- Transcription
I do not favor the "League of Nations, as presented to us in it's original form.
Cameron, N.Car October-18-1919.
Hon. Thos. W. Bickett Governor of N. Car;
Raleigh, N. Car.
Most Honorable Sir:
I am writing you this letter which I sincerely hope will be an encouragement and inspiration to you, in your further efforts to give North Carolina a good government, and make the two races in N.Car understand and appreciate each-other and live harmoniously together.
I did not support you in the democratic primaries when you were nominated for govenor, but supported your opponent, later however; I voted for you for govenor, and I have always been very glad that I had that privilege; for you have, in my mind; made the very best govenor North Carolina has had since I have been old enough to know what law and order meant.
I considered you too much of a politician to suit me, and while it may be true that you could be a politician, I have not noted any questionable political moves from you or your office since you have been govenor of N.Car, and I want to ask you for the sake of decency, good government and fairness, and the progress of our state and Nation; please continue to do as you have for the past several years, and you will have the confidence of all the better class of law-abiding people of your state.
I like, especially; your attitude in regard to labor and labor troubles, and I want you to understand me there-; you have the nerve to do the right thing regardless of political reverses in future, or the censure of any certain class of people. I hope you thoroughly understand that "Labor Unionism" now has taken over the "Red Flag" and it is not a question of better living conditions or higher wages with the real heads of labor; but the taking over of all industry and socializing it, and doing for this country what Lenine and Trotzky have done for Russia. It is very plain to any one who really is not prejudiced too much to be able to think.
I have since voting for you for govenor; changed my political faith and now adhere to the G.O.P, but I am writing to let you know that I shall vote for you on whatever ticket you may run and for whatever office, as long as you continue to act as you have since becoming govenor of N.Car.
I shall not try to explain to you why I felt it to be my duty to leave the democratic party, only to say to you, that it was caused by too much party politics during the war just ended on the part of the present democratic administration.
I have I think gotten quite a little prejudice out of my system, and believe from now on that I shall put my country above petty politics and shall vote for the man and not for party principal as I have always been used to doing. I want to say further, that you or any other man will make a great mistake if you think the soldier is going to be solidly democratic or republican in the future; many of them will but the majority of them will use more sense and display more patriotism, you may be sure of that.
I have never had the pleasure of meeting you personally, but I had business with you twice this year and called to see you, but you were absent both times, and your Private Secy. Mr. Martin very graciously attended to my wants to my entire satisfaction in your stead. I hope you will believe me when I tell you, that I am not writing this letter to gain any favors from you in any way, nor to solicit your influence for any purpose; personally or otherwise; but am writing you for the sole purpose of letting you understand how much I appreciate your clean politics and your good governorship, and many other qualities.
I have heard nothing but praise from both republicans and democrats of your record since being govenor, and have heard very much favorable comment lately in that regard.
Now if you understand me; I am sure you will understand me further-; I am amazed at the ignorance of the great majority, of the white race in regard to the negro problem, and the present high tension and animosity among the negroes of America against the whites in general. Of course you understand the Negro took this great war, literally, and confidently expected to recieve all the benefits for his race, that our published provocation for entering the war stated.
There is further, quite a lot of agitation from outside surces, but I consider this to be a minor factor in the present crisis.
I do not really believe the negro expects to be recieved by the white people of America as he was by the French; I am very certain of this, and while the way the French treated the negro over there may have a very little to do with the present crisis, I think, and feel confident that is has very little indeed to do with the present crisis.
I have worked among the negro and with the negro for many years, and am sure I understand the negro better than the average white person; yet I will say to you, that I do not understand him at all, and the great trouble is none of our white people do understand the negro, but they think they do, and let it go at that, and that accounts for a lot of the trouble today.
