while raising a family with his white ^ife, is liable to curse his white children likewise. Loose marriage relations in both races are more liable to result in poor offspring than oth- erwise. Under these conditions the hand that rocks the cradle damns a nation! The blight which rests upon the issue of il- licit sexual intercourse between the races can only be removed by a legal intermarriage, or a ren- dering respectable by public consent. And ren- dering this respectable need not embrace social equality. The object to be attained is to liber- ate the colored woman from sexual slavery, as well as the white woman who finds her affinity in the colored race, and thereby produce a better offspring and law abiding citizen for this great republic. No radical racial improvement can take place as long as a sneaking sexual secrecy is main- tained between the races in this country. The white South as well as the black is already steeped in moral depravity because of it. If there were no marriage prohibitions between the races a more natural condition would soon be brought about. An open, legal union, with a natural, modulated separation of the races, with- out any state interference, is the only policy our nation can pursue if growth instead of decay is to be our lot. 308 HOLM'S RACE ASSBIILATION FREDERICK DOUGLASS SAW IT.— Frederick Douglass, that man of clear fore- sight and iron will, saw the day when a firm stand must be taken to prevent utter sexual cor- ruption between the races. He saw that the two races could not forever live together and not amalgamate lawfully. He saw that the custom of illicit mixing of the former slave master with his female chattels could not forever be endured i>y a free, refined, educated colored womanhood. He took the step, he set the example, though he was mocked, derided and met with a storm of protests by influential members of his race. He stepped out like a man and married the white woman who was willing to love him and marry him. Who has ever thought him a coward? The coward belongs to the other class — the sneaking white man who slips into the home of his colored woman after dark and out before daylight, and the colored woman who loves him but does not insist on their legal union. If she would follow the example of the little Indian girl referred to above, he would travel a thou- sand miles with her in order to make her his legal wife in a free state, or he would let her alone. As long as the colored woman is considered so cheap, so common, the men of her own race as well as white men will fool with her and seek OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 309 her degradation, and consider her common property, in other words, a sexual slave. We care little for the adverse opinions of black men or white men, or of mixed men jus- tice, that's what we want, what we demand. We stand for the moral uplift of the colored woman- hood, the white manhood — their freedom from the cursed custom of illicit mixing of slavery times! The laws must be so changed that there is no occasion for illicit mixing. And when a colored man is found in the society of a white woman, with her consent, there shall be no lynch- ing, neither prosecution, but marriage. You may call this social equality, you may call it an outrage to the white race— especially the white woman; but it is neither! It is noth- ing but justice— justice in an equal sexual op- portunity and protection between the races, as they live and move and have their being to- gether in this great Southland and every other part of our union. INTERMARRIAGE PROHIBITIONS ARE DEGRADING.— We have seen in the foregoing that intermarriage prohibitions are absolutely degrading between the races in this country. First, that such prohibitions cannot be enforced; secondly, that such prohibitions are contrary to human nature, reason and jus- tice. It is contended by a certain class of south- 310 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION erners that if no marriage prohibitions did exist in the South, the Negro would force his way into the parlor of the white man and insist in keeping company with his daughter. What a silly argument. In the crowded Negro centers of many northern cities where marriage is not forbidden, the same kind of Negro lives that exists in the South, and the white man has never found cause for such a com- plaint. No, it is not that. It is the political boss, the law-maker, the feudal lord of the South, who lives in illicit relationship with Negro women, who wants to keep her thus in ignorance as his sexual slave, who is the bitterest opponent of legal intermarriage. The better class of men of means who have colored wives would wel- come nothing more ferventlv than a law that would legalize their offspring and make respect- able their pretty little waives and family. We could recite a number of cases where these men came in conflict with this demagogue, because they insisted on living as respectable and openly as possible with their colored wives and familv. THE COLORED MAN WOULD RE- CEIVE SOCIAL JUSTICE.— With the over- throw of this political gang that rules the South the colored man would receive social justice. When a bad white woman accuses him wrong- fully, he would then not be thrust into prison UR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 311 without a fair trial. A number of such cases have come under our observation. The colored man is by no means always guilty when accused by a white woman. \A'e will give a few ex- amples to show the reader why. A southern white woman had kept company with a Negro man for more than two years. She one day de- manded money of him which he could not sup- ply just at the time. She got him in a compromis- ing position with herself, when she suddenly gave a fierce alarm. He was caught, narrowly escaped lynching, was prosecuted and sent to the coal mines for life. At this writing there is a colored man in an Alabama prison who came to grief in nearly the same manner. Seemingly a northern woman, who had not been long in the city, became acquainted with this man and en- couraged him. At various times he sent her flowers and fruit, etc., until one day a note from him fell into the hands of the woman with whom she was boarding. This woman gave the note to her husband who made inquiry of the woman boarder. When she saw that she was about to be exposed she denied any friendship with the Negro, and said it was very impudent of him, etc. The man, in true southern chivalry, ad- vised her to notify the police. This she did, and now her dark lover is in prison. He produced evidence of their intimacy in the shape of several 312 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ■■ 1 r ,-r m f -fe. PRETTY COLORED CAUCASIAN WOMEN FROM THE GULF. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 313 check stubs, which were made out to her, and the checks of which she had cashed in a city bank. But all evidence he might produce will undoubtedly avail him nothing. But there are places in the far South where sentiment is stronger than the law . We have knowledge of a case in Tampa, Florida. A white woman got her Negro man into trouble of a like nature, but the colored man proved by white and colored witnesses that she had lived with him ten years. She was ordered out of town and he was released from prison. In some parts of Florida intermar- riage is very common, and the existing law op- posing it is a dead letter. Cubans and others ar- rive in that state with black wives, and many others also have colored wives and families. In relating the above cases we do not attempt to prove that all white women will deny their relationship w^ith colored men, for many good and brave white women do not. A case came to our notice not long since, where a white woman arrived in a southern town with her col- ored husband. As soon as they were discovered he was thrown into prison by the brave (?) offi- cer of the law, who never recognizes a colored woman while the sun shines. She fought for her swarthy husband like a little heroine she was. She demanded of the judge to "let her husband go;" that he was hers, and that they had no right 314 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION to imprison or detain him. She produced their marriage certificate and the fact that they were legally married in a free state and were not slaves. Finally the court ruled that the woman was of a very loiu, degraded character, and that the "ni^ser'' should be released and both be compelled to leave within twenty-four hours. A very amusing case is related of a bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. He had a very fair w^ife, in fact so fair that an expert could not tell that she was colored. While holding conference in a Mississippi town he was arrested for being with a white woman. It was necessary for them to produce proof from theiF native town that she was there knoivn as colored. Now, it is evident that all this silly persecu- tion of the colored man with regard to the white woman would cease, just as soon as the dominat- ing set of political vagabonds in the South is cast out of office, and, if possible out of the country. The two races cannot live in peace and happi- ness together as long as this set of race hating, bulldozing: anarchists rule the South. We have reasons to believe that their days are numbered. There is a hand writing on the wall. OUR MARRIAGE LAWS ARE OUT- RAGEOUS. — There is no country on earth to- day, that makes any pretense at civilization or the social regulation of its citizens, that has as OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 315 varied and conflicting a set of marriage laws as have these United States, A foreigner coming to our country and looking over our marriage statutes in the various states for the first time, must, indeed, feel that he is beholding a "crazy- quilt" in law-making that must ever disgrace the f ramers of them in the eyes of our future, great, mixed population. In some states, like Illi- nois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, etc., there are no race prohibitions. In others, like Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and all the other southern and some western states, marriage between Negroes and whites is prohibited. Some of them have prohibitions between Indians and whites and Mongolians and whites. California is one of the states prohibiting marriage between whites and Negroes, Mongolians and mulattoes. Other states, like Arizona, have prohibitions between Indians and whites or Chinese and whites. Yet another state, like Oklahoma, encourages mar- riage between Indians and whites, while with even the refined Negro it is considered a disgrace and unlawful. In some states where marriage with the African descent or Indian is prohibited, there are few Negroes or Indians. For instance, Maine has an Indian population of less than 700, but prohibits marriage with them, while Okla- homa has the largest in the United States (75,- 000) and endeavors to amalgamate them. 316 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATIOM j_ \ ^ , < 1 vT. C. Holmes PRUTTY FRENCH CREOLE LADIES. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 317 iVgain, Nevada has less than 200 Afro-Amer- icans, but has an intermarriage prohibition, while Pennsylvania, with more than 175,000, New York, with more than 100,000, Ohio, with more than 100,000, Illinois with more than 100,- 000, have no marriage prohibitions. The very fact that the law in some states says that there shall be no marriage between the Cau- casian and the mulatto, is a confession that the mulatto actually exists. Furthermore, the law, by making this restriction on the one hand, silently grants the existence of illicit mixing on the other; or, perhaps more correctly, is too im- potent to cope with it. The same class of Indians and Negroes may be found in all the states and also the same class of whites, and yet there exists this difference in our marriage laws of the various states. This goes to show that no state can justly and successfully legislate on matters pertaining to the affairs of the heart of its sane and law-abiding citizens — whom they shall or shall not marry — and that there should be no statute in any state prohibiting intermarriage, and thereby encour- aging crime. Our marriage laws are an outrage to our civ- ilization. WHERE INDIANS AND WHITES MARRY. — We take the following interesting 318 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION reading from a southern newspaper, "The Me- ridian Dispatch," a strong Mississippi daily, which proves the fact that the southern people are interested in a question which, even this early day, confronts them and demands attention throughout the South. This article says: "While the new State of Oklahoma is more southern than western, and while the Negro is accorded no social equality, the Indian, if he be educated and possessed of property, is on an equal footing with the whites. Oklahoma boasts of thousands of prosperous American cit- izens who trace their ancestry on one or both sides to the aborigines. "For example, an Indian is attorney for one of the biggest western railroads, is a graduate of an eastern university and a man of influence in the state. His wife, a charming white woman, is as proud of her husband's red ancestry as is many a New Yorker of descent from the De Lanceys or Livingstones. "No social stigma attaches to the intermar- riage of w^hites and Indians, at least when the latter are of the better class. An illustration of this state of afifairs was the experience of a New York woman traveling last winter in Oklahoma. "On my way from Muskogee to a near-by ciry," she said, "I met in the Pullman car an intelligent, well-appearing young white woman OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 319 who chatted with me about the people. I dis- played my tenderfoot ignorance by asking her if many Indians in the state were civilized. "My neighbor smiled at me indulgently, and answered: "Oh, yes, many of our finest men are Indians, or part Indian. My husband," she added, holding her head a little higher, "is a member of the Chickasaw nation." "My husband's father," she went on to ex- plain, "was a white man, a physician. He sent his son to Yale, and when he died he left a good property in M . My own people were early comers to Oklahoma, and I have lived here all my life. My husband's mother, a full-blooded Chickasaw, is still living, and owns one of the handsomest homes in M . She has a great many Indian relics, of which we are very proud. I suppose you know that the two prin- cipal tribes here are the Choctaw and the Chick- asaw. Every member of these tribes has land apportioned to him by the government. My lit- tle daughter, five years old, as a member of the Chickasaw nation, has land which brings her an income of $750 a year. My husband and I are putting this money in the bank to her account, and when she is old enough it will be sufficient to send her to an eastern college. My husband also has holdings in the Chickasaw lands, and the law gives me, as an 'intermarried citizen,' an equal amount." 320 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Dr. Booker T. Washington says of his visit to Oklahoma: "It was in the fall that I spent a week in Oklahoma. During the course of my visit I had an opportunity for the first time to see the three races — the Negro, the Indian, and the white man — living side by side, each in suf- ficient numbers to make their influence felt in the community of which they were a part, and in the territory as a whole. It was not my first acquaintance with the Indian. During the last years of my stay at Hampton Institute I had charge of the Indian students there, and had come to have a high respect both for their char- acter and intelligence, so that I was particularly interested to see them in their own country, where they still preserved to some extent their native institutions. I was all the more impressed, on that acount, with the fact that in the cities that I visited I rarely caught sight of a genuine native Indian. When I inquired, as I frequently did, for the 'natives,' it almost invariably hap- pened that I was introduced, not to an Indian, but to a Negro. During my visit to the city of Muskogee I stopped at the home of one of the prominent 'natives' of the Creek Nation, the Hon. C. W. Sango, superintendent of the Tulla- hasse Mission. But he was a Negro. . The Negroes who are known in that locality as "na- tives" are the descendents of slaves that the In- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 321 dians brought with them from Alabama and Mississippi, when they migrated to this territory about the middle of the last century. I was in- troduced later to one or two other 'natives' who were not Negroes, but neither were they, as far as my observation went, Indians. They were, on the contrary, white men. 'But where,' I asked at length, 'arc the Indians?' " "Oh! the Indians," was the reply, "they have gone" — with a wave of the hand in the direction of the horizon — "they have gone back!" * * * * "One cannot escape the impression, in traveling through Indian Territory, that the In- dians, who own practically all the lands, and until recently had the local government largely in their hands, are to a very large extent regarded by the white settlers, who are rapidly filling up the country, as almost a negligible quantity To such an extent is this true that the constitution of Oklahoma, as I understand it, takes no account of the Indians in drawing its distinctions among the races. For the constitution there exists only the Negro and the white man. The reason seems to be that the Indians have either receded — "gone back," as the saying in that region is — on the advance of the w^hite race, or they have intermarried w^ith and become absorbed with it. Indeed, so rapidly has this intermarriage of the two races gone on, and so great has been the de- 21 322 flOLACS RACE ASSIMILATION PRETTY BROWN AND YELLOW LADIES. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 323 mand for Indian wives, that in some of the na- tions, I was informed, the price of marriage li- cense has gone as high as $i,ooo." It will be readily seen by our readers that this rapid amalgamating process between the white and red races is not because of special worth or superior physical beauty, but because of a pecuniary consideration on the white man's part in most cases. Many white men became "squaw men" in Indian Territory years ago, not because she was pretty, civilized, intelligent, or refined, but because she possessed "something substantial worth looking after." While the full-blooded Indian woman is rarely attractive, she has al- ways made a very faithful and dutiful wife and mother to the white man, and her children by him have nearly always possessed superior phys- ical beauty. Some of the best looking women in Oklahoma have Indian blood in their veins, and many men now prefer these to a pure-blooded white woman, and vice versa. But, while we say this, let the reader remember that the woman of Negro descent, in Oklahoma and elsewhere in the South, in whose veins often flows the blood of both the white and red races, if she be edu- cated, has the most charming and magnetic per- sonality of any woman on the American conti- nent. If she were placed in the same -position as the Indian woman of Oklahoma occupies^ 324 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION TWO COLORED BEAUTIES OF THE FAR SOUTH. "When the wind blows cold." OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 325 white men in every station in life would take her as a legal wife. And the same is true of the col- ored men. We have never heard a white woman say that an Indian man possessed any degree of physical beauty, or, in other words, a pleasing physiognomy, while many cultured Negro men are pronounced handsome by the best feminine judges in such matters. If the Negro did not occupy such an unfavor- able political position in this country, and the stigma of his former bondage were removed, there would be little objections by the law-mak- ers to legal intermarriage with the refined and educated class of African blood. And, as we have already said, there is a better class of white men in the South who w^ould fervently welcome a legal union between the races in these states, in spite of all prejudice, and forever remove the degrading conditions as they now are. From these men we shall undoubtedly hear in some future day. A POLITICAL CHANGE MEANS SO- CIAL ELEVATION AND SALVATION. — Right here we want our readers to bear in mind that a political change in the South is a necessity, before social elevation and salvation is possible in the white as well as the black race. As long as a set of self-centered men can obtain and maintain political life in the South, by pit- 326 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ting one race against the other, so long will the masses of both races "go begging." The best interest of both races in the South is identical. As soon as the better class of both races discover this fact they will unite and obtain control of the South. As soon as this control has been obtained, the marriage laws now on the statute books of the southern states will be so changed that the social relations between the races will become elevating, tending to a pure home life and a legal union between the sexes of the races. And here we touch upon one more thought, and we are done: LOVE BETWEEN THE SEXES OF THE RACES IS CONDUCIVE TO HOME- LIFE. — The love which exists between the men and women of the two races in thousands of in- stances is conducive to pure home-life, good morals and splendid citizenship, if it were legal- ized and made respectable, as In the case of the Indians and whites in Oklahoma. Love, though elevating and purifying in its attributes under natural conditions, may be dragged in the mire and be made disreputable between the sanest and most respectable citi- zens of two races, when the laws oppose and customs forbid. A white woman, though pure and good, is pronounced low and de- graded when she unites in love and marriage OR THE FADING LEOP.ARD'S SPOTS 327 with a colored man. A white man, though he may keep company w^ith a colored woman as a matter of course, is ostracized by society if he claims her as his legal wife. She even is pro- nounced low and degraded by her own race, though she has never known a man but him. The Negro's mind is warped in this by the south- ern white man as in many other respects. His narrowness and stupid race pride cause him to rather degrade the womanhood of his race than to champion her rights as a woman among women. The day will come when the colored women, who now step out boldly and proclaim their love for and fidelity to white men, will be revered by the race as champions of liberty and mothers of justice. Prof. O. S. Fowler, our revered teacher, has long since proclaimed this fundamental law of love as overruling all human law: "When God's 'higher law' conflicts with man's lower, the higher should annul and overrule the lower. His laws alone are right, and create right. Human law cannot make that right which His natural law interdicts; nor that wrong which Divine law sanctions; for all hu- man laws derive their obligability from their being rescripts of the Divine. Natural law en- acts that physical and mental love go hand in hand together. The injuries and agonies of love 328 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION interrupted or disappointed are caused solely by violating this law; and can arrest only thus: — STOP LOVING, OR ELSE COHABIT AND PROCREATE TOGETHER." The peculiar attractiveness between the races, who will forever live side by side, will become more and more aggravated as the Afro-Ameri- can moves upward into the higher realms of mental and moral attainments; and the two races will not— "STOP LOVING," nor yet stop pro- creating together. Intellectual and moral at- tainments will not stop this loving and procreat- ing, but is bound to legalize it. Men and women of enlightenment and civilization, the world over, hate slavery in this age of tremendous evo- lutions, especially that kind of slavery which prescribes to them — strong, sane, intelligent citi- zens — what kind of sexual life-mates they shall or shall not select for their individual happiness and wellbeing. The race question is not and never will be solved, until legal intermarriage can take place in all the states without a shadow of prejudice or social ostracism. This fact is well illustrated in the following newspaper clipping from the New Orleans Picayune. Such places as here referred to have never experienced mob violence or lynchings, but nearly always possessed the sweetest harmony and good fellowship between the races. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 329 rT-\ TlD/^r^DT?CC 330 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION "WHY THE LAW IS POWERLESS.— Where White Swear They are Black, Convic- tion is Impossible. 'She's my wife. We have lived together thirty-eight years. The law can- not estrange us.' Thus spoke Joseph Lawrence, a white farmer, in the second criminal court at New Orleans, La., recently, while he was wait- ing trial on the charge of marrying a colored woman. Through the arrest of LawTence and his colored wife the police discovered a hard situation. All around Lee Station the white farmers and fishermen and other classes have intermarried with colored people and reared large families, regardless of the law against such. A number of arrests have been made, but it has been impossible to convict one for the reason that the white parties all went on the stand and swore they were colored. Just what the prose- cuting attorney can do remains to be seen." It remains to be seen, as the Picayune says, what the law can do with men and women of the two races who will "not stop loving" or procre- ating together. This community, as many others in the South, shows that love between the sexes of the races is conducive to harmony, good home-life, good citizenship, etc., when it is allowed to culminate in legal intermarriage, but that it, on the other hand, degrades and brutal- izes when the offending parties are continually OR TFIE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 331 dragged into court and subjected to the sense- less prejudice of the dominating class, or when this dominating class is allowed, by the old cus- tom of the South, to take the advantage of the defenseless colored women. The Martin case, which has recently gone the rounds in the newspapers, is but a fair example. The Martins are reported to be rich planters who live near Crenshaw, Mississippi. The Oliver girl, who is a beautiful octoroon, had been living at the Martin household for six months. She went there as a servant, but young Martin took her out of the chambers, gowned her in costly clothes and openly rode about the neighborhood with her. Angry and heart- broken at the ruin of her beautiful daughter, Mrs. Oliver, in whose veins ran the blood of a chivalrous white race, went to the Martin house in company with another daughter and de- manded that her daughter return with her. Young Martin heard the demands of the women from his room, he walked out to the gallery with a gun and fired four shots into the women, who fell dead. There is nothing extraordinary about this case. Such cases are an everyday occur- rence in this country. Had it not been for the killing of the two women connected with the case, the Oliver girl would have remained the mistress of Arthur Martin as long as she would 332 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION have pleased him, but no legal union would have been possible, even had they both desired it. We have related the above cases, because we wish our readers to compare the two systems — the Lee Station system and the Martin system — and then determine which is the most civilized,, ethical and Christian. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 333 CHAPTER XV woman's place and POWER A PERFECT POSTERITY SHOULD BE THE AIM. — In this age of reason and en- lightenment man cannot afford to drift on in primitive customs and laws. It is now general- ly conceded that man is here for a definite pur- pose, viz., the betterment of his kind, the im- provement of his material environments, and lastly, but not least, the possible acquisition of immortality. These are the fundamental prin- ciples upon which a true Christian civilization rests. First, and above all, he must, this day, in the light of reason, consider his kind. An edu- cator has recently said that he would rather be a hog than a man at the present time, in this country, as the government paid more attention to the hog, its diseases, cultivation, care, etc., than to man. A well-bred pig is of more con- sequence to the government than a well-bred babe. A thoroughbred, or rather, perfect babe is not even dreamed of, notwithstanding the fact that self-improvement or the betterment of the human race, is the highest duty of man and the governments of men. The question under dis- cussion calls for at least a little space here, and some thought on the subject of proper marriage. 334 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION There is really very little attention oaid to the proper mating of the sexes by the young men and women who contemplate marriage, with a view of becoming the parents of the best bred children obtainable. Although the highest duty of man, this is sadly ignored by nearly all. Young men and women come together in a hap- hazard way, for most any purpose save the true one. There is as little scientific judgment and reason used by most, in this regard, as by the beasts in the field who mate and have their young as nature prompts them to do. CHILDREN A NECESSARY EVIL.— All for better conveniences, social, financial rea- sons, fleeting passions, all kinds of make-beliefs, nothing more. Children? — they are only a nec- essary evil if they come, and by all means let them be only a few and far between if they can- not be entirely avoided. It is considered ill-bred for refined white women to be the proud pos- sessors of eight or ten strong, healthy, vigorous little animals, growing up into fine men and women. - Statistics show that the number of children of school age have decreased within the last few years in our native state, Wisconsin, confirming the danger of race suicide, notwithstanding the encouragement given by ex-President Roosevelt to the contrary. That there will be no children OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 335 left if the present race suicide tendencies con- tinue during the next century throughout the civihzed world, was the prediction made by Prof. Walter P. Wilcox, before a class in sani- tary science and public health, at Cornell uni- versity. Wilcox does not accept the theory that the advance in civilization, or the spread of dis- ease, is responsible for the decrea.se in the birth rate. He said: "The true reason for the fall ,n the birth rate IS that in modern times, mainly in the last half century, births and the b.rth rate have come under the control of the human will and choice in a sense and to a degree never before true 1 his power to control the increase has been used and IS being used today far too exclusively with reference to private economic advantage, and far too little with due consideration to social welfare and progress." SINGLE BLESSEDNESS.