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178 THE CRISIS us to express our deep condemnation of the acts which give the lie to our words within the limits of our own country. "It is impossible to justify mob violence.The duty of the government is first of all to suppress disorder. Then, upon its foundation of law and order, it may rear the structure of justice. The cheapest and most common form of sentimental debauch is to give free expression to sentiments of virtue as found somewhere else while we have not yet put own house in order." Mr Gompers replied, saying that he wished he had with him a telegram from the head of a strong labor organization in Illinois which showed how for a long time capitalists of East St. Louis had been "luring colored men into that city to supplant white labor,and often, after the Negroes had been herded into town by the thousands, they found they had no place provided for them where they might lay their heads." Mr. Roosevelt would not be silenced. He continued, according to the Herald: "I am not willing that a meeting call for the purpose of commemorating the birth of freedom in Russia shall be made the vehicle for an apology, implied or otherwise, for the unspeakable brutalities committed upon colored men and women and children recently in East St. Louis. "Justive with me is not a mere form of words. How in the nae of Heaven can we consistently praise Russia for doing democratic and undiscriminating justice to the men within her borders if we seem, even by implication, to tolerate apology for the criminal atrocities committed within one of our own States? In the past I have had to listen too often to the same kind of apologies for the murders committed against the Armenians and the Jews. "I am a democrat of the democrats, and I'll do anything in the world for the laboring man except to do what is wrong, and that I refuse to do for any man." Approaching Mr. Gompers, who sat apparently astounded by the storm he had precipitated, Colonel Roosevelt shouted: "I do not care one snap of my finger, though, for anything that may have been said in a despatch by the head of the strongest labor organization in the State of Illinois. I say to him and I say to you, sir, that there can be no justification, no apology for such gross atrocities. These things occurred in the a Northern State, in which the Negroes are in a minority. If the white men of Illinois cannot protect themselves by their votes, without resorting to the murder of denfenceless women and children, then I say that they are unworthy to exercise the manhood franchise. "I'll do anything in my power to protect the laboring man in the enjoyment of his rights. But when there is wanton murder I will put it down ruthlessly and discuss the causes that may have brought it about afterward. We are gathered here to-night to greet the distinguished representatives of a nation that is standing now for democracy and an equal justice to all. Never on such an evening will I consent to sit silent and listen to apologies for the murder of the innocent and the helpless!" THE REAL AMERICAN FOLK-SONG THE real American folk-song has not been produced in America except in a single part of the country, writes Mr. Oscar Seagle in the Musical Courier. He says: Those early colonists who settled the country were not a folk in the true sense of the word. They were instead the representatives of peoples who had already developed a considerable civilization and had passed far beyond the stage in a people's growth when it gives birth to folk art. Some of them, it is true, brought traditional songs with them which survived wherever the conditions were favorable. It seems to the writer, for instance, that the songs of the Tennessee mountaineers will be found eventually to have such a history. Once here the colonists continued, or strove to continue, such artistic development as they possessed upon their arrival. They attempted to build upon the art of Europe, and our composers ever since have but emulated the achievements of the Europeans. In the South, however, lived the one people who because it was unhampered by civilizing influences could produce songs of a folk nature. The black slaves were illiterate and unschooled; what is more, the slavery under which they lived precluded the cultivation of the arts of civilization. Yet from their native Africa they had brought a love for music, and particularly a rhythmic sense, that had to find expression. In their work and in their religious gatherings the emotional invigoration of song was a necessity. No one knows the author of either words or music of any of the Negro spirituals. They grew together, taking shape under we know not what conditions, and apparently in most cases were not the product of any one individual. The method of their composition was probably somewhat of the following nature: Among the Negroes there was always a leader who would start a song with some particular reference to his religion or to his work. His fellows would take up the refrain. The leader improvised upon the verses as he went along. The melody simply followed the word line. Once the song was received with pleasure, it might be repeated. As time went on additions or deletions were made according to the whim of the singer. These songs thus born survived through the simple process of oral tradition. Mr. Seagle resents the occasional effort which is made to deprive the Negro of this honor: Certain writers on the subject, while admitting this fact of their origin, deny that they are altogether