This, it seems to me, is unwise and unreasonable,
and should cease. In saying this I do not mean that the Negro should
truckle, or not vote from principle, for the instant he ceases to vote
from principle he loses the confidence and respect of the Southern
white man even.
I do not believe that any state should make a law that permits an
ignorant and poverty-stricken white man to vote, and prevents a black
man in the same condition from voting. Such a law is not only unjust,
but it will react, as all unjust laws do, in time; for the effect of
such a law is to encourage the Negro to secure education and property,
and at the same time it encourages the white man to remain in
ignorance and poverty. I believe that in time, through the operation
of intelligence and friendly race relations, all cheating at the
ballot-box in the South will cease. It will become apparent that the
white man who begins by cheating a Negro out of his ballot soon learns
to cheat a white man out of his, and that the man who does this ends
his career of dishonesty by the theft of property or by some equally
serious crime. In my opinion, the time will come when the South will
encourage all of its citizens to vote. It will see that it pays
better, from every standpoint, to have healthy, vigorous life than to
have that political stagnation which always results when one-half of
the population has no share and no interest in the Government.
Pages:
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233