-What? Let the inferior take your place while you, who are so well fitted to become mothers, parade in sin- gle blessedness? You have not been asked .^ Pick out the best man you can find and ask him. Why not? Is It a disgrace to obey God and denounce a bar- barous custom? Never. All creation shouts and sings, Nature claps its hands m glee, angels proclaim the glad tidings 336 HOLiMS RACE ASSIMILATION of great joy, for, behold, the highest created be- ing has arrived — a babe! Every knee bows before maternity, but not one before enforced sterility or single blessed- ness — not one. You may desire no homage, many do. WOMEN WILL PROPOSE.— Let us not forget that the social custom which still pre- vails, which gives the "lord of creation" the sole right to propose, has shipwrecked many a sweet soul of strong maternal desires, well fitted to ful- fill their rightful mission, but helpless and powerless to do so. Condemn these? God for- bid. We feel for them and are their best friends. As long as men are the sole proposers and women the sole disposers, divorce courts will continue to grow fat. The time is at hand when women will have a social right to propose, to choose and ask the men of their choice to become their life-mates and the fathers of their children. This right belongs to her by the highest law. She is the mother of the most perfect created being — the likeness of God. She must obey the command of her Creator and bring forth children. She cannot, in the light of this divine law, rely upon the man of the present age, under existing social customs, to come to her and ask her to be his mate, just when she is in her best physical and OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 337 mental condition. If he come, he may be either too soon or too late in her life. There was a time when all women were married at an early age (in Eastern countries this custom still prevails), and when single women were the rare exceptions. But in such a crude state of society women were often mere chattels; but conditions have so changed in America and Europe that it should no longer be immodest, but entirely chaste and honorable for any nice, right-think- ing up-to-date young woman, white or colored, to propose. Should he refuse, what then? She can, with propriety, soothe her wounded heart and try once more, and perchance she may find one who can love her better and be a better father to her children. We are pleased to know that some prominent men and women have al- ready taken in hand this "proposal reform," and will undoubtedly succeed, in due time, to intro- duce this very desirable as well as righteous custom. Mrs. Harriet J. Wood, a New York lawyer, who is an advocate of this reform says: "Since the object to be attained is the perfection of the human race, mothers should choose the fathers of their children." We would add that we look for no mentally and physically perfect children until this is done, and done with a full knowledge of scientific 22 338 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION adaptation and the natural, intuitive sense of woman. "There is no doubt that the selection of the husband should really rest with the woman," says Dr. Denslow Lewis. "In the animal world it is invariably the female that chooses her mate. Only in the human race is the right of selection arbitrarily given to the male. Left to herself, and with no hampering conventions to interfere, the woman would be the most discriminating chooser. With all sorts of men to select from she would be in no hurry to mate with the first little man that popped the question. Women love physical perfection. With her right to select unquestioned, a woman would pick out the man of her own physical ideal, woo him with all her varied arts and fascinations at her disposal, and nine times out of ten get him. Physically the race would be greatly benefitted. There are many thousands of women in this country who have married men just because they have been asked and who now live the lives of housekeeping drudges, bound to the so-called home only by the stern dictates of duty." "The right of man alone to put the all-im- portant question of her life to the woman he selects," says James Grant, "has come into fashion only with the advent of civilization, which is, as we know, but a relative term." OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 33» "The exclusive right of proposing marriage did not always belong to the lords of creation, and since it has become his special privilege, men," says Dr. Westermarck, the eminent Ger- man ethnologist, "have deteriorated in physical worth. Even now, among those races which dis- tinguish woman by giving her the right to select the man who is to preserve the species which she is to mother, the finest specimens of physical manhood are to be found. Among primitive races, modern as well as ancient, the right of selecting her mate was always given to the woman." "Primitive societies were intelligent enough," says M. Dromart, "to allow the law of compen- sation to work. They realized that the species could only be preserved in its original excel- lence by allowing the female the right to exer- cise her discretion as to who should be allowed to mate with her. The law of all primitive societies allowed her to choose, and, in the ma- jority of cases, severely penalized the occasional aggressor who forced his attentions upon an un- willing woman. What was the result? A race of perfect men grew into being. All the males in the tribe strove by their accomplishments in feats of strength and endurance to win the at- traction of the women, whose choice was there- fore fixed according to the highest criterion of 340 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Creole; giri-s of the gulf— future leaders in society. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 341 physical manliness. Nowadays, however, it is often the men who are the least athletic, and in most cases the least worthy physically, who show the greatest pretensions, or who devote most time to attracting the attention of the opposite sex. The consequence is that we see undersized and often almost decrepit men mated with women of magnificent physical proportions, all the disparities reappearing, particularly in re- gard to their detrimental aspect in the offspring, which is more often than not unequal and unen- during." WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE WOULD PROVE OF BENEFIT TO MAN.— Esther F. Boland says: "Most persons accept as true the statement by Plato, 'The woman's cause is man's; they rise or sink together, dwarfed or God-like, bond or free,' and suffragists, there- fore, deem it simply necessary to show that woman's cause would be advanced by her en- franchisement since, if this can be proved, it follows that the measure would benefit men. Unfortunately, the cause of woman's rights, so- called, has been largely concerned with woman's wrongs, and in the effort to right these wrongs it has been impossible to avoid a seeming antag- onism towards men. However, w^ith the partial attainment of much which women strove for in the early days, such as the equalization of the 342 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION property rights of husband and wife, the higher education of women, the enlargement of the sphere of their industrial activities, and so on, the movement to obtain enfranchisement has as- sumed a somewhat different aspect. We now more often than otherwise hear the reform urged as a method of securing co-operation between men and women who are working for the moral elevation of society, and as a means of rendering the influence of women in public affairs more effective. It is also claimed that women suf- frage would strengthen the bond between hus- band and wife by adding one more common in- terest, and that it would increase woman's gen- eral intelligence by enlarging her outlook and imposing responsibility in important affairs of government, thus making her a more intelligent companion to her husband. Furthermore, it is held that the removal of the stigma of political disability would strengthen a mother's hold upon her sons, and that she would be better qual- ified to inculcate high standards of public in- tegrity. Suffragists believe that a dispassionate consideration of this question in its present as- spects would lead to the conclusion that al- though designed primarily to confer upon women the power and dignity which attaches to self-government, yet woman suffrage would ac- complish much more than this, and that it is a OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS MS beneficent measure from which right-minded men would be great gainers." THEY WILL SOLVE THE RACE QUESTION. — Women of both races are ad- vancing rapidly at the present time, and are fully alive to all that is for their betterment, and for the highest and best interest of the human race. Mrs. Susa Young Gates, the famous daughter of Brigham Young, says: "It is impossible that any intelligent person should be ignorant of the fact that women of all classes and in every civ- ilized country have become a force in the his- tory of nations. The most progressive are wide awake to the tremendous possibilities for them- selves as a sex and as individuals. But this is not all. Women of every class and color are rubbing the sleep out of their eyes and trying to catch a hint of the glorious color scheme which paints the dawn of this new era for womanhood." The age of frivolousness and butterflyism among them is fast passing away. They are now taking hold of the real, tangible things in their lives. They are fast becoming more indepen- dent, physically and mentally. This is true of the South as well as the North. No where can be found prettier and more robust and healthier white and colored w^omen than in the far South. It is apparent everywhere here that the pale^ 344 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION babied, sickly, incubated white lady of Uncle Tom's Cabin is fast passing away. While the corset evil and other relics of barbarism have not yet disappeared, we are convinced that the laws of health will be better understood and observed as knowledge increases. As the old saying is, "time makes changes." Not only in the physical world is this true, but also in the mental, as regards beliefs and cus- torfis. That which one age finds absolutely re- pugnant is all the rage in the next. We are just giving hints, without examples being necessary, upon the rapid strides women are making, forward and upward, in every de- partment of life and activities, and what future results may bring forth. Women have done things that men hesitate to do, and they will do them again. The very fact that they are progressing so rapidly leads us to believe that they will, North and South, take a very prominent part in the settlement of the Negro question. All over the North and South there is a fair sprinkling of white women who have taken colored husbands-, many of whom are cultured and refined. At present these may be looked down upon, because of the color line and race prejudice; but remove this, and let it be- come respectable instead of a social crime to in- termarry with color, and a decided change will OR THE FADING LEOPARDS SPOTS 345 take place, so much so, that not only the inde- pendent will find their affinity or life-mate among the colored, but the more timid as well. How horrid this sounds, but it is the truth. What the past fifty years could not possibly accomplish, the next fifty will easily bring about — viz., the removal of the race prejudice and the beginning the wholesale intermarriage with the enlightened, refined colored. And this the inde- pendent women of both races can and will large- ly accomplish. They will not only be instru- mental in but will be the means of solving the race question. We have not the least doubt about this. RACIAL PURITY— WHAT IS IT?— We hear much in these days from orators and magazine writers about keeping the races pure and making intermarriages of white with the colored races impossible ; but we know very well, and every fair-minded, intelligent man and woman knows, that where various races dwell together, no man-made laws, notwithstanding their severity, can make impossible, or of non- effect, the immutable law of dissemination, or of the mixing of the races. We are obliged to re- iterate this fact in this book. One of the severest brain-storms that infests the minds of many men and women of both races today, is the persistent cry for racial purity. 346 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION What is race purity? The cocoanut-headed imp may cry for it, and he assuredly has tangible reasons. Reread our chapter on race integrity and compare with the following: Racial purity is this: A beautiful, strong, symmetrical body, a lofty intellect, and a pure, moral, humane and worshipful spirit. They who possess not this harmonious combination of char- acter must all likewise perish, regardless of the color of their skin. The "Harry Thaw char- acters" of the so-called aristocratic or "elect class," in both America and Europe, may be blue blooded and idiotic enough to represent a race, but not one to be eternally held up and lauded as pure, or to be proud of. God, in His marvelous and mysterious work- shop of nature, has ways and means by which and through which He tears down and builds up the various branches of the human family, re- gardless of the feeble sputterings of the foolish, and the harsh cries of the wicked, law-befuddled egotists. We have profound respect for all womankind, and we could not point the finger of accusation at any of them, knowing that the wrongs of soci- ety have always fallen most heavily upon her shoulders. But to show the reader here the abso- lute inability to cope with the social evil in the OR THE FADING LEOPARDS SPOTS 347 South by the wrong, unnatural, damnable legis- lation of the present, we must, in this connection, speak of a matter that has been brought to our attention. Perhaps careful readers will think thai the following discovery ought to have been placed in the chapter on "Vice Versus Legal In- termarriage," or perhaps not have found a place in this book at all; but it is our object to weave closely together all evidences leading to certain conclusions in these chapters, so the reader, when he has finished, will have a clear conception of all that we have said, and be readv to render his own judgment. A HAD KlXnOI" MlXlXr;. -It was sev- eral years ago tliat a white clergyman in Cieorgia made a discovery over which people grew hyster- ical. He found that one of the great causes, and secret agencies, promcjting the mixing of the races, was illegitimate children born to white women, ami given by them to colored women to raise as colored children, in order that their shame might not be discovered. We have found that both white and colored children, thus born to white women, are disposed of in this manner. And here again we come face to face with the same paramount question: Shall illegitimate parentage in the South and elsewhere be dis- placed by lawful intermarriage and a legal pro- tection for both races or not? 348 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION Who can resist God Almighty, when His voice comes from the heaving bosom of a wronged, outraged womanhood? The same political system that downs the Negro outrages and enslaves the southern white woman. ■ THE GREATEST THING IS LOVE.— We have abundance of positive proof of cases where very respectable white girls and women, who unfortunately found affinities among col- ored men in the South, were led to commit hor- rible crimes because of the hellish customs of a depraved white race, which forbids the legal union of two hearts whose every throb beats in unison with all their desires, hopes and aspira- tions in life. We have further proof that there exists a love between some white men and col- ored women, and between some white women and colored men, who have found each other, that surpasses almost any love possible between men and women of the same race. There is a deep- seated love, an irresistible passion, which unites them, that positively cannot be experienced by any not absolutely dissimilar in their make-up. The greatest thing on earth is love. It is the agent that moves and rules all mankind, and bids him to humbly bow at the feet of woman- kind; and whether her skin be white or black. This same woman, who tempted Adam, has the charm to entice, the power to hold, the ability to OR THE FADIXG LEOPARDS SPOTS 349 THREE TYPES OF COLORED WOMEN IN THE FAR SOUTH. Mental. Motive and Vital Temperament. 350 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION lead the sons of Adam, if she will, into the high- way of progress for her own liberation, and the future good of the human race, or down into the pit of darkness and despair. THE HOPE OF THE WORLD.— Profes- sor Guy Carlton Lee of Johns Hopkins Uni- versity, voices the same sentiment we have in mind when he says: "The man who searches efifect for cause must find his goal most often in the influence of a woman. Not always for good : that could not be. But it would seem that all that has endured has been for good, and that the evil which has been wrought by woman — and it has not been slight — has been ephemeral in all respects. I know of no enduring evil that can be traced to a woman as its source; but I know of no constant good which did not find either its beginning or its fostering in a woman's thought or work. Poppaea leaves but a name; Agrippina leaves an example. It may be true of men that the evil that they do lives after them, while the good is oft interred with their bones; but it is not true of women. Of course, there is a sense in which it is true — in the descent from mother to son of the spirit of the unrighteous mother; but even this would not seem to hold as a rule, and the effects are often modified by the influence of a love for a higher nature. The sum of woman's influence upon the destinies of the OR TTIE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 351 world is good, the balance inclines steadily toward the best. Woman is the hope of the world." Maud Ballington Booth has said: "One tiling is certain. Whenever pain, sorrow, sick- ness or misfortune has laid its hand on man. he needs woman's touch to help him bear it." What has woman not done for temperance? \Miat she did for temperance she can do for the solution of the race question. It is not impossible that a Frances Willard. or, perchance, a Carrie Nation may arise and proclaim the social equal- ity of her cultured, colored husband and her pretty, intelligent children bv him?' How would she fare? just like a Joan of Arc, a Susan An- thony or a Carrie Nation. lUit, as in the case of .ill moral heroines, the human tide of thought, of sentiment, of belief, must finally turn and sweep all opposing forces before them, and usher in another era, another history-making epoch. We reiterate the fact that women have done tilings that men hesitate to do, and they will do them again. Gentle reader, what a crying need! What a tremendous opportunity! What a field of con- quest for the fearless, believing, brave women •)f both races! Two sure can who both are free. Though a color line divides them, 352 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Join their hands and hearts in work^ That none can do besides them. Why not smash that line for good? It's all that now divides them. Let them boldly do what's right, Though friend and foe derides them. Ice of prejudice must break, Though worldly people despise them; With God, home, and native land. Who is there that defies them? It's silly to spurn a love Twixt colored and white — God made them, "What God hath joined let no man part," Let life's sweet days just fade them. AN APPEAL TO NOBLE WOMAN- HOOD. — We appeal to the noble womanhood of our white race. We pray that her sympathetic heart may be moved in behalf of the oppressed, despised, wronged colored sister in the South, who is struggling up the thorny path to the higher standard of purit}^ and virtue; but which path is frequented by so many wolves in sheep- skin to detain her, deceive her, entrap her and then cast her aside as worthless, with blasted hopes and a broken heart. We appeal to her to obliterate the color line in behalf of the girlhood of the Negro race, the buds of promise, the OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 355 future woman. How can she rise to the level she aspires, and we hope for, as long as old laws and customs pronounce her inferior, debase her and make her the victim of, and a by-word for, all men. She it is who rocks the cradle of the race, may we not heed well how the cradle of ten mil- lion and more people is rocked? She it is who holds the destiny of a future great people in her hands, may we not take those hands into our own and say — my sister? It was Miss Sarah Forten who addressed a touching appeal to the white women to co-operate with an organization of Anti-Slavery Free Women of America in 1831, and the same is appliable todav. She wrote: "We are sisters. God has truly said That of one blood all nations He has made. O Christian woman! in a Christian land. Canst thou unblushinglv read This great command? Suffer the wrongs which wring our inmost heart, To draw one throb of pity on thy part? Our skins may differ, but from thee we claim A sister's privilege and a sister's name." FACTS ARE STUBBORN.— Facts are stubborn things to encounter. It was the white man who took advantage of the poor, enslaved Negro woman from the day slavery was intro- 23 354 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION AX APPEAL TO TIIlv WORT.D. There are now six million men, women and children liviing in this country the direct offspring of white and black. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 355- duced to this hour. Emancipation did not check him or emancipate her. What he could not do by force he has done by cunning. And this one fact stands today without a parallel, that the African woman has gone with the white man through an enforced vale of tears, degradation and shame, and has not once shrunk from the care, responsibility and duty of rearing, to the best of her ability, her illegitimate children by him. She unreservedly deserves the laurels of a superior womanhood for so faithfully and lov- ingly, under the most tryingcircumstances, caring for her white babies and thereby improving her race. She has done more than her duty. Her daughters now demand a legal union with their white paramours, and this demand shall not long be disregarded. To back out now is not only cowardly on his part, but an abominable, un- pardonable crime against God and the colored race of which his children are a part. Pass laws against miscegenation; pile up your infamy against a wronged progeny by such bar- barous procedure; drone to sleep the last pang of conscience, and envelop the individual in holy sanctimony; but the glaring evidence will not decamp, and a cure for a moral disease will not be found. What then the cure? Confess your sins and own up. How? 356 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION By legalizing intermarriage between the races in the entire country, and by the removal of race prejudice from your colored children. Tens of thousands of these children in every hamlet, every town, every city and obscure corner in the South demand this. These words we address to him who is the enemy of moral progress and social purity, in the advocacy of race integrity, thereby promoting the pernicious practice of illicit union and illegal children. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 357 CHAPTER XVI SCIENTIFIC ADAPTATION OF WHITE AND COLOR A SUPERBLY MATED PAIR.— A su- perbly mated pair is well illustrated in J. Roland, Ph. D., a slight, pale, nervous Mental Tempera- ment, and Rosaline, a strong, dark Vital Tem- perament. He is vitally deplete, and consequently rendered powerless, physically, to sustain his large, fine-grained, sensitive brain; while hers is rather coarse, sluggish, slow to act, easygoing, but with considerable latent powers. In his presence her strong animal magnetism attracts him. He is vitalized, strengthened and enam- oured powerfully by being with her, while she is equally benefited by him. He draws her up to a higher mental plane ; causes her to refine her habits, increase her mentation, and build up a finer brain fibre in her thick African skull. This makes her more attractive generally, and espec- ially to him, as her eye grows brighter, and her whole physiognomy glows with the intense in- terest she takes in their daily afifairs with each other. She draws him down to her. He absorbs considerable of her surplus animal magnetism, which builds up his wasted frame, and causes new blood to course through his body as a conse- quence. 358 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION His fine brain becomes more active, and he some day discovers himself performing an unus- ual amount of mental and physical labor, such as he has not done in years. Both are immensely benefited by being scientifically mated to each other. Although he has all the signs of weak lungs and general debility, he is a man of con- siderable talent. Look at that high, protruding forehead, with the strong indication of large faculties of Comparison and Causality, the rea- soning faculties of the mind. Also see the per- ceptive faculties well developed, and the con- structive also well in the lead. This makes him a mechanical genius, a profound thinker with literary ability, and a very useful member of society. He is deficient in vitality. His back- head shows him to be more feminine than mas- culine in general characteristics, therefore he has strong love for children and home; but his procreative functions are too feeble to have any, save with one with an over-surplus of the animal nature to draw him to her and arouse and strengthen his enfeebled sexuality. A MISMATED EXAMPLE.— As J. Roland, Ph. D., is naturally an attractive, re- fined gentleman, he would have had no difficulty in gaining the attention and finally also a kind of deeper regard and feeling in the heart of the fine, sensitive, Mrs. Dr. Summer. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS m) ndy-Ph.n. 360 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION Now for the sake of an argument, let us sup- pose that like likes like, and that he, as many other men of his type do, believed himself in love with her, regardless of their incompatibility, and proposed to her and she accepted him, as thou- sands before her have done and will do again. * * * They get married. Bells are tolled, friends wish them a prosperous, happy journey through life; none wish them a happy prosper- ous lot of children. That would be immodest, vulgar, something to be ashamed of — a shower of rice and old shoes, and they are gone. In just one week he wishes himself back to his bachelor quarters, or something worse; and she just wishes she were dead! But then they are married, and must play married before the world, and make-believe. They are in this case too sensible not to remain friends, even real chums; but that is all. There could positively be no amatory attraction between these strong, Mental Temperaments, consequently no children can bless their union; and were it possible that a few were born, they would very likely be angels before their maturity, or live a little longer, a wretched martyr's life, paying the full penalty for their parents' sins. This is the old, old story of mismating, either through ignorance or else coolly, deliberately planned for conveni- ence on the part of one or both. It would be OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 361 362 HOL^rS RACE ASSIMILATION infinitely better if such men and women as these would remain single rather than join in such mock-matrimony. ALMOST A COLORED VENUS.— Let us take a look at Rosaline. She is a colored matron, two-thirds Negro, of a typical physiognomy. Her face beams with her warm, lovable, sunny disposition. She is not highly educated; is no college graduate, but has a fair knowledge of the common English branches, taught in a col- ored village school such as we find in many parts of the South. Physically she would almost pass for a colored Venus, but not quite. She is a trifle too stout, and displays a little more of the vital or animal nature in her make-up than a Venus should; yet being so superbly sexed, this extra supply of the vital forces is no fault. Her waist is rather short and her limbs straight and beautifully curved, with her calfs rather high, disclosing the well-defined mark of her Negro origin; but this does not detract from, or mar the physical beauty of her powerful, well-shaped legs. Her arms are a magnificent network of muscles, displaying their latent strength at every movement; yet they are not ugly, though they remind one of masculinity, their strong outlines are well supported and superbly adapted to her body. Her chest is deep, and she has an ample breathing capacity that has never been cramped OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 363 Sarr) Slic^l^, 364 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION to any extent by the corset, and this, too, indi- cates a powerful constitution. Her breasts are a bit large, but they are not fleshy or dormant, but perfectly adapted to supply her young with an abundance of good, rich milk. The kinky mass of her beautiful, glossy hair has been so ar- ranged as to reveal her feminine qualities, phrenologically. To use a homely English phrase, she is not so "low natured" as prejudiced minds would make us believe. Look at that fine backhead. There is no depravity, brutishness or degeneracy there. To phrenological scientists this head indicates everything that is so dear, so holy, so divine, so worshipful to the soul of every good man in every good woman, of whatever color or race. It makes one think of "Home sweet home," even were it nothing more than "One little hut among de bushes, one dat I love." There is something divine — the altar of all hu- man affections, true and good — located there. "Mid pleasures and palaces, though we may roam, Be it ever so humble there's no place like home; A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there. Which seek through the world, is not met with elsewhere." It is a positive truth, such divine attributes of womanhood, of motherhood, are not met with elsewhere. The "Charm from the skies" which hallows all mankind there, is found nowhere else save in a true home, where OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 365 mother's love (of whatever race or color), mother's sacrifice, mother's devotion to her fam- ily, are well nigh supreme. No government can build on a safer founda- tion than this, and none can endure who do not thus build. Intense love for children, she for him, he for her and both for the spot in which they dwell, are the only incentives for the exist- ence of any home. This colored woman has all three strongly marked in her makeup. She could love most any man, even if only for the love of children, but all men would by no means be scientifically adapted to her, either physically or mentally. EXAMPLESOFPHYSICALAND MEN- TAL DEGENERACY.