THE COLOR LINE.

Gisborne Times, Volume IX, Issue 811, 28 January 1903, Page 3

THE COLOR LINE.

:OOSEVELT CREATES STORM

(Per R.AI.S. Sonoma at Auckland.) „SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 8.

President Roosevelt has aroused the wrath of the residents of the Southern States by his action in relation [to negroes. Pie appointed a colored, woman postmistress at Indianola, Mississippi, and when the citizens objectcc the post office was closed. At a meeting of the Cabinet of the United States, it was decided that the people of Indianola should have no postal service until they would accent that particular colored woman in such official capacity., The woman promptly resigned, and declared she would not act as postmistress. It is presumed that she was intimidated by white persons, though she herself denies this..

The newspapers of New, Orleans all commented bitterly upon the action of the President the New Orleans State’s Democratic organ saying, in discussing the Indianola post office incident : “ We do not believe it wise for either the people of the South or their newspapers to mince words. President Roosevelt, in closing ‘the post office at Indianola, has suspended the law lor the deliberate purpose of offending and insulting the white people of the South, and incidentally to pander to the negro vote in the Northern States. He has assumed the, role of Czar for the sole purpose

of clinching ,thc Presidential nomination-; in 1904, and it is well the South should proclaim its knowledge of his motives, and also impress upon the mind of the country the fact that if Roosevelt has made up his mind to insult and outrage the people of the South by appointing and keeping in office obnoxious negroes, his negro appointees will be killed just as the negic appointees of other Republican Presidents have been put out of the way Some people say, no doubt, these are intemperate and violent views; but we arc confident they wilt be endorsed by the majority of the people of the Southern States. It may be said that if Roosevelt's appointees are killed or run out of the country, he will dragoon the South with Federal troops. In- such event, we are confident the fact will —be quickly established that our people are fully as strenuous as their knickerbccker President. The people of the South were dragooned in the dark days of reconstruction civil "war), and the history of that period shows that they did some dragooning on rneir own account. If was effective, and it is well for the President. to know that it will be still mote effective now if he desires, in order to serve his own political ends, Id raise ‘ a bug-nouse ’ in the South. ll’ can rest assured that the game wiil be entirely interesting for him.” Even in the North, the President’s action is regarded as extreme, and it is likely he will he compelled to recede from the position taken up-. Southerners contend that negroes are no more than ever fit to occupy, official positions, and that when any, power or precedence is given to individuals of the race the colored people in general become inflated, officious, and dangerouSi