the creation of the Ne- THE LOOKING GLASS 179 gro, but insist that the music is but the servile imitation of such as the slaves may have heard from their white masters. This objection, however, has been disposed of by the more reliable scholars because of the peculiarity of their intervallic and rhythmic elements. In the present consideration of the subject the writer must ask his readers to accept this bald statement as true, since to go into an exhaustive investigation would consume more space than he has at his disposal, and besides his purpose is primarily to interest his readers in the enjoyment of this unique product of American music. That such peculiarities do exist is attested by the difficulties experienced whenever attempts have been made to record the spirituals in terms of our musical notation and by the failure in interpretation that falls to the lot of any singer who would sing them in strict accordance with the recorded version. Unfortunately, no definite effort was made prior to the Civil War to record scientifically these songs. Since then various attempts have been made, but they have been sporadic and have not begun to cover the field. In spite of this neglect we have at present records of over 500. The field, however, has only been scratched; a treasure still lies ready for the first enthusiast who, equipped by training for the work, will devote a few years of his life to their compilation. It is highly necessary that the work be undertaken as soon as possible. Great changes have taken, indeed are taking, place in the South that render it more and more difficult to secure versions of these songs. Since the days of the reconstruction the Negro has been subjected to the influences of freedom and its attendant education. Today he endeavors most of all to emulate the white man in all things, and by the same token to discard the customs and traditions of his own race. The young Negro of to-day does not know nor is he interested in the songs of his fathers. He is rapidly forgetting the spirituals, and it is only where the old darky who had known the days before the war can be found that record of these songs can be made. In spite of their humble origin the Negro folk-songs are likely to form the very root of the great American production of the future. Mr. Seagle continues: Apart from the value the spirituals possess in themselves, they may ultimately serve the same purpose as have the folk songs of other countries in the development of the higher art forms. The folksong is the true basis for the development of a nationalistic music. Antonin Dvorák recognized the value of the spirituals and drew upon them for the thematic material of the "New World" symphony and the quartet for strings. But American composers have been diffident about using them. In fact, I think that few American composers have taken the trouble to investigate them at all. The prejudice against the black race dies hard and even in matters of art it still exists. The composer of our so-called popular music has not hesitated to use them, particularly their rhythmic elements, and the snap which characterizes over sixty per cent of the spirituals forms the rhythmic basis for rag-time. That only the cheapest of our musical expressions should find inspiration in the spirituals might seem to condemn them, were it not that the cheapest frequently seizes upon the best in an art—particularly if that best be also the obvious—and makes it serve its base purposes. No, the fact that rag-time took one of its elements from the spiritual does not damn the spiritual, but rather would prove its all-appealing quality. WANTED—A DEMOCRACY N.C.A. RAYHOUSER, in a letter to the editor of the Ohio State Journal, Columbus, O., wants to know what is the use of a world democracy without world justice. He says: If the "world is to be made safe for democracy" it must also be made safe for absolute justice. And that justice must be measured by a single standard. Theories are nothing if not translated into deeds. Democracy is nothing in state papers if the principles of the democracy are trampled upon by law makers and executives. The foundation of all good government is law and order, the cornerstone is justice, and honor is its crowning capital. There never was, there never will be, good government that does not rest upon the constitutional rights of every citizen. If the world war results in a world democracy, will the Negro citizen participate in its blessings? Will courts and administrations establish an imaginary color line? Shall there be one interpretation of the law for the white citizen and another and harsher interpretation for the Negro? Shall he be discriminated against on account of race? Can we harmonize injustice to the Negro in practice with the claim that we are in the war for democracy and humanity? The American people are pouring out billions of treasure and blood ostensibly to widen the bounds of democracy. Will the Negro be thrust outside of those bounds? Can we trample upon the rights of Negro citizens without ultimately imperiling the rights of the white citizens? Can we, with safety to our free citizens, deny justice to the Negro and keep him in ignorance? Nearly 12 per cent of the population in the United States is of Negro blood. It may be made an important factor in the material progress of the nation or it may become a menace. Which condition is to be preferred? It is for the interest of the white citizen as well as for the colored citizen that there shall be equality before the law of both
