That picture should disarm all unkind, unthinking criticism of a slandered South. What an object lesson of love, and trust and faithfulness it would be if the beautiful relations existing now between the old slaves, who are rapidly passing away, and their former masters could be presented to every good man in the United States. The old uncles and aunties of the South, as the old slaves are called, have never faltered in their devotion to their "white folks" and thousands of them are being tenderly cared for in their old age by their former owners. There is not a town or a hamlet in the South where you will not find old and helpless negroes being provided with all of the comforts of life by white people simply because they were faithful servants of the long ago.
The greatest obstacle to the advancement of the negro is his defective moral nature, and that phase of negro character is the dark part of the race problem. There is a rapid increase in crime and lawlessness among negroes under forty years of age. The criminal class among negroes is confined largely to the younger generation. That question is exhaustively treated by Prof. W. F. Wilcox, of Cornell, General Statistician of the Census Office, in his very learned article on "Negro Criminality."
The people of the South do not fear the clouds which may darken the future. They believe in themselves and in their power to meet and solve the problems which the presence of the negro forces upon them. They want the intelligent help and sympathy and good will of good men everywhere. They see the threatening clouds, but behind them they behold the brightness and glory of the future.
The negro is in the South to stay, for better or for worse, it must be his home. There is no other place in this broad Republic for him, and there is no other place where he is wanted.
The Southern people have suffered because of his presence among them. The negro has been the victim of injustice at the hands of some of the Southern people. The future is full of hope. The errors and mistakes of the past will only increase the good deeds of the future. The history of civilization teaches that all progress has come through trials and tears, and at best has moved in a path marked by many blunders and mistakes.