— Supposing Rosaline would have mated with a Negro like Sam Slick, what would have been the result? Both are passionate. He would not have raised her up to a higher moral and mental plane, because he is lower than she. He would even have pulled her down, and caused her to be more ex- travagant in the indulgence of the animal pas- sion. It would have proven a calamity to this sweet-faced colored woman, as it has to other thousands before her. There is no greater slav- ery on earth than that endured by the wife of the lazy, shiftless, good-for-nothing black repro- bate of the South today. - And to her children 366 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION with him it would, indeed, have been a dire mis- fortune! They would have been lower than both, mentally and physically, in the scale of humanity. They would have been more animal than human, as far as the social passions are con- cerned. Take a careful look at Little Sam, he is the product of just such a union. He is a rapist, a sneak-thief; in short, a Negro degen- erate. He is but one of thousands, born in the South every year, the result of criminal and de- generate unions among themselves, and with others mismated. OR THE FADING LEOEARD'S SPOTS 367, We have intimated elsewhere that in his na- tive or primitive conditions in Africa, the Negro can procreate without any marked deterioration in his offspring. An instance has come under the writer's observation where a brother and sis- ter became separated during the war, grew to manhood and womanhood, met and married in the East, and after a number of years, when they had a large family of children together, dis- covered through investigation that they were re- lated. Their children were as good as any, but this proves nothing. Many instances have been found where brothers and sisters produced as fine offspring together, as they did with others not related to them ; but the American Negro has undergone such a process of evolution, and has been crossed to such an extent with the Cauca- sian, that careful selections are of far more im- portance among them, than among any race of people on earth. And it is not improper to say here, that Little Sam belongs to that class of Negroes, absolutely unfit to pro- create with any kind, of any race. And to prevent such from further demoralizing the hu- man race, it is proper and just, in the sight of God and man, that they be rendered sterile. Do not misunderstand us. We do not mean that they should have this inflicted upon them as a punishment for crimes perpetrated. Scientifi- 368 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 369 cally speaking, they are not guilty of any crime committed, no matter how shocking or horrible. They take to certain crimes as naturally as a duck does to water. They may hang them, roast them alive, or by degrees hack and slice them up, as a butcher does a carcass; as a mob of poor, deluded creatures has sometimes done in this highly civilized country (?) ; yet as far as we phrenological scientists are concerned, there is no more reason, no more justice, in such horri- ble, outrageous procedure than there is in deal- ing out justice to a duck, by cutting ofif her head, because she persists in taking to the pond in the back lot. As all others, these beings are creatures of circumstances. They are not what they are by choice but by nature; the result of ignorance on the part of mankind. HOW MUCH BETTER NOT THUS BORN. — A great deal of training from early childhood of the undeveloped moral faculties would be of marked benefit to them, as a con- stant supply of blood to these faculties, or that portion of the brain where they are located, de- creases the amount of stimulation to that part which is abnormally developed, and, conse- quently, decreases this intense, undesirable men- tal operation; but this scientific training is not intelligently given, and so no results may be looked for in that direction to any marked extent. 370 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION And in case this method of treatment would be adopted generally, the blessings thus conferred upon mankind would after all not be much greater than at present, as the mischief of this class cannot be curbed by all mental gymnastics within the reach of this or any other age. Where it has been tried the old thing has cropped out again in such creatures of misfortune, even in remote generations. It is much easier to stop up a leak in a boat than to bail out the water as fast as it comes in. Some children, of every race and color, thus un- fortunately developed will undoubtedly always be born ; but how much better, how much more humane not to let more be born than is absolutely necessarv, to grow up, commit a social crime and then be imprisoned or executed by the people who allow this condition of things to exist from lack of knowledge? PHRENOLOGICAL LOCATION OF THE SOCIAL EVIL.— Our lamented friend, Prof. L. A. Vaught, the author of "Vaught's Practical Character Reader," has so well illus- trated this point, that we are induced to give his drawing and timely explanation, such as we have in minc'i. He says: "The social evil is a fact. Many good and learned people are trying to check, modify or suppress it. Their intentions are good. Thev shoot at it with tongue and pen. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 371 That is, they suppose they shoot at it. They shoot, but, unfortunately, they do not shoot any more definitely at it than if they stepped out of their homes upon a dark night when the moon was down, electric lights out, and shot into space HOW REFORMERS MISS THE CENTER OF VICE. in hope of hitting a burglar. Why don't they draw a bead on it? Answer: They do not know the location of it. They do not know the nature of it. They do not know the source of it. They do not know that it is a single element of the 372 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION mind. They do not know when nor where to commence to correct it. They ought to know. They can know. They can know exactly. They can know very soon after the babe is born. They can, if they will, learn the location of the faculty in the brain. Observe the illustration. Not one of the marksmen has hit the 'bull's eye.' Every shot has missed. What a deplorable waste of time, energy and arrows! They have hit the in- tellect, which is in front, the moral faculties, which are in the tophead, pride and vanity, which are in the back crown of the head, but not a single one has even come close to the exact source of the evil. They have not even crippled it. How could they cripple it till they hit it? How can they hit it till they know where it is? It is located in the little brain directly back of the two bony prominences that may be found and felt behind the ears. When very strong in child, woman or man, this region will be decid- edly full or convex in form. It is immediately below a fissure that runs horizontally above it, and partly separates the little brain from the big brain, or, in other words, the cerebellum from the cerebrum. Its name is Amativeness. We now have it 'spotted!' " Does it not occur to you, dear reader, that the brute for brute method so long resorted to, when taken from this sound scientific viewpoint, is but OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 373 ^the aftermath of a savage nature, the eye for eye and tooth for tooth system of injustice, practiced in the past ages of barbarism? Can you justly criticise us for the strong con- demnation of such inhuman outrages as are per- petrated in this country upon such unfortunate, irresponsible beings? How much more rational would it be, do you not admit, to inaugurate the scientific system we expound in this book, and hit the "bull's eye," and render unnecessary all mob violence and their debasing, demoralizing efifcct upon our civilization? OFFSPRING OF RIGHT CROSSING.— Now, let us resume the actual occurrence with regard to J. Roland, Pii. D., and Rosaline, his mate. Roland had a fair knowledge of scientific adaptation and the assimilation by amalgama- tion of the American Hamitc, and also realized that, for his own personal benefit, it was a wise step to affiliate with a dark complexioned, strong, robust maiden; and he found in Rosaline his affinity. What was the result with regard to their offspring? In Master Roland we have a fine likeness of their oldest son, and the young- est are still better. Notice the large mental capacity of this child, and the ample physique to sustain it — a fine large brain, on a fine large body to support it. His physiognomy is more like that of his mother than his father, and, in- 374 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION deed, we find that this is nearly always the case in such crossings; yet we can clearly discern the broad, high forehead of his father in this lad, as well as his chin; while the mouth and nose are more like his mother's. If you will notice the receding forehead of the mother, and compare it with the high, broad one of the son ; and could then also compare the body of the poor father with that of the child, you could not help but marvel at the wonderful improvement Nature has here wrought in this fortunate boy. Fortu- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 375 nate? Alas, he is only a "little nigger" in the eyes of America today. His ability is unrecog- nized. In little Iraline we have drawn a good like- ness of their daughter. What a ravishing beauty, what a magnificent specimen of human anatomy! Such a physiognomy as artists should rave over. Just enough of the Negro tinge to make her so cute and lovable— and, indeed, she is lovable. She has a fine feminine head and figure to make her so. Some day she will make an ideal wife 376 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION for the right kind of man, if her education as well as her fascinating beauty is not neglected. But what are you leading to? Call a "nigger" beautiful? Precisely so. Science knows no prejudice, is not biased; ffives credit where credit is due. Produce your white charmers, and compare them with thousands of these dark beauties, and let science determine the best equipped, the best fitted for maternity. That is the "rub," that is the paramount question. Maternal fitness makes all girls charming, all women attractive to all men, without it none. OFFSPRING ALONE CONSTITUTES TRUE MARRIAGE.— You say we are wrong, that mental ability, mental accomplishments, too, attract. So they do; but mental attraction alone knows no sex; is simply cool admiration in both men and women among themselves and in each other. Feminine qualities, maternal fitness in woman, alone can render her truly charming and magnetic to the opposite sex. Therefore it now follows that only maternal and paternal fit- ness should constitute true marriage. It is a natural law that only man disobeys. All ani- mals thus fitted mate only, none others. All men and women not thus equipped cannot enter into true marriage, but only mere partnerships, which ought to be made solvent by the parties con- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 377 cerned, should they wish to permanently sepa- rate at any time, like any other partnership. When offspring alone constitutes true mar- riage, no illegitimate children will be born, and every man will be compelled to stick to his affin- ity, of whatever color or race. This, as we have just intimated, is in harmony with the procrea- tive law, the highest and noblest act of Nature; and we believe that no people or country can reach its highest state of civilization before they heed this, the highest of all God's command- ments. Talk about the possibility of making the marriage and divorce laws of this country uni- form. There is no ground upon which such uniformity is possible, save that just stated. When offspring alone constitutes true marriage, and all other unions are recognized by law as mere partnerships, this important question will soon settle itself rightly. Take heed, all w^ho have the best interest of mankind at heart. Let not this generation pass away before public sentiment demands this ra- tional change in our marriage relations. We have spoken of this here, especially for the benefit of the colored women of the South. We feel as though we w^ould like to plead for them in this regard, for we know only too well what vast benefit they would derive from the inaug- 378 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION uration of such marriage reform. And would it not also prove equally beneficial to all classes of whites? The present marriage and divorce system of our civilization is a mortal stain that ought to be eradicated. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 379 CHAPTER XVII BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLES ILLUSTRATED THE MATING OF SUPERIOR DIS- SIMILARITIES.— Mrs. Dr. Summer had a knowledge of scientific mating, and abhorred the vulgar sentiment prevalent among a certain de- graded populace in this country, concerning the eligibility of the upper class of colored people. She, like other women of advanced ideas and large mental capacity, believed that the woman who can leave strong, well developed children, mentally and physically, by affiliating with a race of marked dissimilarities, bestows upon mankind the highest and noblest gift. She had a taste for the dark, vital, powerful masculinity. She could have found one of such characteris- tics among the whites, but repudiated all preju- dice and decided in favor of a colored gentle- man, Mr. Summer, who attended school in her native town in the North. She met him, was attracted, and found that she had not only met her intellectual equal, but also an ideal father of her future children, although they would be tinged with dark blood. Prohibit such a splen- did union? Nonsense. Behold! what hath God wrought? Her children, to be sure, are 380 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION dark-skinned, curly-headed, pretty little mis- chiefs. They are remarkably fine; they will be the progenitors of other fine people of another, ummef. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 381 greater age as the world moves on. Far better these with new blood, new affinities, and a definite mission of sublime importance before them, than none, or a puny few, with no future of any consequence. In Master Summer we have a good likeness of their oldest child ; and this portrait speaks for it- self. He is fine beyond computation. Now, the father, Dr. Summer, of the child is a true mu- latto. His mother was a well-proportioned black, though simple woman, of whom we pro- duce a drawing in Betsey; while his father was a southern planter, of whom we also produce a likeness in Summerfield, whose father came to Alabama in the early days, and belonged to the sturdv, old Virginia, aristocratic stock. THREE GENERATIONS.— Little Master Summer's grandfather was a true type of the old southern aristocracy (a defender of his race), while his grandmother was a black servant in his grandfather's household. We therefore here produce the third generation. In the first cross- ing the mother w^as a full Negress and "the father a full Caucasian, w^hile in the second the father was one-half white and the mother a full Cauca- sian; which makes this boy two-thirds white, and as fine a specimen of physical and intellect- ual boyhood as can be found among any people, of any race. On his father's side he inherited 382 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ummef. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 383 the strong, vital or animal qualities of his black grandmother, and the fine, sensitive, cunning, intellectual characteristics of his white grand- father; and on his mother's side he obtained the strong moral and religious faculties, which, al- ©tae^y. together, give him the fine proportioned head, so admirably balanced. He is not a genius, which is invariably one prominently developed in the genius producing faculties. For instance, like J. Roland, whose progeny with Rosaline inherited them, and provided them with power- 384 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ful, tenacious qualities, capable of an enormous amount of mental work, as so well illustrated in Master Roland. In Master Summer we have a character of substantial qualities, so well bal- anced mentally and physically, that he will live i{TJfi)et'fie1(i, to a ripe old age, and fill a place in life of a religious and educational character with great credit. His father prepared for the ministry, but while he is a fine logical speaker he has not the spiritual and moral qualities his son inher- ited from his mother, consequently he would OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 385 have made a better lawyer than he is preacher. Timely phrenological advice would have pre- vented this error in the choice of his vocation. Look at the likeness of the black mother, Betsey, and then at her son and grandson, Master Summer; and if you are at all cognizant of men- tal development you will observe the phenom- enal advancement in the scale of human intellect, without the slightest physical loss, but rather gain. Now, this process need never deteriorate, but 25 386 HOLMS RACE ASSIMILATION on the contrary can still undergo greater im- provements in the succeeding generations. If the next crossing is again with a white woman in Master Summer's case; and if this woman is, like his mother, of a Nervous-Mental Tempera- ment, their children will be capable of still greater mental accomplishment, provided the law of sex-amalgamation is not violated. These should then fall back on their grandmothers side, and again intermarry with intelligent mu- lattoes or others of a dark, Vital Temperament. This would then again produce offspring like OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 387 their grandfather, Master Summer, only a great deal finer, both mentally and physically. Thus the process can be continued for a number of generations, until the Negro is entirely assim- ilated bv this scientific method of amalgamation. THE PROGENY OF THE UNRELI- ABLE FATHER.— In McNay we have a Scotchman of a Vital Temperament and light complexion. He is a large, powerful man of extravagant affections and plodding character. He married Clara McNay, a colored maiden, a trifle more white than black, yet quite dark. 388 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION She is very nicely mated to him; being rather tall and slender, yet not too slight. She has a beautiful form for her type of womanhood. She is rather short waisted, with broad hips and long well-developed limbs. She would not be called a beauty by many men, yet she is not homely. She is of a type we often meet throughout the South, and which is in a measure quite charm- ing, and belongs, generally, to a class of the most reliable and industrious people, therefore this class has been most desired by white men to affiliate with in various sections of the country. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 389 She has eyes that are remarkably expressive and magnetic. Such eyes "haunt" McNay night and day when they have once looked into his half-closed amatory optics. He is not a very re- liable husband, as his affections are easily trans- ferred from one charmer to another, yet such eyes will control him and keep his affections in the "straight and narrow way" better than any other human power. Those eyes also indicate a soulful character, active intellect, and a reliable,' faithful wife and mother. Their children are exceptionally fine. They exhibit a great deal of their father's vitality, and also a fair share of their mother's soulful characteristics. They are better than either. We give scientific reasons: He is unreliable in his affections, they being mainly of the ama- tory sort, and he is strong in imparting these undesirable qualities to his offspring. She op- poses them on her side by her powerful conjugal and parental love, which are very strong in many of her class of women of color. And, indeed, were it not, she would not be the possessor of such open, bright, pretty eyes. All her love is wrapped up in him and the children by him; and these strong affections are bound to be transmitted to her children, while his superior intellect is also well marked, conse- quently, this produces the beautiful blending, 390 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION perfect amalgamation in their superior posterity, as illustrated in Master McNay. This boy re- sembles his father in the strong chin, powerful jaw, neck and body generally, and also has his superior mental development, but he resembles his mother (beside the African strain) in his open eye, indicating the same characteristics she possesses — viz., the soulful, spiritual qualities, and higher moral attributes, that his sensual father does not possess. Thus we could give scores of examples that have come under our observation, where unruly, or rather immoral men affiliated with the purer class of girls of color, without transmitting all their undesirable qualities; and in such cases we have also found that the mental capabilities were invariably improved in the progeny of such crossings. On the other hand, we have found that a low type of white man, thus crossing with a woman of a low moral nature, generally trans- mit all their vicious characteristics to their off- spring, which makes a very undesirable class, be- ing in some instances minus all that is most de- sirable in a man or woman. The same fact is applicable to vicious, immoral whites; and in both cases such unions should be prohibited by means advocated in this work. We give reasons why such crossings result in inferior progeny, in the succeeding chapter. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 391 CHAPTER XVIII LOVE, OR SEX-AALALGAMATION HOW SUPERIOR CHILDREN ARE BORN.— We have spoken of the harmonious attachment between Roland, Rosaline and others in preceding chapters, and the admirable results attained in their progeny. Can these results be alone attributed to the fact that they are naturally adapted to each other? W^e would not be fair with our readers if we said, yes. There is an- other cause, another law which alone can, in connection with natural affiliation, produce the best and most perfect offspring obtainable; and that is a Right Love-State. A blighted, im- paired or passive love-state in one or both par- ents produces inferior offspring, while a right state produces superior; and the more perfect and harmonious love is maintained between well adapted parents, the more perfection and su- periority may be found in their children. This all-important fact we wish the reader to bear in mind, in connection with the assimilation by amalgamation of the Afro-American. Children of parents of whom one is colored and who are in a loving-state, are harmonious and homo- 392 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION geneous, and invariably better than their parents, because they inherit the excellent qualities of both; while those who are imperfectly blended are both inferior to their parents and self-con- tradictory. To illustrate this point, we may say that par- ents can be likened unto two metals, partially or improperly melted and thrown together. The result is imperfect amalgamation; leaving all of one metal in one place, and all of the other in another. Excessive passions on his side, and passivity on hers, render their progeny mostly like him, and consequently there is no marked improvement, and vice versa. But if both are thoroughly roused, and in a fine, loving condi- tion, but not sensual, the magnificent blending, the absolute oneness of themselves, wall be fully transmitted to their offspring; and thus a su- perior child, mentally and physically, is the re- sult. We have observed this fact in thousands of cases; both in the crossings of the colored and whites, and in the mulatto and other fairer ones with the dark and black, as well as in two whites. You can find hundreds of families, where either mother or father is dark or black, in which one child may be beautifully blended, and, conse- quently, superior to its parents; another may be black like one of its parents, and mentally in- ferior, but physically superior; still another may OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 393 be fair like one of its parents, and mentally superior, but physically inferior. Now, it is said that this one takes after its father, that one after its mother, and another after both. But, why? For no other reason than that just stated. If parents, of whatever race or color, would ob- serve this creative law of amalgamation, and enter, and remain perpetually in a loving, blend- ing, harmonious state; and not fuss, wound, in- flame, impair and deaden their love, during the years in which their children are born, what a marvelous evolutionary process would not the colored as well as the w^hite race undergo. Inferior parents often have superior children, while superior ones have inferior. This is be- cause the former often maintain a lovable con- dition, while the latter wound, inflame and disap- point their love-state most often; because the higher organized the more sensitive, and the easier impaired. While parents, who live in a beautiful blended state of love, transmit all the highest and noblest qualities of their characters to their children, just the reverse is true of those who live in a sensual, crabby, sour, disappointed love-state. All lovers, all parents, take heed! Do not cheat yourselves and the world out of the high- est and noblest that Nature has in store for you. This is holy ground ; they who tread thereon 394 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION must be pure, sanctified and elevated, or become debased and debasers — robbers of virtue, hounds of impurity, blasphemers, thieves, liars, bums and cut-throats — all, all have their origin here. There may be a blemish, a weakness, a Maw in your character; "cut it out" by getting into a pure, sweet, blended love-state with your life- companion, with your lover, before you trans- mit such a blemish or weak tendency to your off- spring. No human being has a moral right be- fore God to propagate, who is not thus prepared for this holy office. Unfortunate development of the mental faculties (or more correctly speak- ing brain organs in children) may thus be averted, and only thus, as well as many physical defects. In the present transmutation of the Negro race in America from the primitive to the higher realms of civilization, we must heed the warn- ing and see the impending dangers about us, and seek salvation from both physical and spiritual bondage, in a wiser and better progeny. WHO IS AND WHO IS NOT MAR- RIED. — We reiterate the fact that "like pro- duces like," and that no human being has a moral right to propagate, who is not sanctified and prepared for this holy office. No married couple, though married a thousand times by the laws of the land is married by the laws of God, OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 395 if their union is a loveless one; and they commit a crime against society, and against Nature's God, if they bring loveless, inferior children into the world. They have no more right to propagate than the vilest criminal. When they cohabit they commit adultery, and their chil- dren are born bastards. Only those who har- monize and are in a right love-state can cohabit without committing a sin against Nature's God, and against their own offspring. Marriage ceremonies have little to do with it. Those morally corrupt cannot approach the sweet, sacred union of true wedlock; of a right sex- amalgamation. When love ceases true marriage is at an end. Nature recognizes marriage only in love, and ofifspring is the culmination of love and marriage. Nature repudiates and condemns marriage, or the union of the sexes without love, in the production of an inferior progeny. Mar- riage without love is a legal prostitution. It contradicts the Divine command — viz., to be "one flesh" and to multiply. First, the twain must be made one-flesh — love; and secondly, the fruit of love must be realized in the child. This is the beginning, the aim and end of so-called marriage in the economy of physical life. For the above reasons we believe that the mat- ing of the sexes is a Divine institution, because 396 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Love is Divine in that it demands offspring — marriage may not. RIGHT AND WRONG SEX-AMALGA- MATION. — Why was not more of the unde- sirable mental condition of McNay, in chapter seventeen, transmitted to his son, Master Mc- Nay in the same chapter? Answer: Because Clara McNay, his mate, was so completely enamored with him, and her higher personality was so admirably blended with his, that a per- fect amalgamation took place. Had not this been the case, the reverse would have been true. Master McNay would have inherited all of his father's animal passions as well as those of his mother's and he would, in^ consequence, have been a very undesirable character to run at large. What about the statement made in a preceding chapter, that if Rosaline had mated with Sam Slick, the resulting offspring would have been like Little Sam? Are we sure of our assertion? Yes, absolutely sure. Hundreds of observa- tions confirm this statement, and these drawings, taken from life by the author, are living testi- monies. How else could so many degenerates be born and exist among these people and the whites? There certainly is a cause for every effect, and in this regard it is especially true. Rosaline and Sam Slick could not produce the right temperature necessary for a complete OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 397 fusion. Their excessive passions produce an ''over-heated" state, and consequently burn out all the higher mental qualities, and only transmit these in a weak, flickering quantity, while all that part which pertains to the cunning, shrewd, deceitful, revengeful, lustful, is intensely exag- gerated and flogged into abnormal action. The very fact of their being together lashes their ani- mal passions into abnormal, inflamed action; lowers all their desires, and the resulting issue cannot be but unmanageable and fiery, vicious and low. They experience no spiritual cohabit- ing with the physical. We give ample proof in this work to confirm this fact; and this is the sole reason why we advocate the sterilization of the vicious, uncontrollable, criminal and degenerate class. There is no other eflicicnt method to elim- inate this crowning evil among all the races of man ; if there is we would like to know it. What else can we do with the progeny of the absolutely unfit, that are crowding in upon us, and are con- taminating the masses of this great