It is peculiarly unfortunate that he should give the exhibitions of offend-
ed dignity upon occasions when women, who have not a vote, and Negroes,
who are the weaker race, are those who appeal to him. If he believes that
the policy of segregation should be adopted by the United States Government
he .should have no hesitation in so stating frankly and giving his reasons
therefor. If he believes that the different races, of which the people of the
United States are composed, should each be segregated, he has a right so to
believe and so state. Has he a right as President, to act in accord with that
belief?
Does the President of the United States believe that as a mater of gov-
ernmental policy, citizens of African extraction should be treated differently
from* citizens of Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic, Slav or Latin extraction? Is the
President of the United States, the Chief Executive officer of the greatest re-
public in the world, that has opened its doors as a refuge for the oppressed
of all nations, willing to stand before the peoples of the earth as giving the
sanction of his great personality and high office to the perpetuation of race
prejudice? Is it to be the policy of the government of the people, by the
people, for the people, that any race is to be set aside as distinguished from
another race?
Is the President willing to have himself quoted as authority and cited as
an example by those of lower order and more brutal instincts, who, in states
where there are a large number of persons of different races favor putting
one class above the law and another of different color beyond the protection
of the law?
At what point will the government as government stop the segregation
of different races? As we conceive the purpose of this government it is to
treat every individual as equal before the eyes of the lawblack or white,
red or yellow, Jew or Gentile, Protestant or catholicwhatever the breed,
whatever the creed matters not, at least should matter not to the public offi-
cial charged with the duty of serving all the people.
