s doctrine should prove to be untrue. The Negro,
twenty-five years ago in absolute poverty and illiteracy, has been
greedy for education, and has seriously thought of nothing but to rise
from his low condition.

The intelligent white man now, and to his great surprise, is all at once
confronted by the intelligent black man. They are not so numerous now as
to be an element to fear, but the whites are foreseeing the not distant
day when they can not be relegated to inferiority because of their
color. The calamity that Bishop Pearce deplores and would prevent is not
far away--educated Negroes with aspirations, in other words, men.

The general Negro illiteracy is gaining fast upon the white ignorance,
and the despised Negro is found to be living above many of his
illiterate white neighbors. This makes it easy work for designing men to
sharpen race prejudices, which by force and fear shall keep the Negro
down.

On the Negro side, he has been patient and forbearing. With these
outbreaks of persecution some are discouraged, and are ready to
surrender their manhood. On the other hand, some are no longer patient,
but are enraged. They would retaliate. They feel that defense against
wrongs is right. An influential Negro paper says, "EDUCATE, AGITATE,
RETALIATE. Does one strike me? With the power of God on high, back also
will I strike him." This feeling grows. Add to it the fact that the
Negro is developing the power of organization. There are leaders. They
are in their councils and conventions. They are feeling deeply, speaking
plainly, and organizing efficiently.

This is the situation! "How shall this problem be solved? How shall we
prevent the conflict between races?" A Southern author says: "These
problems have been solved in the past in four ways. By reducing the
weaker race to slavery, or by expulsion, or by extermination, or by the
amalgamation of the races. Slavery is out of the question--that is
settled. Equally repugnant is expulsion or extermination. Amalgamation
is abhorrent." Therefore, the problem will not be solved by any
historical precedents. The two races must live here in the same
sections, equal before the law, with mutual rights, and all rights must
be sanctioned and confirmed.

The American Missionary Association is living with this problem day by
day. It is trying to see it with the look of Christ. This Association
foresaw this question forty years ago. It took on itself the preparation
for it. It g