age? Be- tween Roland and Rosaline there is scarcely a shadow of possibility for criminal issue, under ordinary conditions. With him Rosaline's pas- sions are prolonged; and thus a complete and beautiful amalgamation alone can and has pro- duced the many admirable types of half and quarter breeds, and others of African origin we meet with and so often refer to in this work. 398 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATIOX THE LOSS OF STAMINA ATTRIB- UTED TO UNNATURAL CONDI- TIONS. — Now, it has so often been stated, and at times by men of some authority, that the Negro, when crossing with whites the resulting oft'spring, or those further remote from the Afri- can, lose their native stamina. In connection with what we have said above, this subject naturally presents itself to us, and we are no doubt ex- pected to say what we have found to be facts, in this regard. What we shall say on this so- called important question will be short, to the point, free from bias — the result of careful study. We shall not juggle words or waste valu- able space. In the first place, we do not deem this question of such paramount importance as may be supposed. Prejudice has here as every- where, set its iron heel. We will ask you the following question to ponder over; it will go a long way toward giving you an idea of the situ- ation : Who pushes the wheel of progress the hardest, spends the most energy and carries the heaviest responsibilities in the colored race? Answer: The man of color, in whose veins throbs the blood of a Caucasian. All through this work we reiterate this fact. When the process of amalgamation is prop- erly, lawfully, scientifically carried on, there is not an iota of danger from loss of native OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 399 Stamina in the immediate or remote progeny of the crossings of whites with the darkest skinned, or with any of the intervening types, all the way from a full Ethiopian to the slightest trace of African blood. The fact that the half-breeds, quarter-breeds, etc., of the race, are the main- stay, or, in other words, the real backbone of the Afro-American, is sufficient proof to most any thoughtful, enquiring man, that there must not only often be a greater mental capacity, but also a decided supply of nerve energy to sustain the remarkable display of intellectual and physical ability and durability in them. Reader, use your judgment; is it not rather astonishing that the offspring of, many times the basest kind of white man and the commonest kind of Negress, have not proven more direful than they have? Root out the danger that lies in the wake of this class, and a powerful, recuperating influ- ence will permeate the race. And then let in- telligent men and women of the race (the hog will wallow in the mire) make proper selections amono^ themselves and affiliate also with the de- sirable whites wherever advisable, and practice the love-state that produces perfect amalgama- tion, and the result will be ultimate mental and physical elevation. -The depleted physical condition, or, in other words, the lack of metal, which is apparent in 400 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION many of the. lower and middle classes of colored men, is almost entirely due: First, to an un- natural state of conception and birth; and, sec- ondly, to the abuse of the generative organs, the use of cigarettes and whiskey, and a life void of purpose, system or proper rules of health. In our chapter on social vice we have already spoken somewhat of this matter. It suffices here to say that all the debasing and life-sapping practices the whites are addicted to, are partici- pated in by the colored. And these social vices have, we admit and deplore, already seriously impaired the physical and moral health of the race. And, we have reasons to believe, from ob- servations made, that the white American youth is on the same "slippery slough of destruction."" WHAT PROFESSOR WM. A. MC- KEEVER SAYS OF COLLEGE STU- DENTS. — William A. McKeever, professor of philosophy in the Kansas State University, who has made a study of this matter among the whites, has this to say: "There are in the Kan- sas State Agricultural college today about half a hundred students who are worthless as such, and who really ought to be dismissed and put at work. Some of them have been sent to college with the hope that, with the new opportunities offered, they would 'brace up.' Others are mis- leading their fond, credulous parents in the be- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 401 lief that creditable college work really is being done. Doubtless every large institution similar to this one has its same question of delinquents. But if sent back home, or elsewhere, with the thought of their engaging in something really worth while, the majority of these young per- sons — young women of such character are much fewer than young men — would show the same characteristics of dependence and shiftlessness. There is much evidence that they have been 'spoiled in the raising' rather than low born." He asks: "What, of scientific value, do we know about developing character in the young?'' We would remind the professor of the fact that phrenological science has long "known," and its students and practitioners have long preached "about developing character in the young," scientifically. But he speaks with such good judgment and his suggestions are of such value to both white and colored, that we shall here quote him more lengthily: "Why cannot there be instituted by legal enactment a standing com- mittee of experts of eminent ability and unques- tioned authority to make experiments and in- quiries extending over a wide field, with a view to acquiring some scientific knowledge on the subject of child training in the home? There is today no such service being performed. 402 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION THE HUMAN RACE NEGLECTED.— "Other matters of less importance, such as sheep raising, have long ago been reduced to a science, but parents go on rearing their children as of old, guided only by instinct, tradition and preju- dice. As a result there are among us today thou- sands of criminals, paupers and genteel depend- ents whose lives might have been made useful through intelligent training in childhood. Ac- tual experiments could be carried on in orphan asylums, reform schools and in ordinary homes where there might be a willingness to co-operate in the work. The field of inquiry would be the country at large, while the results in all cases would be carefully tabulated. In every state in the union there has been established a station for experimentation in matters that pertain to the productiveness of the soil and to animal hus- bandry. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being expended annually in an effort to enable the producer to realize more satisfactorily upon his investments in every type of agricultural ani- mal from the 'beef steer and his sister to the helpful hen.' The government at Washington keeps hundreds of experts employed in the bureau of plant industry. Many of these are stationed in various parts of the country, while others are traveling abroad in the interest of studying and collecting cereals and grasses that OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 403 might be successfully propagated in the United States. All this work is contributing immensely to the country's wealth, and especially to the material well-being of the agricultural classes. The results of all these investigations and ex- periments are worked out on the basis of mathe- matical science. Tabulated bulletins are being sent out by the hundred to those interested, so that scientific methods of farming and stock- raising are fast supplanting the old-fashioned, wasteful practices. If a farmer has a three-vear- old horse that balks or a yearling calf that acts a little queer, he can appeal to the experiment station and receive, free of cost, a scientific bul- letin and a lengthy personal letter covering the case. But if the balky or queer-acting creature chances to be his sixteen-year-old son or his fledgling daughter, he must fight the case out alone, or assisted onlv by a despairing wife. CHANGING CONDITIONS CHANGE CHARACTER. — "Hearsay and traditional methods of training children have been in use so long as a mere matter of course that it is difiicult for us to realize the need of a change. Time was when pioneer conditions were so common throughout this country that the mere attending circumstances could be depended upon to bring out forceful and effective traits of character. But in these modern, prosperous times such condi- 404 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION tions have almost entirely disappeared. The people are becoming more and more closely massed and the allurements to exciting experi- ences are becoming correspondingly more numerous in the child's environment. Our old- fashioned methods of training the young are no longer adequate to cope with these changing con- ditions. The child gets into the exciting situa- tion before he has had enough practice in self- restraint to enable him to combat it successfully. We have on our hands today thousands of young women and men who have been well born, but ignorantly reared, and who, as a consequence, are deficient in morals and economically useless. Of the many in the college where I teach, who fail in their classes, very few are naturally dull and inapt in their studies. Most of them were born with bright minds and quick wits in poten- tiality, and they are the children of industrious, prosperous parents; but they are pathetically in- efficient because of overindulgence in purely im- pulsive and spontaneous forms of activity during the years of childhood and adolescence, and an almost complete lack of experience in sustained, purposive efifort. This same condition exists in all our schools and colleges. We have all around us parents who themselves have been -^efficient largely through the rigorous experiences that are incident to pioneer life, but who are more or less OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 40o ignorant of the source of their own strength of character. PARENTS ARE CRIMINALLY NEG- LIGENT. — "The wealthy centers of the coun- try are full of Harry Thaws — minus the shoot- ing incident, of course. These over-indulged, sickly sentimental young men are driven to every conceivable kind of depravity by the insatiable craving of an abnormal nature. As times grow more prosperous this dissolute manner of rearing the young will become our greatest example of criminal negligence, unless we develop some scientific means of correcting the evil. This evil is greatly aggravated by virtue of the fact that our newspaper publicity often makes one of these dissipated youths the chief player in a great na- tional theater. Witness the Thaw case. Thou- sands of such young men — and there always will be found a young woman to match each one — will risk their bankrupt reputations and even their necks in the interest of getting into the lime- light and securing the applause. And so it might seem advisable to establish throughout the land a number of experiment stations for child culture with the same exact methods of investigation and issuing bulletins that characterize the agricul- tural stations." A CHILD WELL BORN IS TRAINED AT BIRTH. — We believe that we have made it 406 HOLM'S RACE ASSI^IILATION clear to all readers that the loss of stamina, if any in the Negro race, is not due to the amalgama- tion of it with a dissimilar one, but to the evil causes which follow in the wake of it. We have just seen that "changing conditions change characters." The fact that marvelous material improvements and multiplications of wealth have been wrought by industry in the past de- cade, did not, in itself, produce the insatiable cravings of an abnormal nature; but the changed condition wrought an untried state among these whites, and changing conditions among the col- ored, of whatever nature, produces like results. Rapid changes in environments among people of every race and age have produced abnormal characters for a time, being thus born. In some instances whole nations have gone down, who failed to regain their equilibrium before nat- ional corruption ensued. And so if Professor McKeever will go down to the bottom, the very source of delinquency in his students, he will in- variably find that unnatural, improper sex-amal- gamation, is the first cause of all the Thaw char- acteristics and delinquency in the wide world. How else could two children of the same par- ents, reared in exactly the same environments, differ so widely that one may be wholly respect- able, industrious, energetic — even a preacher of the Gospel — while the other is a black sheep, a OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 407 veritable Thaw character, or like a Thaw vic- tim? Like produces like. This is an unchang- able natural law, and no parents can cheat or defraud nature. One child born in a harmoni- ous love-state, and another under a reversed con- ThtE rvtOTI^ER IS ThE^PHE>NATAL TEACHER HER RACE. dition, cannot be alike; and no training in the home, or any other kind of training, can make them alike. We, of course, believe in giving all children a thorough home-training, and especi- ally in harmony with phrenological science, if it were possible; but we maintain that a child 408 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION rightly born is already trained at birth, and needs only a little additional cultivation and care, like a vigorous plant, to make it thrive and mature beautifully. We believe in the method of child culture experiments Professor McKeever advo- cates or suggests ; and we are now convinced that it would do a vast amount of good in the im- provement of the human race ; but we also believe that the source, the first cause, the wrong birth, should especially receive the attention of our government; and this evil should be eliminated by it as far as possible, among both white and colored, by the scientific methods we advocate, and by a thorough educational campaign, such as Professor McKeever suggests. A MOTHER IS THE PRE-NATAL KINDERGARTEN TEACHER.— But this is terrible! Let the government teach us how to conceive and bear better children? Why not? Does it not teach us how to improve our stock, our farm product and our soil; and are our own offspring of less importance than our farms and stock? Should not self-improvement, or the bet- terment of mankind, be our highest aim in life? We have already touched upon this subject. We will add that the right conception and birth of a child, of whatever color, overshadows and out- weighs all other reforms put together; and that OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 409 the government has not given the races within our borders the privilege of attaining a scientific knowledge of this subject, in this age of marvel- ous achievement, is a moral outrage to the masses of people of our great civilization. When every conceivable kind of improvement is contemplated and executed, why not this? Would not the peo- ple pay for it and the country be benefitted thereby? A mother should not only be in a quiet, happy mood during pregnancy, but her mind should be occupied with useful, studious and delightful thoughts; and her hands with such labor as may be congenial to her, and of sufficient importance to occupy her entire attention when thus em- ployed. She is Nature's kindergarten teacher of the embryo and child unborn — the making of a man. What a solemn trust hath God conferred upon you? O, mother of the human family! Violate this sacred trust, and the verdict — guilty — is written upon your own flesh and blood, your own darling babe, and naught on earth has power to erase that sin which you taught it, which you committed, while it was alone with you in the sanctuary of your soul. The evil thus transmit- ted from mother to child is monstrous! — terrible to contemplate-^it baffles human understanding. Yet, how little is being done to counterbalance the evil thus wrought? 410 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Prospective mothers, do you take a leap into the dark as regards the character of your own future child? You need not. You can, if you will, know the character, the future profession, trade or occupation, etc., of your unborn child. You can predict its future career if you will. You can say with positive knowledge: "This mv child, I have caused to be born thus, * T and its life-work will be that; the other one I have caused to be born thus, and its life-work and character will be like this," etc. But, how? By your own effort. You can mould the future character of your child like a potter his clay, if you will it. But you must positively will it. The author has made hundreds of observa- tions which fully confirm this fact; and others who have investigated along this line have come to like conclusions. To illustrate, we will give but one case which will convey to you the im- portance and truthfulness of our statement, es- pecially if we assure you that it is but a common occurrence we have met with, among both white and colored, in our many years of observations: The first child, a boy of this case, was more like its father than its mother, and not superior to either. The next, a girl, born under nearly the same conditions, was again more like him than her. The third, again a boy, was unlike the OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 411 older children and unlike either parent, in that its upper frontal brain lobes were more de- veloped in the region of Causality and Compari- son, and its features were more refined and the quality of its brain apparently finer. When en- quiring the cause of this phenomenon we, of course, were as usually met with bland igno- rance and simple curiosity. But, we ask, did you not read or study something before this child was born; just think and see? "Oh, lordy, yes," she exclaimed, "1 sure is I's readin ebery day and studen som mo in de night, cause I's gowin to be edicated like all de good culued folks." Therein lies the secret of mental or brain de- velopment, and the unusual brightness of some unpromising-looking boys and girls of the black, ignorant class of Negroes. This poor, simple- minded, good hearted little black mother was educating her unborn babe, unknown to herself, and was thus unconsciously preparing it for a life of greater service and more efficient useful- ness to her race. The influence of the mind over matter, when intelligently directed, is all-power- ful; and for this reason should Negro mothers cultivate and use this wonderful knowledge for the betterment of the race. Lazy, shiftless mothers cannot thus cultivate their children. It takes some effort and intense application in the direction the child is desired to be developed. 412 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Whatever trade or profession the child is to ex- cel in, must be taken up by the mother and thoroughly absorbed, especially during the later half of pregnancy, or the effect produced will not be satisfactory. And, above all, the moral nature of the mother must be trained and inten- sified. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 413 CHAPTER XIX PSYCHIC EVOLUTION, OR SOUL-LIFE AND THOUGHT FORCE SOUL-LIFE. — We not only believe, but we know that if there is any soul-life for man, that that life is, through Providence, the result of man's own psychic achievement. Science has so far failed to find any trace of a heaven or a spirit-life, save the one that man has created for himself. That man cannot create for himself a soul-life, cannot be denied by either theology or science. The highest theological thought has, in fact, supported this truth in late years. God, the psychic power of the universe, has so created man that soul-life is within his reach — a part of his heritage, if he uil/s it. We know that any one who has 4|;he positive knowledge within himself that he is immortal, and can hold that thought, has the key to heaven — a spirit-life. When we view this important subject in this advanced light, we have a far clearer conception of soul-life than we have ever had before; and this fact should be a stimulant to all who know, to develop their own spiritual selves. We speak as a scientist, not as a theologian. 414 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION It is evident that all men do not possess a soul- life. It is a well-known fact to psychologists that "As A MAN THINKETH IN HIS HEART SO IS HE/^ It is your belief that holds you, and you not your belief. It is your belief that makes you what you are. It is your belief that determines the shape of your head to a marked extent, and also the shape of your body. It causes your face to shine with intelligence, morality, benevolence and spirituality, if your intellectual, moral and spiritual faculties in the brain have been culti- vated. On the other hand it stamps upon the face cruelty, deceitfulness, licentiousness and murder. Those of us who know can read all men like an open book, and never fail to detect their dominant beliefs. We believe that the time will come when all children at^ur public schools may be able to obtain a scientific knowledge of human nature. We believe that the time will come when all may understand and know their fellow men. -' Let us draw your thoughts to the Invisible Power which has complete control of all things. That part of you which is variously called In- telligence, Consciousness, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Ego, Divine Principle, etc. That part of you which no other animal has so fully developed, OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 415 is the part of you which can make you immortal, which can make you an independent, conscious spirit-being, if you will it; which can make you a god, a creator, all-powerful, if you will it. For advocating this tremendous truth the Nazarene philosopher was crucified by the mate- rialistic Jews who believed in a materialistic god. We could prove from a scriptural standpoint that our position is a true one; but we are not trying to prove any thing by the Bible or any other book, but from experience. But in regard to the teachings of Christ we will say that He taught that He was in the Father, and that by father He meant Ruler, Creator, God, etc., and that the Father was in Him, and that He and the Father were united or one. He taught that the Creative Life was in Him, and that He could create or destroy, the very thing we are trying to bring out — viz., that the power to create or destroy is in man, and that no man is finished until he has created within himself the charac- ter of a soul-life. The power to create a soul-life is in all men, but a knowledge of this power is not always present. John Wesley, George Whitfield, and many others had remarkable spiritual faculties, still it was quite late in their lives before they re- ceived a positive knowledge of soul-life. 416 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION NO SOUL-LIFE.— The statement of Christ that the kingdom of God (of life) is within us, is a scientific fact. He often complained of the materialistic tendencies of his day. He often said, they will not come to me, they will not hear me, that they may have life — spirit-life, soul- life, immortality. As long as a man is not in possession of the positive knowledge of soul-life, so long does he exist on the animal plane of life; so long is he a part of the animal world, where we have no evi- dence of a soul-life, save of the reincarnation order. It is contrary to the teachings of the Nazarene, contrary to a fixed psychic law of life to believe that a man, civilized or savage, will enter a spirit-life when he dies, in direct opposition to his life and controlling beliefs. Every man is transplanted in the act of pro- creation, reappearing in his offspring, until he has reached a stage in his existence when his soul-life is developed, at which time he passes out of the generative into the regenerative or spirit-life. Then, and not until then, is a man finished — the very image of his maker — an im- mortal spirit-being, obtained through the perfect model or ideal — Christ. To know God, to know the Creative Power of the universe, is soul-life in the spirit-world. or the fading leopard's spots 41t The realization and sensing of immor- tality IS immortality. You can no more send the soul of a man to heaven, who does not believe in a heaven, and has no perception of one, than you can send a goose into a f ryingpan, that does not believe in a roast. You can no more send the soul of a man to heaven, who does not believe in a soul or heaven, than you can make an ass trot up hill that has a strong inclination to stay down. You cannot send a thing into spirit-life that does not exist, or that is not finished for a spiritual exist- ence. You can project a shaft of light into dark- ness, but vou cannot project darkness into light. HIGHLY DEVELOPED SOUL-LIFE.— Permit us to draw the physical likeness of a highly developed soul-life. The top-head is high and fully developed. He feels through every fibre of his physical being that he is spirit. He has developed a fixed sense. He is not only conscious of immortality, but he is sometimes clairvoyant. He is one of a class who some- times puzzles psychic scientists with unexplain- able phenomenon. There is generally a vast dif- ference between him and professional spirit- mediums. He is a living fact. He does not per- form wonderful slate writing miracles, or any other marvelous spirit feats. He may believe in professional spirit mediums and be deceived 27 418 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION BISHOP R. ALI^EN Founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church He had a wonderful development of spirituality, veneration and hope —a beautiful, sensitive nature. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 419 by them, especially if he be weak in the percep- tive faculties; but Conscientiousness is too strong in him, and Secretiveness and the other selfish mental faculties are too weakly represented in his brain to allow him to pose as a fraud, or de- ceive people in any way. Some brains may be large, but they are as coarse as sawdust; his jSIECAT(VE. SPIRITU/^LITY, " VENERATION. A LOW-CLASS EAST AFRICAN SAVAGE. (From a photograph.) In this animal-man the higher or transcendental brain organs, through which veneration and spirituality act, are almost absent. The light outline shows his profile, the dotted hne shows the difference between the cranium development of Bishop James Varick and this savage. This man needs a great deal of patient training in order to develop a conscious soul-life. 420 HOLM'S R-\CE ASSIMILATION brain is as fine as silk. It is reported that while John Wesley was in a mob at one time, a man raised his arm to strike him, but suddenly dropped it and stroked his head, saying, "What soft hair he has!" Wesley was one of those who had a remarkable fine brain, through which his mind could express itself with marked results, but Swedenburg's was the greatest we know of. RISHOP JAMES VARICK. Founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Large brain, practical thinker, a leader of men. He had a stub- born, determined nature, toned down by large human nature, benevolence, spiritualit}' and veneration. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S "SPOTS 421 We wish to be plainly understood. Some are better developed than others from childhood, but all who have ever achieved any degree of power, have passed through a painful process of evolution. We give you the positive assurance that you have the power within yourself to develop the body in which you live, and shape it, and ex- press yourself through it, and through all mate- rial things about you, as you please. You can create within yourself any belief you please; and it is your dominant belief that makes you what you are. You should shape your own destiny and not be a creature of circumstances. If you do not know yourself, but carelessly drift along in the current of circumstances, you will retain the undesir- able position of a "negative," and you will never become the moulder of society, a captain of in- dustry, the governor of a people, or any other positive pole. THE MAN WHO FEELS ALL IS MAT- TER. — Now, we shall draw the outline of a man who feels through his whole being that "all is matter." His head is low and broad. He is intensely materialistic. Oliver Wendell Holmes says : "It is such a sad thing to be born a sneaking fellow, so much worse than to inherit a humpback or a couple of club 422 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION feet, that I sometimes feel as if we ought to love the crippled souls, if I may use this expression, with a certain tenderness we need not waste on noble natures. One w^ho is born with such con- genital incapacity that nothing can make a gen- tleman of him is entitled not to our wrath, but to our profoundest sympathy." It is just possible for him to grasp the idea of spiritual and moral laws. His moral and spirit- ual faculties are all negative. His selfish fac- ulties are all highly developed. He enjoys a prize-fight, a cock-fight and every other kind of a fight. He lives on the animal plane of life. If you put any trust in him he is likely to take advantage of you. He is a monster when aroused and capable of committing any deed. He is a licentious brute, who has not yet created within himself the possibility of a soul-life. He has talents, but they are of a cunning, selfish nature, and not productive of soul-life. i\ma- tiveness may cause him to be very pleasing at times, especially to ladies, but we pity any woman who ever comes within the circle of his influence or force, and vice versa. He is void of virtue and animal-like. WE MAY CHANGE IF WE WILL.