When you ask the average negro if he is satisfied with his present condition and treatment; his answer nearly always is that he is; and I positivily know he is lying every time he tells you that. I have found that the average negro will tell a white man he is satisfied with his condition and treatment for two reasons; 1st he is afraid to tell the white man the truth, on account of persecutions he expects to be visited upon himself and his race if he tells the real truth about it, and 2nd, because the negro naturally likes to stand in with the white man, and tells him that to keep on the good side of the white man. I know that this is actually true, with his condition and treatment, here is the conversation he has with one of his race in regard to the very same thing-; I see they have lynched another nigger down in Ga, well they had just as well lynch him and be over with it for he would be convicted anyway, for he would be tried by white men and a white jury, and you know what that means for this nigger.
Why can a white man try and use a white jury to convict a negro, is what worries the inteligent negro today a great deal, and it is worrying all of them. The negro resents the name "Jim Crow Car" yet he does not want to ride in the same coaches with whites; but he does expect and wants, really demands-; equal accommodations with the whites in travelling on the trains. The negro wants the ballot too; don,t let anyone fool you there; however much he may try to fool you about that he bitterly resents having to pay poll tax and wear the uniform in defense of his country, and be denied the privilege of the ballot. The representative element of the negro race does the same thing the average negro does; that is; lies to the white man about what his race wants and demands at the hands of the whites, and his reasons are twofold the same as the average negro; to stand in with the whites and fear of reprisals from the whites if they would really tell the whole truth. Then the negroes meet and cuss out their leaders, for betraying them to the white people, and the last stage is worse than before there was any meeting between the two races to adjust the racial difference.
Here is what the negro really wants, and it is why he is so full of animosity today toward the whites-; he wants the ballot; he wants a negro jury to try a negro for his crimes, he does not care to be on a jury of white men to try white men for their crimes, but he wants justice in the courts, and knows that he cannot get justice when he is tried by a white judge and a white jury sits on his case. He thinks the white jury hands him a jolt purposely, but it really is not that; the white man simply does not understand the negro and however honest he maybe he cannot give the negro justice, in many cases.
He demands equal accommodations in travelling on the trains. He demands better housing facilities, and resents the houses rented to him by voracious white land-lords. I have collected money from negroes who lived in houses really not good enough for a good hog-pen. I have seen thousands of negroes forced to live in just such houses and pay rent to a white devil for the privilege of living there, when the land-lord should have been sent to the penetentiary for renting such property to any human to live in.
We all know that we can build anykind of a shack and rent it to a negro family to live in; for the negro loves to live in de city and will make any sacrafice to do that, but he resents paying for such houses, and resents still more the idea, that the white people think anything is good enough for a negro.
We simply don,t understand the negro at all, and we should get right down to brass tacks and learn something about him, and not think we know him because we live with him, for many men live with their wives 25 years and find out at last that they did not understand them, then why are we so foolish as to think we can understand an alien race by living among them, and never mingling with them?
The decent negro does not want social equality, and is proud that he is a negro, but I do know that the negro wants all that I have stated in this letter, and very probably much more, for I do not claim to understand him.
I am not sanctioning giving the negro all the privileges I have just mentioned that he wants; but I do stand for giving him some of these privileges in full and others to a limited extent. I simply am telling you why this animosity exists. I know these negro men who met with your committee did not tell all the truth about what the negroes want or expect of the white man, and I will venture this assertion, that if you take the most inteligent one of these negroes and talk privately with him and ask him honestly if he did tell all the negro wanted, that he will tell you that he did not do so, and for the reasons I gave before. You see the negro is afraid to tell the white man all he wants, for he thinks the white man will resent it, and will visit retaliation upon him and his race for openly standing for it, therfore they life about it to white men, and raise hell about it when with their own race. That is the facts about it, and it were better ten thousand times we waked up, and faced these grim facts fearlessly and boldly, and at once and talk with the negro and let him know that we know what his race wants, and reason with him about these things which we cannot see clear to give him now. I have written at length because you are trying very hard to alleviate the race friction, and I hope you will gain a little from this letter. I am a disabled soldier of the late war, and have served my country three times in actual war time, and am just forty years of age, so you will understand that patriotism alone prompts me in writing you as I have done. Thanking you, I beg you to believe me to be;
Most Cordially Yours;
