lication
of which to the impertinent inquiry was obvious. In another letter he
summed up his opinion of the much-mooted question of the franchise in
these two sentences: "There is no reason why every Negro who is not
fitted to vote should not be disfranchised. At the same time, there
is no good reason why every white man who is not fitted to vote should
not also be disfranchised."

From the foregoing correspondence it will be seen that one of Booker
Washington's many roles was to act as a kind of plenipotentiary and
interpreter between his people and the dominant race. For this part he
was peculiarly fitted by his thorough understanding of and sympathy
for each race.

Theodore Roosevelt, immediately after taking the oath of office as
President of the United States, in Buffalo after the death of
President McKinley, wrote Mr. Washington the following note:

[_Copy_]

_Executive Mansion_

_Washington_

_Buffalo, N.Y.,_
_Sept. 14, 1901._

MY DEAR MR. WASHINGTON:

I write you at once to say that to my deep regret my visit
South must now be given up.

When are you coming North? I must see you as soon as
possible. I want to talk over the question of possible
appointments in the South exactly on the lines of our last
conversation together.

I hope that my visit to Tuskegee is merely deferred for a
short season.

Faithfully yours,

(Signed) THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

_Booker T. Washington, Esq.,_
_Tuskegee, Alabama._

This deferred visit finally took place in 1905, not long after Colonel
Roosevelt's triumphant election to the Presidency, when he came to
Tuskegee accompanied by his secretary, William Loeb, Jr.; Federal
Civil Service Commissioner, John McIlhenny; Collector of Revenue for
the Birmingham District, J.O. Thompson; Judge Thomas G. Jones of
Montgomery, and a fellow Rough Rider by the name of Greeneway.

In response to the above note Mr. Washington went to the White House
and discussed with the President "possible future appointments in the
South" along the lines agreed upon between them in a conference which
they had had at a time when it had seemed possible that Mr. Roosevelt
might be given the Republican Presidential nomination of 1900, that
is, while Mr. Roosevelt was Governor of New York and a tentative
candidate for the nomination.

Upon his return to Tuskegee after this talk with President Roosevelt,
M