— From this most unfortunate state of mind up to the highest we find a great variety of characters, always depending upon the degree of develop- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 423 ment in the brain of the forty-two faculties of which the Mind is composed. Those faculties of the Mind which are most highly developed are the ones that determine the man's character, the shape of his head, his face and body. But if you have knowledge of yourself, you will realize the fact that your phy- sical brain is as plastic as clay in a potter's hands, and that you can shape it, and create within it the belief essential to a soul-life, and all other desirable qualities, if you positively will it. You have within you the power to change the shape of your cranium, the shape of your face and the shape of your whole physical being, and express yourself through it as you please. As we state elsewhere, a criminal or unfortunately de- veloped man cannot be trained to overcome self, until he has knowledge of the power within and wills it. We shall now make a statement relative to what has already been said, and then we shall show vou the truth of it: WE RECEIVE AS MUCH AS WE BE- LIEVE. — "Whatsoever you ask, believing that you will receive it, you have it." This psychic law never fails to respond just as far as we comply with its conditions. If you will look about you with your eye of understand- ing, you will see the operation of this law on 424 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION every hand. There is nothing on earth that man has ever done, that is not the result of the opera- tion of this psychic law. There is nothing, no matter how easy it may be, that a man can do, unless he believes that he can do it. And it is often the case that a man does not know how to create a belief in himself to do a certain thing, and consequently cannot do it. This is commonly known as failure — failure to do a certain thing undertaken. Many men fail in everything they undertake to do. They never succeed. They are sick. It's a dis- ease. They are deficient in certain elementary qualities of the mind. They ought to be treated for success. They could make a success in their right calling in life, if they knew themselves and could create the necessary belief in themselves essential to success. It is true, some succeed in what they do, without knowing why, but every one of them has unconsciously created the thing essential to success. The man who knows him- self, and is conscious of the power within him, and knows how to use it, is sure of success, while the other fellow gropes about in the dark, know- ing not "whence he cometh or whither he goeth." And the same thing is true in regard to soul-life. A man may unconsciously cultivate a soul-life for himself, and get to heaven without knowing how he got there, and walk the golden streets OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 425 with his boots on, and eat the fruit of life with his smutty mouth and dirty face, but everything is against him— the whole world of darkness, ignorance, sin and wrong beliefs— and nothing is for him to which he can cling, as long as he is unconscious of the Creative Power within him- self, as long as he is not "Born of the spirit." The realization and sensing of immortality is immortality. MATERIAL EVIDENCE I L L U S - TRATES. — But let us not depart from the thought we hold at present. Let us look at the material evidence for a few moments, that we may prove, beyond the least shadow of doubt, the truth of our position. There was no one who believed that the Alps in Switzerland could be crossed by rail, until the germ of faith was generated in an engineer's mind, and behold! it was done. There was no one who believed that steam navigation could be employed to any great extent until Robert Fulton, that marvelous inventive mind demon- strated in 1803 on the Seine, and in 1807 on the Hudson, that it could be done. The wonder- ful progress made in this direction in a century borders the miraculous. The Atlantic Liner Mauretania, the queen of the seas, now makes the transatlantic trip in four days and seventeen hours; an average speed of 25.55 knots per hour, 426 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION against the heavy winter sea, and it is believed that this even can be excelled. To do this she converts i,ooo tons of coal a day into ashes. The coal put on board for one trip requires twenty- two coal trains of thirty trucks each, if each truck carries ten tons. She can accommodate 500 first- class passengers, 500 second-class and 1,300 third-class. To sail the ship and look after the various wants of the ocean voyagers there are seventy officers and men in the sailing depart- ment, 350 stewards and fifty cooks, 390 in the engineer's department, besides the band and a good sized company of telephone and telegraph operators, printers for a daily newspaper and various attendants — a total of from 800 to 900 .men makes up the crew — equal to an average regiment of infantry. Who was there in the wide world with the faintest belief that any other communication could ever be established between this country and Europe than by the slow-going ships, before Cyrus W. Field stepped upon the arena and said, "It can be done?" All the mountains of difficulties were swept aside, and today that be- lief stands a grand monument to preceding ages, of the marvelous power of the mind over mat- ter. And yet again has loomed up before us an- other belief, in the same direction, which was born and nursed in the mind of Marconi and OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 427 Others who have since demonstrated before all men, that it is possible to communicate with the world, without wire or cable, by electricity. Electricit\^ was very little thought of until Prof. Morse began to use it as a telegraphic medium, and after that wonderful invention it was thought to have reached its highest useful- ness, and nothing more was done. But as time went on there appeared upon the scene Thomas Edison. In that mind began to grow a belief in the future of electricity that baffles all descrip- tion. Mr. Edison actually dared to believe in greater possibilities than have ever been achieved by mortal man, and today we have most every convenience we can think of coming from this unseen force, MAN IS A CONSCIOUS AND CREA- TIVE BEING.— And thus we could follow up achievement after achievement, discovery after discovery, invention after invention, until we have circumscribed the whole territory of man's activities, from a wooden plow to a flying machine and a visit to the North Pole, and still not find a single instance in which man has done anything that was not the result of the Creative Propensity of his being. And we wish to reit- erate the fact, that Man is the only being on earth who has the full consciousness of life, and the power to create whatsoever he desires. 428 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION "But," you may ask here, "are there not lim- its?" We answer, certainly there are. Man's powers like all other things are limited. There never was a beginning without an end, but who has ever measured the creative power of man from his beginning to his end. Who has ever measured God from His be- ginning to His end? God and man are one, IF MAN WILLS IT. Some day all men will learn the highest law of their being — the power to create and the power to destroy. PARENTS SHAPE THE SOUL OF THEIR CHILD.— On the other hand it has been argued by those who believe in universal salvation — who believe that all men have spirit- life and are either saved or unsaved — that if our position is a true one, all irresponsible children who die are without conscious soul-life, and con- sequently lost. "And," they say, "Jesus said, 'Of such is the kingdom of heaven.' " A lack of knowledge of this psychic law has caused man to stumble and fall into all kinds of errors on his long, painful march from the swamps of the ani- mal life, to the mountain top of a conscious, fin- ished soul. Let us mark closely what recent psychological research has brought to light. We have already touched upon this in a former chapter. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 429 We find that parents have within their reach the power to shape the destiny of their offspring. We find that the father and mother can con- ceive and mould the soul of their unborn child as they please, shaping it either in purity and im- mortality, or in depravity and degradation. O man! O woman! you hold the destiny of your child in your hand. You can bring your babe before the throne of the Immortal to be blest, or cast it into the dark pit of spiritual un- consciousness, as you please or will. You have within you the power to curse, the power to create, the power to bless, and the power to destroy. Man has no more right to populate this beau- tiful world with drunkards, idiots, outlaws and vagabonds, than he has to kill his neighbor or curse his God. The beautiful practice of dedicating infants to God, the Father of all, has a far greater sig- nificance to us, since it has proven of scientific importance, than it has ever had before. Procreation with no other object than the grat- ification of lust, is the crowning curse of race mixing and modern civilization. The libertinism and gross licentiousness of to- day in both' races, is a reproach to all existing institutions in America. Let the union of two souls of any two races 430 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION enter the sanctuary of the immortal-self, and the child — the man of the future — be he considered mixed or pure, when he drops the body of clay, will be positive of a conscious, independent spirit state. The gross error and superstition of the past, born in the mental darkness of man's early morn- ing is fast breaking away, and the golden ray of a noonday sun is penetrating to the quick in all its infinite glory, enlightening and broadening his vision, leading up, and up, to a full realiza- tion of a pure, beautiful, perfect, finished, con- scious soul-life. In procreation the spiritual as well as the phy- sical man and woman must unite in the produc- tion of a God-child — a child with a perfect body as well as a developed soul-life. Thus, and thus alone, can be created a "New heaven and a new earth" in which immortal souls can live and commune with the Father of all, in love and harmony, in peace and happiness, above race, above hatred, above the crime of war. A UNION OF THOUGHT-FORCES IS IRRESISTIBLE.— The greatest and wisest philosopher the world has ever known once asked, "Where is your faith?" (Luke. 8, 25). A union of thought-force or faith has always proved irresistible. The world, with all its wis- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 431 dom today, has not yet fully discovered the ter- rible potency of combined thought-force. Here- in lies the greatest weakness of the Negro race today. This fact we wish to impress especi- ally upon our colored readers in these closing remarks. The Afro-American and Colored Cau- casian docs not exercise sufficient combined thought-force to bring about results most desir- able, with his white co-workers. There are too many leading men of fine education and broad culture in the race who make actual confessions to the dominant forces that they are inferior be- ings; and others who do not do this retire with all their acquired and God-given talents into a gloomy, pessimistic atmosphere. Now, whatsoever a union of thought-force DEMANDS, that shall come to pass. This fact was fully illustrated in the emancipation move- ment. All the power of thought of a handful of men and women was centered upon the demand that "slavery shall be abolished," and the civil- ized world echoed in a hypnotic sleep — "slavery shall be abolished," and it was abolished. We received a letter from a man of learning and great mental capacity, of African descent, as white as 'any Caucasian. We quote him here, as it bears upon the thought we hold. He says in part: "You see that nothing we can propose or do will avail anything unless the white race 432 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION approves. Now the white race is a great race, and they have mastered a larger body of truth than any other race. But as a race they have willed on the race question that they will be utterly inaccessible to any plea or argument that conflicts with their settled determination on the race question. We can find an easy solution for this question in the Bible, but even the Bible is ruled out where it comes into conflict with this settled determination. If the Bible and free speech could be tolerated we could easily find "the way out," but with these barred it is use- less to speak at all. * * * But for this "settled determination" not to follow or tolerate truth except so far, this question could be easily solved, as have been all the great questions of human progress during the centuries." A great plutocratic politician once said, "The people be damned," when speaking of their rights, and this is equally appliable to this "settled determination" of which our corre- spondent speaks. Such "settled determination" is doomed as soon as an irresistible union of thought-force is centered upon the prevalent wrongs and sears them with the eternal Spirit of Truth. This "settled determination" by the white race in regard to the race question, is but a psychic disorder as we say elsewhere. Our correspond- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 433 ent, whom we quote, says that "the white race has mastered a larger body of truth than any other race." While it has done this it has not yet received sufficient psychic- enlightenment, or "Spirit of Truth," to be healed of this serious mental disorder, and subjugate the selfish, ani- mal propensity. This "settled determination" of the white race is based upon the selfish animal nature in man, and therefore cannot endure the glare of science or exact reasoning. The animal nature in man cannot reason, and consequently cannot discern right from wrong. It has no more regard for the Christian religion or the truth the Bible con- tains than a cow, horse or dog. It is the selfish animal in the white man that will cause him to disfranchise his own son, and curse his own daughter, and ignore their mother, because of color. This same selfish propensity has caused Mr. Tillman to say that he will not allow the heel of the Negro on his neck; and has caused Vardaman to say that the "saddle horse at Tuskegee does not know as much about our form of government as a white man from the back woods who cannot read or write." This same selfish beast propensity causes an irresponsible populace in this country to snub, belittle and damn the people of color; it causes all the mob violence and lynching and deprives the Negro of his rights a^ a citizen. 434 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION This lower element in human nature is an ele- ment of cowardice when it faces the Sermon on the Mount. It has caused all wars and blood- shed; it has caused one race to enslave another; it rules by physical force and not by love or rea- son ; but in every age of the world's history it has cowered in the dust when the spiritual ele- ment in human nature has exerted itself in a union of thought-force, in the presentation of truth and justice. Thought takes form in action. We receive as much as we believe. Hammer a truth into a people by persistent repetition and that truth will take form in action. The psychic law that a "little leaven will leaven the whole lump" will endure the ages until time is no more. A truth, though it be regarded as small as a mustard seed, when planted will grow and become a tree so the birds of the air (the little children at the mother's knee) may recognize it and roost therein. THE WAY OUT SUMMED UP.— An OPEN, UNPREJUDICED INTERMARRIAGE UNION, SCIENTIFIC CARE OF THE CRIMINAL CLASS OF BOTH RACES, WITH A NATURAL, MODULATED SEPA- RATION OF THE RACES, WITHOUT ANY STATE IN- TERFERENCE, JUST AS THE CONSCIENCE AND RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS MAY DICTATE TO THE MEN AND WOMEN OF A FREE COIWTRY, AND AN OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 435 EDUCATION ON THE BROAD BASIS OF UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD— THESE ARE THE ESSENTIALS IN OVERCOMING CLANNISHNESS AND COLOR LINES AxND IN ESTABLISHING A UNITED PEOPLE IN THESE UNITED STATES. 436 riOL^rS RACE ASSIMILATION RESUME INTRODUCTION The following writers scarcely need an intro- duction. They have all made their mark in the upbuilding of their race, some of them attaining international reputation. We have spared neither time nor expense in selecting them for this book, as to differences in age, the amount of Negro blood, and other striking physical and mental contrasts. The student of human nature will find in them a variety in thought and mental make-up, both pleasing and profitable to pursue. They touch upon nearly every subject we discuss in this work. Beginning with the ripe, scholarly minister, Rev. John H. White, D. D., whose essay corre- sponds with our first chapter. Next comes Dr. James Shepard on "Prejudice," followed by an "Optimistic View," by a not less cultured gentle- man, Prof. Davis, very different in physical and mental characteristics. Then comes an in- teresting paper, giving a general survey, by Prof. William Pickens, the rising young linguist, un- like either of the preceding writers. Without either writer knowing what the next one will sav, or who the next one will be, James E. Mc- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 437 Girt, the magazine editor and writer on economy, picks up a thread where Prof. Pick- ens drops it, and says just what the reader would expect him to say to complete an argument. No one will fail to note the next writer, who says just what he wants to say without "beating about the bush" — Bishop Alexander Walters, the fearless soldier of truth and justice, the recognized leader of the Afro-American people. The little leaven he puts into his paper is so powerful, it leavens a whole lump of readers. And right at his heels comes a little brown woman, in the person of Anna D. Borden, a fear- less and outspoken woman of the Negro race. Though small and delicate physically, she is a veritable bundle of energy, surpassing nearly every other woman who has ever stood for the uplift and liberty of womanhood. Following this lady comes Sophia Cox Johnson, giving a graphic description of how the Negro woman is advancing right in the heart of the Black Belt. Next we meet with a pleasant surprise in the department of logical reasoning, flowing from the magnetic pen of that able, fascinating, force- ful writer of the A. M. E. Zion Church, Bishop J. W. Smith. No man or woman, with any men- tal capacity whatever, can escape this writer, without being seriously impressed with the truth of his arguments. 438 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Following Bishop Smith we meet with an- other writer of natural ability, Rev. J. W. Wood, whose wonderful oratory is heard in one of the largest and most cultured churches on the Gulf coast, which he is pastoring at the present time. His view of the race question is in harmony with our idea of human evolution. He has had broad experience both North and South, and he testifies to the fact, w^e so often reiterate in this book, that the cultured and educated of both races, and not the lower element, w^ill eventually bring about social equality between the races. J.J. H. THE FOOTPRINTS OF THE HAMITIC OR NEGRO RACE IN HISTORY BY JOHN H. WHITE, D. D. (Contributed for this book.) A certain writer said "That the best evidence of a race's being on earth is the mark left behind in the wake of its tread." Historians differ as to the origin of the Negro or Black Race, that is, the modern historians of the American and Eng- lish, and, to some extent, the German schools; but we leave them with profound pity to their JOHN II. WHITE, D. D. Colored Caucasian. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 439 racial prejudice, and turn to the oldest history that the world knows, the Bible, from which we read the historical account, the origin of the Black Race in Genesis, tenth chapter, sixth to twentieth verses, I presume that Moses, or the compiler of this historical account, knew the ethnological distinctions, and racial divisions of the descendants of Shem, Ham and Japhet, I suppose the ancient Greek historians, authors, philosophers, and travelers, who were deeply interested in Egypt, were proud to ascribe to that country their origin and the source from which they derived their religion and art. I presume that Herodotus, Diodorus, Josephus and Strabo, and, in fact, the best Greek author- ities and historians, the best and most reliable Latin, Babylonian and Egyptian historians, with Rollins and other impartial and unprejudiced writers among the moderns, knew more as to the ethnology of the Hamitic or Negro race, than all the critics and enemies of the black race, of the present generation put together. The traveler who crosses the plains of Asia, and goes along the course of the River Eu- phrates, and then passes down the valley of the Nile in Africa, and looks about him, and sees the ruins of magnificent temples, public buildings and tombs, or mausoleums for the dead, the Sphinx and the towering pyramids, will behold a 440 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION marv^elous evidence of the genius of a people, of a race who lived in the ages gone by, who pro- duced a civilization that was the pioneer of every other in the development of the world's history, and to whom the modern nations owe a debt that they can never pay the people who inhabited ^these countries. I. THE NEGRO ETHNOLOGICALLY CONSIDERED.— The word Negro is of Latin origin, and signifies black, brown or swarthy, derived from the Latin word Niger, as now ap- plied to the races of the African continent, and their descendants in the United States, the West Indies and other parts of the world. Some American historians like Ridpath, and other small imitators, do not class the Egyptians and Ethiopians, or Abyssinians of northern Africa as Negroes; but the old Greek and Latin writ- ers, and many of the most eminent and scholarly modern historians, put the ancient Egyptians, the Ethiopians or modern Abyssinian into the black or brown column, and call them Hamites or black. Egypt was called the black land, and the Egyptians called their country Kem, or the land of the black people. The Ethiopians, the present Abyssinians, the swarthy land or the land of the sunburnt. The Bible, the best history, asks an important question, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin?" OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 441 II. THE FOOTPRINTS OF THE HAMITIC OR BLACK RACE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.— In an article in the "Arena" of September, 1896, Prof. Boy- ton, of Ohio University, says: "The black race has a history; in fact all history is full of traces of the black element. It is now recognized as the oldest race of which we have any knowledge. The wanderings of the people since pre-historic times began, have not been confined to the Afri- can continent. In Paleolithic times the black race roamed at will over the fairest portion of the old world. Europe as well as Asia and Af- rica acknowledged his sway. No white man had yet appeared to dispute his authority in the vine-clad valleys of France and Germany, or upon the classic hills of Greece and Rome. The black man preceded all others, and carried Pal- eolithic culture to every height." All honor to this unbiased and impartial his- torian ; so much so, because he is a white man, and an American. III. NOTICE, BLACK OR HAMITIC RACE— A FUNDAMENTAL RACE.— (a) The Hamitic Negro race is a fundamental ele- ment in origin; not only the primitive races of Southern Europe, but of all the civilized coun- tries of antiquity. History begins, it may be said, in Ancient Egypt, and recedes into the dim 442 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION past. Just as far as records and inscriptions give us light, in the valley of the Nile, along its banks we find civilization that has drawn from all the world and succeeding ages expressions of wonder arid admiration. (b) The Ancient Egyptians were a remark- able people; the ruling tribes are called Hami- tics. "The Sunburnt Family," says Dr. Win- chel, "Of Nigritic Origin," says Rawlinson; but the ancient Greek historians tell us that back of the ruling Hamites were a gay, goodnatured, pleasant people. (c) Says Dr. Taylor, an authority on eth- nology, "These people lived peaceably in these regions two thousand years before the advent of the Asiatic invaders. Suggestive as they seem, these terms are truly descriptive of the inhab- itants whom we expect to find in the Valley of the Nile in ancient times. Thev were as purely Nigritic as the great mass of the American Negro or Afro-Americans. IV. A RULING RACE— (a) When the Hamite and their descendants were at the height of their power, their influence extended far wider than generally supposed. They passed on to the confines of Europe; and took posses- sion of Iberia, Modern Spain. Dr. Winchel says: (North American Review) "They entered Spain by the pillars of Hercules, the strait of OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 443 Gibraltar. They came from Northern Africa, and overran the Spanish Peninsula, founded cities, built a navy, carried on commerce and ex- tended their Empire over Italy and Sicanes." When Rome was founded, before the siege and sack of Italy, these Hamites or Nigritic peo- ple passed into Sicily. (b) The Pelasgic Empire w^as at its height as early as 2,000 years B. C. These people came from the Island of the Aegean Sea, and more remotely from Asia Minor. They were origin- ally a branch of the Sunburnt Hamitics or Nigritic Stock that laid the foundation of civi- lization in Canaan, Mespotamia, Zion and Tyre. They passed on back to Africa and founded Carthage, the head of the Carthaginian Empire. Great Rome itself was of Pelasgian or Hamitic stock up to 428 B. C, until the Pelasgic stock became amalgamated with neighboring people and thus produced the Roman Conqueror of the world. (c) The ancient Greeks were a mixture of Hamitic and Japhetic blood. The Hellens were the first Aryans to be brought into contact with the Sunburnt Hamitics. The Hamatics of Greece, who are described by the prejudiced historian as "white," were as strongly Nigritic as the Afro-American of the United States. These Hellenes were savages and barbarians, 444 HOLiM'S RACE ASSIMILATION and the Hamites were cultured, learned and civ- ilized, possessing knowledge of the arts and sciences; Aryan or Japhetic push and energy were brought in contact with Hamitic culture and civilization. Then began the great struggle of the centuries for social equality between the Blonde Aryan or descendant of Japhet, and the Brunette Pelas- gian or descendant of Ham, who had brought science and culture to Greece in the remote ages of the past from Egypt. Had it not been for the mixture of the dark blood of the Brunette Pelasgian, the dark child of the soil in the Greek compositions, Demos- thenes, Eschylus, Sophocles, Socrates and hosts of Greek poets, orators, artists and philosophers would never have existed. V. THE HAMITE OR NEGRO HAS FIGURED CONSPICUOUSLY IN ALL THE WORLD'S RACES.— (a) The Negro has always figured in the history of the world. His blood has entered strongly into that of the dominant and conquering Roman, into the Latin races of Europe — France, Spain and Italy. This Nigritic blood had much to do with the build- ing up of the great English nation, from the Phoenician mingling the blood of the Hamite with that of the Celt, Saxon, Dane and Norman French, and in every country on this continent his blood mingles with the greatest in the land. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 445 VI. HAMITE AS A CIVILIZER.— (a) As a civilizer, the Hamite has not had his equal, or has not been equalled by his other brethren, the Semitic or Japhetic races. Long before Rome was founded, or Greece flourished, the descendants of Ham in Egypt had given to the world the highest possibilities for civilization and culture. To those who deny the Negro in general, and especially in this country the possi- bilities of culture and development, we point to the slow progress of the "Aryan Races," so called by many writers on ethnology; but es- pecially so designed by Prof. Max Mullen Who could have foreseen the strength and power of the Aryan or so-called "White Race?" For thousands of years that race roamed the woods and forests of Asia and Europe, and were as ignorant and barbarous as the African in his native jungle. (b) When at length the proper time of its development was furnished by Providence, this great energetic, pushing, grasping race sprang into splendid development, and has long since passed its fellows in the race of progress and civilization. When in the order of God's prov- idence the same favorable conditions and en- vironments shall be supplied to the descendants of Ham in this country, and especially when "The Door of Hope is fully opened," shall mean 446 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION more than words, when "A Square Deal" shall be a fact and not a fiction, then shall the Negro or Afro-American respond to the opportunities given, and develop into a great, progressive race, and lead again in the development of the World's History. Camden, N. J. COLOR PREJUDICE IN AMERICA AND EUROPE— CAUSES BY JAMES E. SHEPARD President of the National Religious Training School and Chau- tauqua, located at Durham, N. C. (Contributed for this book.) There is a prejudice in America against peo- ple of color. This prejudice is seen in acts of disbarments from public schools, in discrimina- tion on vehicles used as public carriers, where the same price is paid by all in public accommo- dations, and in laws which are partially admin- istered in many instances. Color prejudice in America is due to two direct causes. First, the Anglo-Saxon's innate belief that he is superior to all other races. This was plainly shown in the attitude of the Japanese, who are colored people. Admitting the fact that in many instances the Anglo-Saxon is superior, the superiority ought OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS d. riif i nw i , iiiia«M«iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiBiiiMi ^< — ^^ ■>» ---..^...,^ ~vwOO«««WM»««<'AonAM^<4 luamsetv^ Afro-American. 