THE HOME NEWS
EDITED IN THE INTEREST OF McCRORY and woodruff county
VOLUME 1.
McCRORY, ARKANSAS, FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 1916
NUMBER 34
Blatant Demagoguery of Mr. Hodges Does No Harm to Dr.
Brough, But Weakens Mr. Hodges. Dr. Brough’s Well
Known Position on the Negro Question Shows Him to Be In
Entire Accord With the Southern People
Mr. Hodges, lately, true to his past record, has shown himseli
I ready and anxious to propagate any falsehood or slander that may
I come to his diseased imagination. His most recent charge is an
* attack as to my attitude on the negro question, which he claims
was based upon the report which I made as chairman of the
•University Commission on the Southern race question, and wThich
was published in full in the Arkansas Gazette of January 3, 1915.
I would be more than glad for you to read the entire report, for
every sane and intelligent man and woman who does read it will
be convinced that every conclusion of Mr. Hodges is absolutely
false.
To assist in solving the race question, the Commission from
eleven Southern universities was organized. The Committee was
composed entirely of Southern men, born, bred and educated in the
South, and m^n who had devoted much time and study to this prob
lem. I was chosen chairman of this committee by James H. Dil
lard, a staunch Southern Democrat of Louisiana. It was a signal
honor and afforded me an opportunity to be of service to my
people. As chairman, I made a report at our meeting in the city
of Washington, D. C. President Wilson and many other people—
leading educators in the South-—heard it with complete approval.
The report was favorably commented upon by leading men of the
South, and was criticised by the radical papers of the North and
East. It dealt with conditions of the negro from the close of
the war to the present date.
I Am Strongly in Favor of Separate Schools, Separate Churches
and Separate Cars for Whites and Negroes.
In my report I pointed out the difference in the relations be
tween the "whites and the negroes before the war and at the
present time. I mentioned the fact that we now have separate
schools, separate churches, the “Jim Crow” law and the restric
tion of the ballot, for the purpose of showing that the two races
live and move in entirely different worlds in thought and in feel
ing, this being but a statement of historical truth. I spoke of the
segregation of the races as just,^stating: “The antipathy of the
South to anything savoring of social equality between the races
is entirely rational as an expression of life preservation.” 1■ ap
proved of this separation of the races, after stating the above
facts, but I insisted that while the races were thus widely sep
arated, and justly so, that the negro of the future will be wThat
the white man makes him. I pointed out that the negro is here to
sfay and that this condition confronts the people of the South,
that they can and must deal "with it, and that the burden is laid
upon us to make a better citizen of the negro and to cause him to
render more efficient service to the white man by encouraging him
to labor instead of loaf, by encouraging him to cultivate his moi al
nature instead of degrading it, and that the white man should, for
Ivs own welfare and security, take this interest in the negro, if
for no other reason than for the good that may result to us.
'I Am Not in Favor of Negroes Holding Political Positions in the
South or in Arkansas.
11. _
In this report I quoted the statistics taken from me uniieu
States government report, showing how many negroes are em
ployed by the United States government. This report was mane
to include the whole question, and the wdiole condition of t e
negro, and because I stated it was a fact from statistics, that
there were many negroes in the employ of the Federal governmen
nnd holding political positions, Mr. Hodges charged that I was
m favor of negroes holding political positions in the South. is
charge is unfounded in fact, and is contrary to what 1 have advo
cated all my life.
I Never Criticized the Southern Church People in the Way Mr.
> Hodges Charged. ,
In this report I stated that the churches of the South were
not contributing their share to uplift the morality of the mem^
°f the weaker race. Thousands and thousands of do! ars
Sent annually by every church organizations mS- United St&ifis
to the mission fields of Africa to'lead the benighted people into
paths of light and truth. With the same object in view—that is,
'the moral uplift of the South—Southern churches have been con
tributing small amounts from year to year. I stated this amount
was insufficient to discharge the responsibility undertaken by th©
Southern churches. This statement is true, and is a fact known
and appreciated by the churches of the South, who have undei
taken this work, and I do believe that it would be better to try
to improve our own condition by helping the negro s condition
here, rather than spending so much money in Africa and so little
at home. And no man can claim from this that I severely crit
icized the Southern Church people.
I Am Mot in Favor of Negroes Serving on Juries in the
Southern States.
1 in the report mentioned I stated as a fact that in some South
ern States negroes serve on juries. This statement is true, and
was only stated as a part of the investigation by this committee
of conditions. There was not a word or syllable or intimation any
where in this report that I was in favor of negroes serving on
juries or in favor of negroes being employed in the government
service. Mr. Hodges stands alone in drawing this conclusion.
I Am in Harmony With Southern Farmers and Know
i Their Needs.
I staged in this report that “the segregation of the races ini
the departments of public service, railway and street cars, and in
cities may be exceedingly just, but the idea of their segiegcd^on,
crivino- the white man the advantage in agricultural and industrial
competition, was a travesty upon Anglo-Saxon superiority and an
iniustice to the negro.” , l
The “Progressive Farmer,” that Mr. Hodges refers to, is
edited by Clarence Poe, and his position, as I understood it at the
time I made this address, was that no negroes should be permitted
to work on a white man’s land, and no negro should own a farm
in the vicinity where a white man lived. After this address was
-ttrnr-n it seems Mr. Poe made his position clear by advocating
ttr*af conimunities that wished to remain white to keep themselves
white In other words, a volunteer white segregation by neigh
borhood, and no one ever disputed tins pusiuun. j. ©tetter
and I believe that the white man need have no fear of the negro
farmer being a successful competitor, because of the Anglo-Saxon
superiority, and I believe that every other white man of the South
is of this opinion, unless it be Mr. Hodges. Agricultural segrega
tion would mean a separation of the whites and blacks in agricul
tural districts, the whites to occupy one district and the blacks
another, and each to do his own farming. This would be destruc
tive of the agricultural interests of the South, the negro farming
alone without the assistance of the white man would be a failure,
and would become a charge upon and a menace to society; the
white man without the negro to do the labor in the cotton fields
of the South would be injured; they are mutually dependent one
upon the other—the negro for his living and the white man for
his labor. Therefore, agricultural segregation in the South is im
practicable.
I Am Not in Favor of Social Equality.
Mr. Hodges states that because I said, “Social solidarity is in
exorable” that I am in favor of social equality. This statement,
as used in the report, simply means that the negro is here to stay;
that with' his betterment comes our betterment; that is, if we
expect to better ourselves, we must better him, but in no sense
means that I am in favor of social equality or associations. Any
school boy who knows how to use Webster’s Dictionary could cor
rect Mr. Hodges on this proposition.
In this report I offered remedies to prevent the menace in
crime, vagrancy, disease and ignorance among the negroes. The
Whiteman ought to remedy* if we. expect to make our country at
(Continued on page two)