448 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION to be shown in the broadness of views, justice and kindness to all men, which, whenever shown^ denotes true greatness and the highest superior- ity. The fact also is lost sight of that three- fourths of the world's population can rightly be classed as colored people, and in fact, from early antiquity there has been such a mixture of blood between all nations, that it is hard to draw a di- viding line w^hich is absolutely correct. Second, the prejudice toward the Negro espe- cially is due to the first statement, and to the further fact that the Negro was formerly held in bondage. After the emancipation, so great was th€ prejudice held by some that they could not endure to live in a country where former slaves had been placed on terms of equal citi- zenship, and many southerners went to Brazil in South America, so that they could still hold their fellow men in slavery. Justice was not asleep. It was not long be- fore slavery was abolished in Brazil, and those who fled from the United States on account of the emancipation of the slaves had to face the same conditions in South America, and even face, in the beginning, a greater equality than has ever existed in the United States. What a cruel irony of fate! The further fact is lost sight of, that if the prejudice is due to former slavery, then this OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 44^ would be a just cause for a world-wide hatred, for at one time or another every nation was in bondage to some other nation. The prejudice cannot be charged to illiteracy, for every day steamships are pouring upon American soil a teeming horde of illiterate people who are out of harmony with the spirit and conditions of the country; so the only reason that we can ascribe the American prejudice to is color. In America this color prejudice is decidedly inimical to the growth of a republic, especially a republic which in its very preamble sets forth the fact that all men are born equal and en- dowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, the principal ones being the right to life, liberty and the pursuits of happiness. In Amer- ica civil rights have not been separated from the right to live, to acquire education and to pursue business and to participate in the affairs of the government. To the close observer it would seem passing strange that all the rights set out by the above should be made subservient to so- cial rights, and yet it is the case. States, in their extreme eagerness to regulate so-called social rights, have lost sight of the fact that every individual has a right to live and to hope, and any other spirit is beneath the notice of a republic founded upon liberty and justice. The State has no right to regulate the social 450 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION status of the individuals; the social right in every case can be regulated by the individuals concerned. A particular class has the right to exclude another from the social privileges which they enjoy, but the State never! The case has been stated fairly so far as America is concerned. Prejudice, to some extent exists in Great Britain. The smaller prejudice is of color; the larger is of class. The smaller prejudice of color that exists in Great Britain is due to the American influence. I pen these remarks with regret but it is abso- lutely true. In a tour through Great Britain, in places little visited by Americans I found no prejudice. In towns visited by Americans there is prejudice, although veiled to a large extent. There is a broad and deep sympathy in the hearts of Englishmen for the colored race in America; and this is shown in many ways. In fact the English people have always been the friend of liberty in their effort to put down the slave traffic. England paid Portugal £300,000 and paid Spain £400,000. They kept a squadron on the West coast of Africa at an actual cost esti- mated by Mr. Gladstone, when he was Chancel- lor of the Exchequer, of £700,000 per year and a great sacrifice of valuable lives. They paid to the West Indies and Mauritius £20,000,000 to free their slaves, and altogether the efforts of OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 451 England to put down this abominable traffic cost the country between fifty and one hundred million pounds. The treatment of the Kaffirs in South Africa is altogether different, and neither the conditions nor the people are the same as in America. Tn Great Britain the larger prejudice is due to the ancient feudal system of master and servant and land tenure founded upon the King's favor, and special grants of landed estates were handed down from father to son, or nearest kin. This class distinction or prejudice will exist so long as Great Britain has the present system of entail. Land, except in very few instances, cannot be bought; it can only be given as an estate for years or lease, and after the expiration of the same, the estate with all its appurtenances re- verts to the original owner. The City of Lon- don has acquired a great deal of land and leases It out, at an excessively high and even oppressive rental. To those who advocate municipal own- ership, a careful study of that will produce a change, or at least cause them to modify their opinion. Class prejudice is bad, but it cannot be com- pared with color prejudice. In many instances there is social intercourse between the landlord and the tenant, and in many cases even if the blood is wanting and money is in abundance, the 452 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION walls of separation are largely broken down. France presents the truest and best example of what a republic should be in the treatment of all classes, of any large republic on earth, with the possible exception of Brazil. I speak of the masses and not of the classes. The Dreyfus in- cident could happen in America. In France a man is a man, absolutely free. Color plays no p-art in the recognition of a person in any of the walks of life. Money more than anything else is the open sesame in France. The color preju- dice is entirely absent. The average Frenchman would not give up his easy-going habit to disturb himself over the fact as to whether his neighbor was black or white. They are undoubtedly, tak- ing everything into consideration, the most polite people on earth. The electorate system is different from Amer- ica, but every class of its citizens can, in some way, register his wish and have that wish ex- pressed. There are two things an intelligent Frenchman cannot understand: First, the re- publican form of government as expressed by the United States, in its treatment of the colored races. Second, why such a rich country cavils at the payment of claims against it which have been approved. When they point out to the traveler massive and historic buildings, dating back in the centuries long ago gone by, and show OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 453 US magnificent ruins, even in their fallen grand- eur sublime, we point with pride to the achieve- ments of a nation born but yesterday. That is looking toward the rising and not the setting sun. They admit that and then ask about the treat- ment of the colored people, and why such a great and rich nation will not pay its honest and approved debts. Then it is that we hang our heads in shame and admit the soundness of their argument. In Italy, since the adoption of the constitution, the people enjoy freedom almost equal to a re- public; in fact, the Italians will tell you they are the most free people on earth, but I would certainly question that. There is no color preju- dice in Italy by the native Italian. Some col- ored people fought with Garibaldi's army for the freedom of Italy. In Germany a similar condition as exists in Great Britain largely ob- tains. Negroes are not found to a large extent in Europe. Several have obtained prominence and international reputation as artists, novelists, writers, soldiers and musicians. The argument may be advanced that if the Negroes were not in such large numbers in America, and steadily increasing, conditions would be different. The presence of the large numbers should call forth no injustice and wrong treatment. Treat a man like a brute and the brute element within him 454 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION will eventually gain complete mastery and the man becomes a brute; but treat him like a man and a man he will prove. I believe that every- one who has the higher power of thought should have the political education and commercial rights that belong to America — excelling on all other lines, should try to excel all other na- tions in its broad and magnanimous treatment of all colored people, and the prompt payment of all its just and approved debts. When this is done, its citizens traveling abroad will never have cause to hang their heads in shame for their beloved land. Durham, N. C. AN OPTIMISTIC VIEW OF THE NEGRO QUESTION Part of an address delivered before the faculty and students of Shaw University, by Prof. G. E. Davis, Ph. D., Dean of Biddle University. (Contributed for tliis book.) "The question may be asked — what is our greatest problem? There are several great prob- lems that constantly present themselves to the American people. Education, Temperance, Labor and Capital, Trusts and Railroads, Im- perialism and foreign immigration. Then, last but not least, "The Negro Problem," or, better OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 455 PROFESSOR G. E- DA^'TS, PH. D. 456^ HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Stated, "The Problem of the Races." This last is the greatest because it touches and influences all the others. It touches American life at every point. My only apology for bringing before you a subject with which most of you are no doubt as familiar as I am, is that my view may not lead altogether in the beaten track. My line of de- parture may be different. Innumerable reapers have put their sickle into the sunny field, but the harvest is so abundant that even the search of a wayward gleaner may be rewarded with a sheaf. Today, no man is courageous enough to say with confidence wiiat the ultimate solution will be. He who asserts it is either an idiot or a fool. It is being more generally accepted as a fact that in contributing a degree of light upon the subject, that the Negro is the only one of the darker races that has proven capable of looking the Anglo-Saxon in the face at short range and continuing to live in a progressive manner. It is a question to be determined if the rising tawny national powers of the East upon the higher and broader plane of nationality can withstand what by many is held to be the in- evitable contest for supremacy. We believe the results will be determined by the measure in which the Christian religion is embraced. In our own land it seems to be certain that there can never be absolute separation of the Negro OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 457 from the white race, fundamentally, because they have the same religion. Their forms and object of worship are identical and their creeds and creedal sources are the same. The sameness of social, civil and political institutions of the country also have a significant and important bearing upon the question. The true and only solution of our greatest problem is worthy of consideration. I hold that it is to be found only in the Bible and the principles of which Jesus Christ is the embodiment. Looked at in the light of experi- ence, which has been sufficiently varied, we find sufficient grounds for our conclusions. (i) Political methods have not accom- plished the results contemplated, although they have not been failures or barren of beneficent results. When the Negro was given the right of franchise, it was hoped that a weapon was put into his hands with which he might fight his way to the heights of citizenship ; but in the South his vote was counted as suited the convenience of political exigency of the Democratic Party— as is attested by the suflfrage clauses of the South- ern States' Constitutions and Election Laws, enacted in harmony therewith. The white South showed its opposition: (a) By the Black Code enacted under the policy of Andrew Jackson, (b) By the KuKlux organi- 458 HOLM'S R.\CE ASSIMILATION zations during reconstruction, (c) By fraud and as little violence as possible from 1878 to 1895, when it was discovered by Southern polit- ical leaders that the Federal Government was not strong enough to enforce the constitution in the interests of the whole people alike. (2) It has been proposed to colonize the Negro. To this both the Negro and his white fellow citizen will ofTer stubborn resistance- even if a territory in which to colonize him could be found— a thing practically impossible for several reasons, so evident they will not be mentioned. It is no longer a question if the black man and the white man can live together here in the South on terms of civil and political equality. God, by His providence, seems to say they must. The white man will be helped to be more chari- table and less fearful of the bugbear of social equality if he will take time to study the better side of Negro life. The records of the courts are not the only places to go for statistics. We have our criminal class — far too numer- ous, we admit. But there are others. The Negro cannot be colonized because of his relation to the industrial forces of the coun- try. The South boasts of a civilization instinct with dignity and grace. The New South, springing Phoenix like, from the ashes of the OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 459 old, is forging fast forward to the very front rank in industrial and economic importance, A fair minded and Christian people will be slow to forget that, beneath all her glory, past, present and to come, has been and will continue to be the Negro's brawny arm. It is his toil that has cleared the forests, cultivated her fields, covered her hills with fleecy whiteness, and her plains and valleys with golden grain. The causes which bind us to the South are stronger than were the bonds of slavery; they are not only social and political; they are ethnic and climatic. The one unalterable element on the industrial side of the problem is climate. State and national political bodies cannot legislate it out of existence. The white races of the globe have never labored successfully and continuously upon fields where the snow seldom falls. In all the countries of the globe south of the Tropic of Cancer, one of the cardinal canons of the white man's faith is the ability to live without physical toil. It was this more than anv other cause, that made the South cling so tenaciously to the Institution of slavery. All the subtropical coun- tries of the globe present similar Industrial prob- lems. Great Britain has a similar one In India. Egypt and the Israelites had it in ancient times. The cancer of caste seems to cling to the Tropic 460 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION of Cancer. When the white man can change the climate, it will be time enough for us to fear the colonization of the Negro and the importation of white field labor. A vertical sunbeam makes the white man inert physically. It is upon the darker races, therefore that the South must de- pend for physical strength in the development of her great natural resources. It is to his physi- cal prowess that she must look for the mining of her coal, iron and copper, for the building of her great railroads, for the draining of her swamps and the building of her great inland water ways, which will soon make the South the richest part of the Union, and for the cultivation of her farm lands, hundreds of acres of which are being abandoned every year by the "poor whites," who are swarming into the factories springing up all over the South. Not only on the farm, but in other lines of industry and artisan skill, the Negro is demonstrating his skill. The cities of the South, with their resi- dences of grace and beauty, now almost ven- erated with age, are standing monuments to the Negro's mechanical skill, while yet a slave, and his hand has not yet forgot its cunning. Let it be said with credit to the South, that the black man is given employment and excellent wages as a mechanic. In the city of Charlotte, the largest hotel between Atlanta and Baltimore OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 461 is largely the work of colored mechanics. These privileges are denied us at the North. I think I have shown that the interests of the two races are so indissolubly bound together that they ought to strive to kno\v each other better. When men like Henry Watterson and Governor Hughes make such public utterances in defence of the rights of the Negro as were made the other day, I think there is ground for encourage- menu. It is a hopeful sign of the times that in- telligent and law-abiding Negroes may come to- gether in such assemblies as this, even in the Capital of the State, under the shadow of the temple of justice, and freely and fearlessly dis- cuss such questions as affect his progress and relations to the republic of which he forms a part. It has not always been thus, and even when such opportunity has come, often more harm than good has been done by harsh and in- temperate orators, who have sought to impress upon a credulous public their own astuteness rather than the lasting good. It is not altogether in our favor that we are a race of orators. There are too many who want to pose as leaders and too few are willing to work in a circumscribed sphere, achieving permanent and beneficial re- sults as individuals. I come now to state another reason why colon- 4«2 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION ization cannot be thought of. Not only will the white South oppose it for reasons given, but the Negro himself, will not consent to it. I do not stand here as an apologist for the wrongs suffered here by my people. • There are a few who are disposed to deny that the Negro has his full quota of troubles — troubles that come to him because of his contact with the dominant race in whose midst he lives. I am not here tonight to speak harshly of the ex- slaveholder nor of his immediate successor, in whose midst we are today. I am loval to the South. * * * Yhe Southern born Negro does not know how to hate his white fellow-citi- zen. He would not if he could. We are going to work out our destiny here. I verilv believe that, whatever may be the storms that ruffle the surface, there is a genuine feeling of regard and interest on the part of the educated and thought- ful white people of the South for the Negroes w^ho are striving day by day, to rise above the tyranny of "low birth'' and "iron fortune." The thoughtful student of history will not wonder that the white South reo^arded the Negro, at the time of his emancipation, as the cause of all his woes. Yet, time will eradicate that bitterness. Even as it is, he sells our town lot and our farms; he contributes of his means for the sup- OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 463 port of our churches. The Negro's note is good at the white man's bank. He has accumulated in the South, 187,000 farms. From poverty and penury he has advanced to the possession of $450,000,000 worth of farm lands and $170,000,- 000 worth of personal property, making a total of $620,000,000. Most of this wealth is in the South. He has been able to do this or much of it on ac- count of the tolerance and friendship of the best and most representative business men of the country. We see, therefore, that both races have a duty to perform. The white man should encourage the Negro and it is our duty to do all we can, by all honorable means, to win and re- tain the respect and confidence of our well dis- posed neighbor. We will never leave the South. We are a part of its civilization. The black man of the South says to the white man of the South, in the language of Ruth to Naomi : "Whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people and thy God my God; where thou diest I will die and there will I be buried." To the white race wisdom should suggest that they encourage the Negro by removing from his path every barrier to his material and educa- tional advancement, safe-guard his home and his 464 HOLM'S RACE ASSLMILATION citizen-rights and make him to feel that he is not an alien in the land that gave him birth. The black man's efficiency and usefulness will be in direct proportion to his happy and con- tented condition. The race has at its command a certain amount of vitality. Just in proportion as that energy is expended over legal disabil- ities, unjust laws, unequal educational oppor- tunities and restrictions in the battle for bread in that larger sense in which "the life is more than meat and the body than raiment" will he be rendered less efficient in the output of useful labor. I am optimistic enough to believe this kind of encouragement will come. With the relative advance of both races in the civic virtues and material progress, there is a growing mutual respect which lessens friction. Chief reliance though for the accomplishment of this result must be put upon the reign of Christ in the hearts of men. There will always be racial peculiarities and distinctions and these may be insisted upon, and yet it must remain forever true that two peoples, living side by side, speaking the same language, nurtured in the same faith and looking loyally and lovingly into the face of Jesus Christ, will live harmoniously and peacefully together. I bring you, therefore, my friends, tonight, a message of optimism. There is much to make OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 465 the present bright — the future hopeful. Let us not be pessimists! Leaders among us put too much stress on unfortunate conditions which at the present time surround us. God cannot use a discouraged people. Too much emphasis here produces a morbid and dissatisfied condition. The Negro is better situated here than in any other part of the world. We must not expect too much. The Afro-American's progress is un- precedented in all the annals of history. (i) In education. Illiteracy has been re- duced from loo per cent to 44 per cent. (2) In material development. (3) Religious progress. In reaching this vantage ground, it is but fair to state that we have been more effectually aided than other peo- ples have been. ( i ) By being in touch with an advanced civilization. (2) By the combined effort of Christian people through schools and churches. (3) By the reactionary forces of op- position. And this last has not been the least important agent in the Negro's advancement, as it is a crucial test of his right to be and to share benefits of civilization. A writer has said: "Were I to choose a fam- ily that would live, I would have it endure hard- ships and persecutions, were I to choose one to die, I would give it pleasure and luxury." The Jew, scourged in every land under 30 466 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATIOX Heaven, robbed of his lands, driven from his pastoral life by relentless persecution, has yet ad- vanced and prospered and multiplied, in every clime and under every form of government in the world. The Negro must not expect to be an exception. The Saxon has arrived through blood and toil and hardship. History is full of movements that are big w^ith injustice. The progress of mankind has been through head winds. The course has seldom been a straight one as man planned, but a crooked one, as man made it, like a ship beat- ing its way against hard and furious weather, she does not always point to the goal, but there is gain in the stretch. The movement is zig- zag but the resultant is progress toward the final goal. The law of struggle is the law of life; a severe law, but the providence of God, and, in the long run, the law through which comes all human achievement and progress. Our lot in this country is indeed a hard one and a grave responsibility rests upon the edu- cated class among us. To all such I wish to say there is much we can do to make our condition more tolerable. By tact and courtesy, by judici- ous avoidance of topics that arouse useless con- tention, by quietly developing along these lines where there is no conflict, by the acquisition of OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 467 wealth and education, by untiring and unob- trusive expression of good feeling and by the sedulous cultivation of the law of Christian love, let us endeavor to win over those who are our enemies because they think we are theirs. Let no man imagine that I condone or encourage or advise voluntary humiliation. Every one con- demns the frown-fearing, smile-courting, hat-in- hand Negro. True manliness is respected in white and black alike. Our hard and rugged pathway is not our greatest calamity. England beheaded its kings. Cromwell had his wars. France had its Bar- tholomew and its Reign of Terror. The rivers of Germany ran red with human blood. And, now, a concluding word by way of appli- cation. I sometimes fear that the greatest danger of the Negro's failure is more internal than ex- ternal. His conduct in public places is often far from what it should be. The refined and respectable members of the race are humiliated and disgraced by a class of lawless ruffianswho infest our depots and coaches set aside for colored people, who have no respect for law. We are ashamed of them but helpless. The unjust and cruel law which forces upon us the "Jim Crow" car law would be a little more tolerable if there were some way of getting rid of the "Jim Crow" Negro who seems never happier than when loitering around the stations. 468 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Another internal trouble: In nearly all our cities there are among our people lodges and burial associations, good and of great value when properly conducted. But I confess it pains me to see our people living in squalor and being buried in luxury. It is a mistake to give a one hundred dollar funeral to a fifty cent Negro. Again, there is another serious drawback, in the existence of a class of easy-going citizens, who infest the town and live by the sweat and toil of wife, mother or daughter over wash tubs or in cook rooms, while they live as gentlemen (?) of leisure or furnish the courts with crim- inals. Let us give no tolerance to these idle and vicious people. They do the race irreparable harm. In his business life the Negro has many les- sons to learn. Whatever may be said of his mis- fortune in politics — his failure in business and professional life is due to himself. It is true that the failure of the Freedman's Saving Bank, officiated at the time by Negroes, but really mis- managed by heartless white men from the North, created a distrust for banks in general and col- ored banks in particular, which more than twenty-five years have not served to eradicate. The result has been that funds have been with- held which, if properly invested, would have helped the race on material lines. We have yet OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 46^ to learn the advantages of partnership and of mutual support. Respect for our professional men: We have not yet come to a proper realization of the im- portance of properly supporting our professional men. * * * in the ultimate analysis, it is in the home that the Negro's status is to be solved. The girls and women of the race will fix the destiny and the character of the race. "She who rocks the cradle rules the race." Well may it be said: "The soul's armor is never well set to the soul unless braced by the hand of a woman, and it is only when she braces it loosely that the vigor of manhood fails." Let us do what we can to preserve the purity of our women. It is a shameful truth that in some cities, at least, there are Negro men driving vehicles of public utility, with no visible support, who are agents of barter and sale of the virtue of our women. We must exercise more care in the selection of associates for our children, and social lines must be drawn. I have spoken thus freely, perhaps too freely for some, because the educated class among us feel the burden of these shortcomings. The great mass of our people are so steeped in ignorance that they do not feel the burden. The cultured class read, think, judge and philosophize and their sufferings are too often seen in the deep lines of anxiety on cheek and brow. 470 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION We are looking, my friends, for the dawn of a brighter day. Truth must win. Once de- veloped it remained stationary for ages. The sun may be obscured by the clouds for a month, but the vegetation does not go back into the ground. It remains and waits the certain coming of the genial sun. "Some of these days all skies will be brighter, Some of these days all the burdens be lighter. Hearts will be happier, souls will be whiter,- Some of these days. "Some of these days, in deserts uprising. Fountains shall flash while the joy bells are ringing, And the world with its sweetest of birds shall go singing, Some of these days. "Some of these days, let us bear with our sorrow. Faith in the future — its light we may borrow. There will be joy in the garden tomorrow — Some of these days." INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE RACES (Contributed for this book.) By Prof. William Pickens, The leading young Negro linguist in America. This is a modification of one of the sub- jects that was suggested to me. Carnal intercourse, thank heaven, is not the only variety of contact possible between two races that live together as the white and black *^^.~ , Air. and Airs. Wilham Pickens present one of the many striking examples of mtermarnage in the South between the dark-skinned Aegro and the white-skinned colored Caucasian, confirminc. our as- sertion that dissimilarities cross for evolutionary growth OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 471 races live in the United States. It is pos- sible for the two races to have more good re- lations than bad ones. I was asked if illicit inter- course was equally hurtful to the morals of both races. That is like asking if the same thing that will hurt a white man, will also hurt a black man. It reminds me of Shylock. I know of no such difference in the natural make-up of a black person or a white person, that will make either one physically, morally or intellectually invul- nerable where the other is vulnerable. Any sort of illicit commerce between the races must have the same effect on each. Neither reason nor recorded experience indicates any other conclu- sion. Some one might conclude, before taking a second thought, that as such intercourse is prac- ticed in America it hurts only the manhood of the white race, while it harms the womanhood of the black race. But now for the ''second thought" — what about the white womanhood of the future, and the black manhood of the future? Will not the future white womanhood come out of the present white manhood, and will not the future black manhood depend for its moral stamina upon the present black womanhood? But there is also much good intercourse be- tween the races. An increase in such good inter- course would increase good opinion of each other and would thereby tend to decrease the different 472 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Species of bad intercourse. It is a strange fact of individual human nature that the lower one esteems certain other persons, the less careful will he be in his conduct toward them and with them. It is a high respect for our neighbors that helps to brace our own characters. It seems to be put- ting the cause for the effect, but there is less illicit intercourse between those classes of the races which each recognizes as the "better class" of the other. It is a case where the effect is par- tial cause and the cause partial effect. Bad inter- course, however intimate it may be, does not tend to clear up misunderstanding between the races. Good, legitimate, cordial relations would occasion better understanding. And misunder- standing is the mother of a good deal of mischief. One of the reasons why a white man gets along better with a white man than he gets along with a Negro is that the white man understands a w^hite man better. Perfect understanding does not exist in the same race even. Some mind took a pessimistic turn and described the world of men as a number of little human islands screaming across oceans of misunderstanding. It is perhaps not quite so bad as that in all the world, but it is somewhat like that between the two races in the United States. The condition undermines mutual confidence. How often have I, in conversation with intelligent Negroes, found it necessary to OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 473 '^.j P?A MASTER WM. PICKENS AND HIS LITTLE SISTER, HATTIE IDA. Striking contrast in parents nearly always means superior offspring in the Negro race. Like should never marry like in the Negro or any other race. 474 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION defend the simple proposition "that there are some just and fair and trustworthy white people in the world"! And how often have you, white reader, heard such a discussion, respecting the entire Negro race, carried on by intelligent white people ! It simply shows what thoughts and feel- ings our ignorance of each other can engender. A little contact between the better elements of the two races helps even the strongest-minded of us. We are all influenced alike by ignorance of one another. We are all equally subject to the laws of God and nature, whatever inequalities might be written into the laws of man. 1 myself get a better opinion of the white race whenever I shake hands and have a cordial conversation with a first-class member of the white race. And sometimes I am in sore need of such improve- ment of opinion. And many a time after such a conversation have I heard the white person say, "Ah, you greatly encourage me"! Many a time after speaking to white audiences in the North or mixed audiences in the South the white people have come forw^ard to say, "You have done great good today; if we could only hear such talks of tener, we should understand so much better." There are white people in my town whose best knowledge of the Negro race is limited to the very ordinary and sometimes not very honest person who cooks their food or drives OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 475 their carriage or blacks their boots. Such a white person has the great misfortune of not knowing the Negro race at all and the greater misfortune of thinking that he knows it very well. There is the white man who never entered a Negro home except to ferret out some rascal and take him to jail, and of course, that white man feels sure that "Negroes are criminals." Ignorance is the mother of most of our illwords and illwill. Mere physical contact of buying and selling over counters, of using the same streets and to a certain extent, the same public places, of riding on the same train in our "separate" cars and of jostling each other on our crowded thorough- fares, is not a good basis for many important conclusions respecting each other. And yet this is the whole content of many a white man's mind when he says, "I know the Negro; I have lived with 'em for years." I have lived thus with thou- sands of people whom I never shall know. A certain white man in Alabama whom I see nearly every day, is not as well known to me as a certain white man in New York whom I have seen just once. Our industrial relations make us a little better acquainted. In the "independent trades," like brick masonry, carpentry, etc., blacks and whites have worked side by side for years. In the de- pendent trades, factory work, etc., the white em- 476 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION plover has separated the whites and blacks or cut the blacks out altogether. The fact that the in- dustrial classes of the two races work together harmoniously when they are independent of any employer seems to contradict the frequent asser- tion that the main opposition to the Negro is from this class of whites. It is very probable that the white leaders, especially the politicians, by their policies and speeches often cause bad feel- ing where good relations would otherwise exist between the simple, plain people of the two races. In different parts of the South I have seen the "common people" of the tw^o races mingling at street fairs with much cheer and laughter, where a thirty minutes' harangue from an office-hunter with a lot of "social equality" dope in his bag, would raise a cry for human blood. Causes which are perfectly understood when looked at historically, have given the Negro a much better industrial opportunity in the South than in the North. There are places in the North where the Negro is at full liberty to spend his money in first-class theaters, hotels, etc., but his privilege to earn money is limited to the most menial positions. There are places in the South which present the opposite condition, the Negro having practically unlimited industrial oppor- tunities, but being very much restricted at pres- OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 477 ent in his opportunities to spend well what he earns. As between the two evils I should choose the Southern one,- for a people that are allowed to earn money will finally create their own op- portunities to spend it, while those who are re- stricted in their right to earn cannot always main- tain their privilege to spend. There are some in the North who do not object to the rights of the Negro in any particular, but who object to his physical presence. They simply do not want him in their community, that is all. Their love for the Negro increases directly as the square of the distance between them and the Negro. The Negro's case is full of humorous contradictions. A heathen from Africa or Asia, after listen- ing to one of our missionaries preach, would naturally expect to find in America a very cor- dial religious association between the races. But alas for the uninitiated heathen! Some of our religious principles do not include the other fel- low any more than the Jews included the Samaritans. By a sort of loose interpretation of the fierce and direct words of Jesus Christ we have narrowed "the brotherhood of man" to a dry figure of speech, something said for the want of something better to say. The Nazarene might have said thus and so, but he did not mean what he said. Before his plain words we have set a labyrinth of theology, so that the smartest of us 478 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION cannot find our wa}^ to the essential truth. When the Bible was interpreted consistently with slavery it was all right for white persons and black persons to worship together sometimes, but it is not best in the case of free Negroes. One of the best missionary opportunities ever lost was the ex-master's opportunity for the spiritual ele- vation of the ex-slave. The separate church or- ganization is best for the Negro race, but the interest of white churches should not have been so early and so completely withdrawn. The Southern Methodist Church did well to keep up a long-continued interest in its Negro mem- bership. Many Negroes can be reached through religion who cannot be reached in any other way. A somewhat similar opportunity in the educa- tion of the race was lost. Separate schools, of course, were the only thing that would work, — and a statesman is never justified in trying to make a thing work which he knows will not w^ork. If the religious and educational contact had been maintained, the Negro would have been greatlv helped by the white man's experience and attainment and the white man would have been greatly blessed by really knowing and sympa- thizing with the best that is in the Negro race. The political future of this section, too, would be much brighter if the Negro should be trained into a normal relation to the politics of his own OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 479 section rather than shoved aside according to the present system, — a system which it is utterly im- possible to maintain forever or for very long. And what do you suppose it is that has caused sensible American people to lose so many golden opportunities and to create such a strained, un- natural and half-barbarous situation? It is an undefined and indefinable something called "so- cial equality." It is comic enough to make the thoughtless laugh, and tragic enough to make the thoughtful weep. What is "social equality"? I do not like to make sport of the apparently deep feelings of other people, but, seriously, I have lived in the South for twenty-eight years, but I have never seen or heard a definition of the term. I have often known white people to say that "so- cial equality" is something that they do not want, but that seems to me to be too broad a definition to enable me to tell it from a rattlesnake, a case of yellow fever or a Negro President. What does it mean? If it means bad intercourse be- tween the races, then I am with the w^hite man — no "social equality" for me. If it means all inter- course, both good and bad, opposition to it is futile; for some sort of intercourse between these two races there will be, regardless of the wishes of individuals. The only effect that the human will can produce is to determine WHAT KIND OF INTERCOURSE it shall be. Let us have relations of the mutually ennobling sort. 480 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION The next generation is not bound to respect our wishes. And the word "always" ought never to be used in reference to the American race conditions, especially where the Negro is con- cerned. What the slave-owners of 1849 called perpetual, the people of 1909 call ancient. But for the present we are two races, and all of us who are now living can feel sure that we shall die and leave two races. The claim for "natural antipathy" between the races is not well founded. An instinctive antipathy would at least be con- sistent. And I do not need to point out to you the inconsistencies in the so-called natural an- tipathy of the races, especially when it comes to the "bad intercourse." In some courts where legal sexual intercourse between the races has been declared a statutory crime, immoral sexual intercourse is hardly punished as a misdemeanor. A strange reversal of the laws of God and nature. "Social equality" is a phrase to conjure with, it is the one invisible god to whom almost all heads bow. It even dominates to an extent the thinking of the Negro, whenever a Negro begins to speak for the rights of his race he feels it necessary to tell the world that he is not an aspirant after "social equality" or a defender thereof. And I would not abate one whit from the white man's pride of race. I would add to it. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 481 I would make him so proud of his own race that he would scorn to do injustice to any other race. I would make him so proud of his own family that he would honor the very name of family in all races and classes, — so fond of his own chil- dren that he would concede a black boy a chance for life. The Negro's presence in this country has cer- tainly created certain opportunities for both races. I am not discussing the question as to whether it was a good thing on the whole, or a bad thing for both races, that the Negro was brought here. That is a very foolish question,— for whether it be answered in the affirmative or in the negative, the fact remains the same that the NEGRO IS HERE NOW. That would have been a profitable question to discuss pre- vious to 1619. But now that the Negro is here, the only thing worth considering is, how can we make the best of it, of a bad bargain, if you will? Time is worse than wasted in foolish wailing about the fact that the Negro was brought here. Spilt milk can sooner be gathered from sand into the pail again than the Negro race of the United States can ever be gathered again into its father- land,— or rather into its MOTHERland, for the FATHERland of a large part of the race is Europe. The presence of the Negro in the South ofifers 31 482 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION to Southern industries a better supply of labor suited to those industries than has any other country of similar industries anywhere else in the world. We have heard much talk of immi- gration but there is no immigration from any- where that will soon take the Negro's place in the South. To the Negro is offered the best opportunity he has anywhere in the world for a high degree of Industrial efficiency. To the Christian Church is offered an unsur- passed opportunity for practical versus theoretic BROTHERHOOD,— or to prove that the whole thing is all talk. To the American Government is offered the best test of the principles that underlie its foun- dation. Or is that all talk? The Negro race is strong and will grow stronger in this country, thus offering to the white race its best chance to measure its strength by the strength of another, and not by the weak- ness of another, a chance to be the strongest of the strong, and not merely the least weak of the weak, — a real chance to prove the white man's real superiority. Or is that all talk? Wm. Pickens, Talladega College, Talladega, Ala. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 483 ECONOMIC LAW DEMANDS FREE- DOM OF MARRIAGE BY JAMES E. MCGIRT Scholar, Author, Editor of McGirt's Magazine. You ask that I write you a paper on the sub- ject: "Do you believe that the illicit mixing of the races ought to be abolished, and a legal mar- riage provision take its place in the entire coun- try?" and "Do you believe that intermarriage, instead of illicit mixing, would improve the morals of both races? While you ask me to do this, I must state that it comes in a most inopportune time, therefore it is impossible for me to write on them at length; however, I shall state my position in a few words. I shall approach the subject fairly and squarely without expressing the opinion or caring for the prejudices of black or white men and from the viewpoint of the student of society. The science of economy teaches that economic freedom is absolutely necessary for the highest development of any people, and that a nation which does not give the highest economic free- dom, or tries to interfere with that freedom, may succeed for a time but eventually must fail of its highest development. There are seven kinds of economic freedom which are accepted by the leading countries, and 484 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION JAMICS E. McGIRT. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 485 while these are accepted by the United States, the Negro is excluded from some of them and especially from the first and most important, namely, freedom of marriage and association. From this viewpoint, it is not hazarding too much to say that economic progress demands that these limitations be done away with. The country cannot get the best out of itself or out of the Negro so long as these limitations are allowed. They are un-economic, therefore unnatural and despite laws and prejudices, MUST GO. To show how important the law is, let us illustrate: Economy says that "any sane man and woman of some character, if they both be willing without outside pressure on the part of the State, should marry," in other words, there should be freedom of marriage, "Negroes and whites shall not marry," says the law. Now, marriage, economically speaking, is a mating of males and females, and its chief purpose is to increase and preserve the population. To have children is the chief aim of marriage from the viewpoint of the economist. But the law steps in and says that "there shall be no marriage be- tween the colored and white people." ^ But what does it accomplish? Nothing, only to retard the working of economic law. For it indeed pro- hibits marriage but does not prevent children. The fact that the race of mulattoes is constantly 486 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION increasing and increasing more today than ever before, is ample evidence of the impotency of legislative statutes to prohibit the mating of men and women of different classes and the birth of children from their intercourse. This is w^hy I do not advocate social equality or amalgamation or miscegenation or any other such unnecessary thing; for it does no more good to advocate or oppose these than it does to op- pose or advocate gravitation or evolution or the course of the stars. They are fixed by higher laws than those made by human legislation. Philadelphia. MISCEGENATION AND ITS BANEFUL EFFECTS By Bishop Alexander Walters, A. M., D. D. (Contributed for tliis book.) One of the greatest crimes committed against the Negro race has been the degradation of its women by white men, often of intelligence, wealth and influence. And the saddest part of it is that the men of the boasted superior race with all the advantages in their favor, have been protected in this nefarious business by drastic legislation. ^'-rr — / r BISHOP ALEXANDER WALTERS. OR THE FADING LEORARD'S SPOTS 487 In this Christian civilization, this boasted "Home of the brave and land of the free," one whole section of this land has made every child born of a colored woman by a white father an illegitimate child, no matter how desirous the parties are of being united in holy wedlock. Laws which prohibit such marriages are con- trary to the laws of nature and the law of God as embodied in the Golden Rule, and they are inimical to the best interests of mankind. The good people of this country should be- gin at once to create sentiment, where they have not done so, for the repeal of such laws. A wise Providence has overruled a great deal of this wickedness to the good of our land. Some of the brightest intellects of our country are the product of concubinage. I could name some of the greatest and most useful men of our country who were and are of illegitimate birth, such as Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Wash- ington, etc. Amalgamation bet^veen whites and blacks and its frequency throughout the American Republic are the best arguments that can be produced that the white man considers the black woman his equal, and ought to forever set at rest this question which every now and then bobs up that the Negro is a beast and hasn't any soul. Surely white men of intelligence, wealth and influence 488 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION would not have sexual intercourse in such a wholesale manner with beasts? These laws forbidding intermarriage of the races and the injustices resulting therefrom are crimes which are calling ALOUD TO Almighty God for vengeance, and WE ARE COAIPELLED TO SUFFER AS A NATION UN- TIL SUCH WRONGS ARE RIGHTED. I do not think we ought longer to compromise on this grave question, but ought to begin a crusade against it and continue until the laws are changed and men and women allowed to marry whomsoever they please. None but Almighty God and the women of the Negro race know the baneful effects which colored women have to suffer by such prohibi- tory laws. Speaking with a colored woman not long ago she said there is nothing so grind- ing, so crushing as to look into the face of a white woman and have her say by a sarcastic and withering look, "You are nothing but a 'thing' to be used by our men — the laws are against you and all because of your color and race." I say again that prohibitory marriage laws, such as I have mentioned above, are a sad blot on the escutcheon of our land. A. Walters. New York City. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 469 Jg^Jggl^^^/gJ the lives of individuals as in the lives of nations there is a central point from which radiates all inspiration to reach the (Contributed for this book.) higher attainments of moral, mental and physical existence, or from which the tendency in motion is down toward lethargy and degradation, by the relaxing of those forces which lead in the opposite direction. The previous social and moral condition of the Negro woman, her complete subjugation to the brute nature or animal passions of men of all stations in the society of both races, is too well known by students of social ethics to demand any lengthy discussion here. Yet, as these facts pre- 490 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION sent fundamental relations to the subject of this contribution, it is really necessary to at least pay a passing notice to the principles here involved. Slavery, the most bitter and destructive in- stitution of any government, the most Satanic and degrading influence with which human society has had to do, formed and flourished in this country from ,1619 until the boys of blue and gray met upon the field of mortal combat and drenched the land in human blood. The colored woman pulling through the night- of slavery with hands chained to the plow, with mind chained to darkness and morals chained to the wicked lusts of the South's frightful horde of demoralized white and black men, found her- self on the morn of freedom, 'A storm-beaten ark wildly hurled, O'er the whirlpool of time With the wrecks of a world." If in all this land there is a woman deserving the very highest commendation of the world, it is the colored woman. She has had the most dis- couraging obstacles of any woman in history placed so continuously in her pathway, until in the words of Edgar Allan Poe she cried Like that unhappy master, Whom unmerciful disaster Follows fast and follows faster." OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 491 She is climbing with unfaltering steps the rugged path that leads to the sun-kissed moun- tain peak of liberty and glory, looking hopefully to the right and left for just one ray of the light, of righteousness, of justice, and encouragement; knowing that life is a series of successive heights to be climbed, the vantage of one reached bring- ing to view another height and a continued stepping stone to its attainment. The colored woman, as she is, when compared with her white sister who has thrown around her ail the protection that bravery, courage, and heroism have been able to produce, and all the wealth, culture and refinement of ages at her feet— represents a shipwrecked mariner drift- ing around on the waves of social darkness, out on the sea of national criticism, bravely pressing on toward the harbor of peace and higher moral and intellectual culture. She stands today tempted and tried as was Christ on the Mount, unaided, unprotected by the law^s of the land, working out her own sal- vation, and the salvation of her people whose future connection with the highest attainments of human genius is as certain as it is that the majestic Mississippi will flow to the gulf until The sun himself grows dim with age, And Nature sinks in years." 492 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION She is the only woman today, in all this broad land, of whom it is not supposed, by a certain class of lawmakers and officers of the law of many of our states, that virtue and purity is prayed for and desired by her, as the mother of a great race of future American citizens. The question arises, therefore, after forty-five years of American semi-freedom — What is the present status of the Negro woman? I wish to say emphatically that the colored woman is beyond all reasonable doubts a fixity in the social economy of the nation; that in re- ligion, education and moral reformation she is contributing daily to the progress of the greatest age in the history of man. The home, which is the foundation of good government, is advancing from the one room cabin to the comfortable cot- tage, modern and sanitary in all its appoint- ments. The parlor contains the most modern musical instruments, books on music, art, liter- ature and science. The dining room and bed chamber are neat and attractive, suggestive of the most improved sense; and the whole home shows a work of improvement and progress along all lines. The art of music and painting, fancy-work and drapery have claimed such a large part of the Negro maidens' education, until we now have a refined, sensitive, neat-ap- pearing woman — indeed, a new woman with a OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 493 new idea. All over the South we now find academies and high schools whose curriculums are abreast of the times. Many are especially designed for everyday business and professional usefulness, the walls of which are crowded with an army of colored girls thirsting for knowledge and anxious to undergo any honorable experi- ence, to assume any burdensome responsibility, only to reach the highest .attainments in the bounds of possible opportunity. The Negro woman as a teacher in the com- mon and higher schools of the South has proven a success. As a business woman she surprises the country. Many girls are now compounding medicine in drug stores run by Negroes, or are watching patients as trained nurses, and going on the rostrum as lecturers and organizers of clubs, etc., whose purpose it is to destroy the influence of error and establish the everlasting doctrine of the principles of truth. The educa- tion of the Negro woman along moral and in- tellectual lines has indeed been gratifying. * * * * She has had the saddest experience of any mortal in the world's history. She has passed through that dark, immoral, rapacious age, when virtue to her was a perfect stranger and morality sounded like a mockery. She was forced in some cases to be brutalized without the hope of redress 494 HOLM'S RACE ASSLMILATIOX for the wrongs heaped upon her, thereby sowing the seeds of immorality and degeneracy, and committing (not at first by voluntary wishes) the unpardonable crime against law and society. But thank God her time has come; just beyond the hills of night we faintly see the daylight breaking. She will lift her voice and be heard, and demand her rights as an American woman. Sooner or later, by renouncing the horrible practice of illicit mixing of the past, she will be respected, regardless of her color. There is al- ready a decided concert of action on the part of Negro women everywhere, to remove the past with all its evil influences and illicit unions with white men of every class; and to regard any approach of white men as an unpardonable af- front to any decent woman. Unless the laws are so reformed, she may demand a legal union in spite of them. At the present rate of education and moral reformation she will some day reach the highest round in the ladder of womanly womanhood, virtue and intelligence. * * * * Let us start a movement today that may revo- lutionize the laws of some of our un-American states; revolutionize public sentiment. "Ah," you say, "you are ahead of the times! That is a perilous task!" I admit that it is. Better a OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 495 perilous task to individuals than further degrade the manhood of the white race and the woman- hood of the colored race. Somebody must take the lead. This horrible tide of immorality must be more successfully checked. THE COL- ORED WOMEN OF THIS COUNTRY MUST BE COMPLETELY EMANCIPA- TED FROM THE THRALLDOM OF THE PAST. I may be criticised, yes, severely so, for the stand I have taken in this matter; not only by members of the white race but by my own as well. However, that is a small matter to me, for every man and woman who has ever ad- vanced a new idea, or has advanced the interests of all the people, have always been severely criticised by friend and foe alike. Just as William Lloyd Garrison was when he heralded to the world the great issue of freeing the slaves. He was told his was an impossible task; that the state of the country did not admit it; that he would find opposition everywhere, north, south, east and west. Did he give up in despair? No. What did he do? He buckled on the armor of manhood, truth and justice, went out on the battle field of injustice, hatred and oppression of a downtrodden race, and won the victory as did David of old, when he went forth and slew the giant, Goliath. The true and good 496 HOLM'S RACE A.SSIMILATION men and women of both races must go forth and slay the greatGoliath of moral depravity between the races, and bring about a condition that will give justice to the colored woman, and protect her as the mother of a race and as a woman. Before our great country can reach that broad plane of fairness and justice to all its citizens, without regard to race or color, the statesman- ship of the nation must rise pre-eminent to the unholy and sordid ambitions of politicians; must rise above the pitiful weakness of human preju- dice, into that bright haven of sunlight and righteousness, where men can look justice squarely in the face, and declare from hill-top and mountain peak that right is a principle as bright as the face of the sun, as everlasting as the throne of Jehovah. Then will the colored woman shake ofif her mantle of semi-slavery and take her proper place in the world's society; contributing to the glory of Christian civilization, and expand all reforms until the influence of peace, happiness and com- plete freedom shall spread and cover this broad land as the waters cover the mighty deep. Then, when the consumation of all time is near at hand, and the lion is ready to lay down with the lamb, God grant that I may look upon yonder deep blue sky and see in letters of gold — "ONE GOD, ONE FLAG, ONE PEOPLE." OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 497 SOME THOUGHTS FOR BOTH RACES TO PONDER OVER By Anna D. Borden (Contributed for this book.) It is Strange and peculiarly interesting how some of our leading women claim they are igno- rant of existing social conditions. If we are standing sure and steadfast, if we are so far re- moved from unpleasant social conditions that there need be no alarm sounded, "What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" What meaneth then the many thousands of mulattoes annually born in the black race of the South? Even some of those who claim to be entirely ignorant of these conditions are mulattoes and quadroons themselves, and need to investigate why they are thus, and from whence came their foreign blood? I am sure they will find food for thought. •* * * I have heard some of our leading men proudly state, 'T am three-fourths white, only one-fourth black," or, "my father is white, therefore I am only one-half Negro." If that be true, please explain the conditions under which you became three-fourths or one-half white? In what atti- tude will that place the dearest person on earth 32 498 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION to you? Was she legally united to your father? Do you, as her child, lay a claim to legal inter- marriage? Remember, our parents cannot give us what they do not possess. * * * The leaders of the race, both men and women, are strangely, yes, deathly silent along reform lines of this kind. Some will readily condemn the mother of a mulatto yet marry that same mother's daughter and feel immensely proud of their yellow or white complexion. If you condemn the mother for illegal union condemn also the child of illegal amalgamated blood, and illegally brought into our race and society. If you are proud of your black face do not amal- gamate with a yellow or white complexioned col- ored woman and thereby "degrade" your off- spring with foreign blood, and vice versa. A few drops of Negro blood does not make a Caucasian a Negro, no more than a few drops of Caucasian blood makes a Negro white. It is inconsistent and cowardly to condemn amal- gamation and then amalgamate at the same time. "But," you say "the child is not to blame." I do not claim it is; but when a thing is wrong in one place it is wrong in another; and if you will sit quietly for just a short while and think deeply over this matter, you will agree with me that there is something radically wrong with our OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 499 race and the society of the white race, and that a thorough reformation is needed to raise the Negro woman to a higher plane of truth and vir- tue, and responsible, recognized womanhood. * * -* "What! would you, a Negro woman, advocate amalgamation?" I do not. Amalgamation needs no advocacy. That process has long taken care of itself. \\'hcn you glance over this race of ours vou will admit this, I am sure. I advocate a reform to legalize it, or condemn it altogether, although such condemnation avails nothing. As a race we cannot longer silently endure the curse which this illicit mixing en- genders. Everv man and woman should enjoy the God- given privilege of choosing whom they will for their life companion, whether the person chosen be white or colored. No colored man or woman should be condemned by our race if they find and choose their affinity in the white race, if there be a mutual consent between them, and if they can legally obtain such a union anywhere in the world. It is their business and not the people's, if they are sane and responsible citi- zens. * -* * Some of our leaders claim that only the lower clement of both races crave for mixing. With them I cannot agree. 500 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION Frederick Douglass, the greatest statesman the race has produced, with a race of all colors to choose from, stepped over the line and took unto himself a white woman, thereby proving to the world his belief in complete freedom from race prejudice — freedom, individually as well as col- lectively. That was his individual choice and by the laws of God he had a right to choose whom he desired. * * * A great majority of the substantial class of colored women believe as I do along this line, although they may only possess a vague idea of what ought to be and may be done to alleviate our condition. We have a number of letters bearing upon this subject, written by colored women who have had experience enough to know that a legal union with the opposite race would at once lift our womanhood out of the mire and clay into which we have been sunk by the lusts of men. The horde of immoral men in the South would hesitate to accost and insult a decent colored woman on the streets and else- where, if she were equally protected by law with her white sister. We have not space to submit in whole the let- ters in our possession, written to us by colored women, but we will quote a few paragraphs from several. One woman says: OR THE FADIN'G LEOPARD'S SPOTS 501 "1 believe the colored woman cannot rise un- til she demands recognition, and a legal union with her paramour, be he white or black." She also savs: "To social equality, will say — that white men give the colored women social equal- ity in the dark, and it is the Negro woman's duty to rise and DEMAND a legal union." Another woman says: "I think we should be married to a white man that wants us, the same as a white woman. \\'hy do white men want us if they don't want us to keep house for them and have a home with them and raise our children in a decent, married way?" I know white men are not all to blame. So many of our colored women and girls in towns are after white men to get their money. That's all they caic for them; and they think we are all alike, but we are not. Many of us want good homes to take care of, and some one to love and care for us." One writer says: "T am a colored woman who has never had the least inclination toward a white man, but I know that we could only mix through a demoralizing method. I don't be- lieve in being unlawfully mixed up with any man, white or black; but do think that it was intended from the creation that we marry. As the case is today, there is no law to protect us in marrying a white man. * * I truly believe it (intermarriage) will help each race to be a 502 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION better people, and stop much of the inhuman things that now exist." Another one writes: ''I feel that if we could be equally protected by law with white women, many of us would prefer white men, because we know very well that our race can only be really improved and elevated morally that way," etc., etc. * * * From all the bother, heartache and sorrow the white men give the colored women through- out the country, it seems to me that there must be something fascinating about us that they fail to find in women of their own race; yet it seems that many of their own women appear charm- ing and attractive. There must be something really valuable about us, for from all appear- ances their affection for us is in most cases gen- uine. A poem written to a yellow Negro girl by a talented white man fell into our hands, which, we believe, testifies to this fact without further arguments being necessary here. The author has consented to publish it on the follow- ing page with an appropriate illustration. OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 503 YOU'RE the only one most precious, In this weary, toilsome strife; When you gather summer flowers, Gather one into my life, Let my soul attune and sing it, You are sweeter than a rose ; But the color line divides us — How sad my heart, nobody knows, nobody knows! 504 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION OH ! pray tell me, little treasure. Is there sure no sweet relief? Is the way closed, can it open, Are we barred by our belief? Must I depart — leave you alone — Or this matter right dispose? For a color line divides us — How sad my heart, nobody knows, nobody knows! YOU are a bright little colored girl, One who my soul can adore. If I would say good-bye to you, I ne'er would see you any more; Would you be glad, I wonder. My little yellow rose? For a color line divides us — How sad my heart, nobody knows, nobody knows! THE COLORED WOMAN ON THE PLANTATION And How She is R.^ised By Progress Made BY SOPHIA cox JOHNSON (Contributed for tliis book.) We are in the Black Belt where it is said that for every white person you meet there are four colored. On every hand the one-roomed cabin appears utterly filled with children who peep at you from behind half-open doors and shutter OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 505 windows, while father is plowing and mother and the older ones are "howin in de fiel." Some eighteen years ago the idea of gather- ing the mothers of children taught in the mis- sion school together and forming, what is known as the Mothers' Meeting, was advanced by a worker who had been sent as a missionary. We arc told by those competent to judge that a stream can rise no higher than its source — hence, to have intelligent, honest children the parents must be reached in some manner. After considerable visiting and agitation, dur- ing which time some had gotten over their fear of "meetin dem teachers," the organization was formed. Lessons were assigned them in read- ing and writing and plans were outlined for dis- cussing subjects dear to every woman's heart. Can we understand enough of their condition to sympathize with these mothers; who had come from homes where nothing was known save "plowin and howin cotton, corn, 'taters, sugarcane and penders," often until Saturday noon, then knocking ofif to do the family wash- ing? No time to cook a decent meal even if it were known how. These mothers from the time they were large enough to hoe in their father's crop had the am- bition only to be the lead-hand in the field. And when married they had taken their turn at the 506 HOLM'S RACE ASSLMILATION plow and scattering fertilizer and hoeing, often carrying the baby to the field and covering it under a shade tree while the work went on until the bell rang for noon. When all had gotten out, she must gather and cook her greens or fried meat and bread ere the bell rang for return to work. Their social life, if such it might be called, consisted during the leisure season of tramping from house to house eating peanuts and sugar cane, roasting potatoes and gossiping, with merry quiltings at which time young and old frolicked together for more than half the night. As for the men, after the strenuous days of plowing and planting were over, they were con- stantly hunting, squirrels by day and raccoons and opossums by night. Even in their churches religion consisted of learning the latest mourn, a kind of wierd sound echoing and re-echoing through the windowless shack, and trying to see who could shout the loudest and hold out the longest. Some women there were, too, who came from homes where the father of the children was not the husband, and the mother was known as the cook of that particular man, while some mothers who as real wives, looked askance at their neigh- bors, because their husbands were as often at one house as at another. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 507 SOPHIA COX JOHNSON. 508 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION And what differences in the color of the fam- ilies! Even as we so often achingly notice in many places. Brothers and sisters from the darkest shades of ebony to the fairest of the fair calling the same woman mother! Any who get close to humanity, either on the plantation or in the city, see enough to fully realize the condi- tions. Such then were the homes from whence these women came to learn to read and write; to hear talks concerning their home life; how to wash dishes; the necessity for having more than one room and how the house should be cleaned before going to work; care of the garden, chickens and cows, together with raising their children. Let us now notice some results of this work among the mothers. Several years later as we chance to be passing this way, we see a gray haired woman carrying a large printed Bible on her way to the Mothers* School. She has learned to read the precious Word which is the leading study, and many verses have been committed to memory. On entering her home we find in addition to that Bible, the "Life of Sister Moore" and her book "For Mother." There is a large class of such women now and several letters have been laboriously written to the same Sister Moore, and the hearts of the writers gladdened by OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 509 answers to them. What means this addition to the house? One of the mothers has been seen cutting logs to build another room. On visiting another we find her bedroom divided by a cur- tain, thus providing another room for the chil- dren; still another has taken a box and with a curtain in front and shelves inside has a com- modious closet for storing away loose articles otherwise thrown under the bed or behind the door. At the close of the sessions of these winter schools for women open performances are given by the scholars who recite, read essays and de- bate on subjects pertaining to the home-life, often inviting the fathers to join. These mothers are now better members of the church. By learning to read the Word of God and com- mitting it to memory, they are able to follow the minister in his preaching and help greatly in selecting intelligent men as pastors. They pay their church dues willingly and aid in the re- pairs and painting of their own churches. As for education, they resolve that their children shall have what they see they failed to get. Even those who will not anger the ministers of the church, who have forbidden their attending the mothers' meetings because led by members of another denomination, will do double duty in the field that their children may be educated by 510 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION competent teachers. Time enough has passed to show the results of such efforts on the chil- dren. Many of these plantation mothers are made happy by the receipt of letters containing gifts of money from daughters who are teach- ing. These daughters, many of whom have been trained, even in the homes of the mission- aries, having been turned over to them from their own homes, contribute their share to the uplift of the rest of the family of children. What is the social standing now? Homes con- sisting of from three to five rooms are neatly kept, for what planter would want to part with a tenant who respects himself and family? So he thus provides homes as demanded by pro- gress made. Instrumental and vocal music may be heard after a hard day's labor; socials with quiet games and refreshments are held by the young people, and fathers and mothers are rapidly learning to converse on intelligent subjects. And now concerning those yet living in sin. The members of this same mothers' meeting during the past year together with other good women not members, signed up a petition ask- ing the landlord to help them in some way to rid the plantation of such transgressors of the law. He looking upon it with favor, decided with them that for the sake of those who do live right OR THE FADIXG LEOPARD'S SPOTS 511 and are endeavoring to train their children, as well as for the children born in sin, something should be done. So though ignorance and denominational prejudice are rife, yet now and then, we may see evidences of the Day dawning on the plantation. Sophia Cox Johson, Millers Ferry, Ala. ALL HUMAN BLOOD IS ALIKE— IN- TERMARRIAGE BY BISHOP J. \V. SMITH, D. D. (Contributed for this book.) That the Negro is one of the great races of the human family is a fact as solid as Gibraltar. M'hy Jehovah made men of various colors is not only unexplainable but His business. It is a fact beyond truthful contradiction that He did not make a white Adam, a black Adam, a red Adam and a yellow Adam. All mankind descended from one Adam and Eve. The origin of the human family is one, for the Apostle Paul in Acts, 17:26 says God *'hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth." After careful chemical examination of the blood of human beings and that of animals the scientists 512 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION BISHOP J. W. SMITH, D. D. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 513 have found a difference; but in the blood of human beings, irrespective of color, they declare they have found no difference whatever. The late and famous Dr. T. Dewitt Talmage agreemg with Paul says, 'That is if for some reason general phlebotomy were ordered, and standing in a row were an American, an English- man, a Scotchman, an Italian, a Frenchman, a German, a Aorwegian, an Icelander, a Spaniard, a Negro, a Russian, and these and repre- sentatives of all other nationalities bared their right arm and a lancet were stuck into it the blood let out would have the same characteris- tics for ,t would be red, complex, fibrine, globulins, chlorine and contain sulphuric acid potassium, phosphate of magnesia and so on' All the scientific doctors, allopathic, homeo- pathic, hydropathic and electic would also agree with Paul's declaration on Mars Hill The countenances of the five races of the human fam- ily may be different as a result of climate or edu- cation or habits, but the blood is the same and indicates that they all had one origin." Any one who doubts the truthfulness of the foregoing facts simply pushes his reason to the back of his mind and gives imagination, igno- rance and prejudice full swing. Colorphobia is the offspring of the devil and is born in hell I While thousands of white people admire colors 33 514 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION of all kinds, admire a black horse, a black cat, a black dress, yet when black is seen in a Negro, it becomes as detestable to them as the gates of hell or a hissing serpent! Why? Because they look upon black in a human being as a badge of inferiority. If their foresight were as good and clear as their hindsight, so as to let sentiment give way to common sense they would at once see that black is no more a disgrace in a human being than in an animal or clothes. A Negro may be as black as Egyptian dark- ness, which was said to be so dark and thick as to be felt with your fingers, but if he has intelli- gence and moral character, he is as honorable in the sight of God as the whitest person with intelligence and character that walks this earth. Thomas Jefferson was right when he wrote in the Declaration of Independence that "God cre- ated all men free and equal." That does not mean that they are equal physically, in mental equipment and wealth, but that they are equal in the sight of God and righteous civil law in their inalienable rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." If God created all men free and equal, and all colors are alike honor- able in the sight of God, no race because of a lighter complexion or any other advantage has any right to rule or enslave the Negro because he is black. Every inch of progress made by OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 515 the black race in this and foreign lands has been similar to the progress made by all other races which climbed from ignorance to enlighten- ment, and this proves conclusively the common origin of the races, and logically shows that the black race is entitled to enjoy the same rights and privileges that other races enjoy. I have been asked if I believe that amalgama- tion or miscegenation between the white and black races will solve the Negro problem. No sir. There is no such thing as amalgamation or miscegenation between human beings. The de- finition of each word means to mix, intermingle. Since the entire human race has been made of one blood, there can be no mixing. If a human being and an animal were to associate which, ac- cording to the law of God would mean death to both man and beast, and according to the law of the land, would mean fine and imprisonment, that would be amalgamation, for all doctors and scientists unanimously agree that the blood of human beings and beasts differ. Where there is amalgamation or a mixing of different bloods, no offspring result. If white and black people cohabit, children are born, and this is incontrovertible proof that the black race is not a beast, did not descend from the ape or monkey, but is of the same blood as the Anglo-Saxon and other races and 516 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION belongs to the universal equality of the human family of which Adam is their ancestor and Eve their ancestress. While I would not marry outside of my race, yet I consider it entirely within the range of propriety to say that I register no protest against intermarriage, since the Negro race is made of the same blood as the other four human races. The Bible does not prohibit it and civil law made by that class of prejudiced and hateful lawmakers who diligently use the muck brush to besmear filth over the good name and progress of the black race has no right to regu- late the affections of human beings. Abraham, Jacob's sons, Moses, Boaz, David and Solomon intermarried. Moses married an Ethiopian woman and when his prejudiced relatives ''kicked" about it, Jehovah smote the "kickers" with leprosy. "What God (not civil law) hath joined together (Matthew 19:4) let no man put asunder." From Noah's day until the present time the five races have been mingling and marrying. It is better to intermarry than to practice the so-called amalgamation or miscegenation which when boiled down to its quintessence is nothing but fornication and adultery between unprin- cipled white and black people. Amalgamation Is the actual odor of this unsavory kettle of fish, OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 517 and to argue the reverse would be as absurd as it would be for a man to shut his eyes on a lamp and try to turn his eyes inward to find out whether there were any image painted on the retina. The best and surest remedy to break up this lust, lewdness, paramour and sexual inter- course business which goes on yet between the lower strata of the white and black races is mar- riage; and since there is not one precept in the Bible forbidding white and colored marrying, these words in Hebrews, 13: 4, then come with double force: "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." Rather than violate the moral law of God which applies alike to all persons or races, the foundation of that law being justice, and feeling that no prejudiced relative or friend has any- thing to do with their affections, each one hav- ing married to suit himself or herself, there are living hundreds of white and colored people hap- pily married, living lovingly together in cities like Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Bos- ton and Chicago; and voices of fair play and common justice of those who have come into heritage of a nobler view of this and kindred subjects, relative to the colored people, have not become sufficiently loud enough yet to ring out like a fire alarm in the late hours of night. The 518 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION following press association item is an instance published recently in the leading white news- papers of the country, of a prominent Southern white man who rather than live in adultery with my aunt honorably and legally married her. WED NEGRESS LEGALLY Death of White Man Recalls Remarkable Case in North Carolina. (Special to Washington Herald.) Fayetteville, N. C, Sept 17. — G. Thornton, a prominent and wealthy Republican politician in reconstruction days and who, by military authority, married Elsie Hargrove, a Negro woman, in 1866, and has since lived as a mem- ber of his wife's race, died at his home here to- day. The marriage of Thornton to a negress is the only case of miscegenation of record in North Carolina, so far as known. The marriage, after being allowed by military authority of the dis- trict, was legalized by the constitutional conven- tion, which met two years later. Thornton, who was eighty-five years of age, is survived by his wife and five children. He will be buried from the leading Negro church in Fayetteville." Washington, D. C. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S 3P0TS 519 THE AFRO-AMERICAN, AS HE WAS, NOW IS AND WILL BE How He Is Bleaching and Will Become Socially Equal BY REV. J. W. wood, D. D. Pastor of A. M. E. Zion (State St.) Church, Mobile, Ala. (Contributed for this book) I. My purpose is to discuss the Afro-Ameri- can Negro as he was, as he is now, and as he will be in the future; his social relations to other races than his own, and the final end of the present-day "bickering." During two hundred and seventy-five years the Negro was a slave to his white brother, and during this long period of severe hardship and oppression he was not allowed to read or write. This was the white man's law, and if a Negro was found with a book he was severely punished. The poor Negro was ignorant and was kept in ignorance for the sake of the institution of slavery. In those days of his sore affliction the Negro woman was seduced, assaulted and rav- ished by the white man. Negro women gave birth to mulatto children. This practice, on the part of the white man, continued throughout the shameful and disgraceful period of slavery. Since the Civil War the intermixing of whites 520 HOL^rS RACE ASSnilLATIOX REV. J. W. WOOD, D. D. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SP.OTS 521 and blacks has abated but little in some sections of the South, and the habit continues just as it did in the days of slavery. The relations of whites and blacks in this respect, in some com- munities of the South, are inseparable. There is no legislation or physical force that can keep them apart or entirely segregated. The art of love-making is prevalent between the races, and it is puzzling to know when it will end. 2. To understand the situation more fully we shall now speak, secondly, of the Afro-Amer- ican as he is now. At the close of the war the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment of the Con- stitution purported to give the Negro all rights as an American citizen. Freedom dawned upon the race at the time when it was entirely unprepared to appreciate its real worth and meaning, because of previous conditions and ignorance. Northern philanthropists just at this time were eager to lend a helping hand to the unfortunate blacks. They sent missionaries and teachers to the Southland for the purpose of edu- cating the Negro and lifting him from the gut- ter of vice and immorality, to make him a clean and responsible citizen, to prepare him for the responsibilities of American citizenship, to teach him the worth of the ballot, to train him to handle the affairs of state and government, to 522 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION be legislators, governors, representatives, con- gressmen; to prepare him to meet every political issue intelligently and to install in him self-re- liance, moral culture and that refinement so characteristic of the Anglo-American. For this and other purposes the northern white man has given millions of dollars. Education has made the Negro a mighty unit in the present-day history of the American na- tion. His refinement and great depth of learn- ing and high moral character has lifted him to the high standard of America's best citizens. Now, this being true, the Negro who is worthy should be accorded every right that belongs to him as a citizen. No civil, political or social rights should be denied him because of his color. If he has the ability and ambition to be a teacher, minister, lawyer, physician, legislator, congress- man or President of these United States, his color should not stand in the way of his progress. But the Anglo-American says he is inferior, and not even fit for American citizenship. .And that he is wholly unprepared to cast a ballot, or to have a voice in the law-making bodies of the country. They tell us by the enactment of dis- criminating laws that we are not fit to ride in the same car with white men, unfit to ride in a sleep- ing car in the South, unfit to put up at the same hotel, unfit to dine at the same table, unfit to drink from the same fount, to sit together in OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 523 theatres, to amuse ourselves together in public places and the like. There are colored men and women whose lives are above reproach, and whose refinement and good behavior is equal to the best Caucasian blood on American soil, and yet they are denied the rights of citizens and discriminated against in almost every walk of life. We have only one hope, we know that Provi- dence is not asleep. Justice will awake in favor of the dark-skinned man. Chinese, Japanese and all Asiatic races come to our country and are accorded the privilege of American citizen- ship and social equality, and many of these are no better than the Negro race and some morally not as good. Whilewe must admit that wehave some friends in the South who rejoice in the progress of the Negro, the spirit of the South is to keep the Negro in the background, and in political slavery. The South predicted the downfall of the government, but their fondest expectations failed and their cause was lost. God has decreed otherwise — that the Negro should be free. This same God lives today, and we believe that He v/ill do right. 3. I shall now speak of the Afro-American Negro as he will be in the future. Every indication points to a happy solution of the vexed race problem. His wonderful 524 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION achievement since his physical emancipation has been phenomenal. He has been able through efforts of his own and the assistance of the philanthropist to reduce his ignorance sixty per cent. The vast accumulation of property, the improvements in the home-life, the educational and religious advancement and economic and industrial progress that have been made within the last few years are indicative of the fact that ere long the Negro will find his place just a lit- tle higher up in the social world. The future is pregnant and freighted with political and social rights of the Afro-American Negro. The Negro's Star of Social Emancipation has been seen upon the horizon of the times. We may have bitter experiences, the race may suffer much as a result of mob violence; doors may be closed in our faces, but it matters not what the discriminations nor how severe the punishment, the day is coming when the rights of every man will be respected, whether he be white, yellow, brown or black. The time will come when the white man and the black man will stand upon terms of social equality in all things. As he has admitted the Chinese, the Japanese, the Malays and all other Asiatic races to social equality, he will in time admit the Negro and they will be brothers, working together for the betterment and the advancement of the Master's Kingdom. OR THE FADING LEOPARD'S SPOTS 525 4. In my concluding remarks I shall speak of the Afro-American; his social relations with other races than his own, and the final end of the present-day bickering. It is a known fact that the Anglo-American throughout the country offers no social inducements to the Negro, es- pecially in the Southland. Forces are at work in every section of the country to keep the two races apart socially, but regardless of what may be done or said, this barrier is being broken down by the individual man and woman. While we know that discrimination and color castes is a sin and is wrong, we also know that the ques- tion of social equality will in time adjust itself — eventually it will force itself upon both races, each race will be a victim within itself, and prejudice and color line will, from circum- stances or necessity, have to be entirely wiped out. Old Father Time is gradually bleaching the Negro race and is removing stainspots from the character of the race. Ignorance is giving place to intelligence, wretchedness and wickedness is giving place to righteousness and justice, pov- erty is giving place to wealth, and prejudice is giving place to love of freedom and good will toward all men. This we believe to be the course of Divine Providence. We have noticed too, that white men have greater respect for the educated and more intelligent members of the 526 HOLM'S RACE ASSIMILATION race, than they have for the unlearned and lower classes. It seems that the best white people are eager to come into closer relations with the better class of Negroes. It is plain to us all that education has not driven the whites and blacks apart to any- alarming extent, but on the other hand has brought them closer together in a social way. Social equality is as sure to come as there IS a God. It will begin to exert itself among the more intelligent of both races, and in proportion to the real moral worth and intelligence of the race, just in that proportion will social equality dawn upon it. Again, an investigation will reveal the fact that the Negro is growing brighter with each succeeding generation, and this of itself will in time equalize the races socially. I visited one of our institutions of learning last year and to my utter surprise, out of two hundred pupils in the school building that day, there were only six black children, all the rest were from a dark brown to white! In the course of time the Negro race will be a race of "white Negroes," and so mixed by cross-blood and intermixing that the question of social equality and equal rights will settle itself and the present-day bick- ering will come to an end. John W. Wood. Je23