prayers and with the souls and the flesh and blood of the best men and
women of the world. There are good men North and South--white men--who
desire the Negro's success. Their number will grow. With these helps
the Negro can become noble in character. He can merit the best at the
hands of the American people. If he is as good and useful as any other
class of people, will he be treated as any other class?

Fourth: Now, I will go a little further and say I know it is
"possible" for the Negro to attain unto the American type of
civilization; but, is it "probable"? I even believe it is probable.

The Negro is included in the "all men are created with certain
inalienable rights." He is included in the "Our Father." He is
included in the "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do
you even so unto them." Now, if the nation adopts some separate and
unjust manner of treatment of the Negro, it must repudiate the
Declaration of Independence. It must repudiate the Lord's Prayer. It
must repudiate the Golden Rule. Can it do that and survive? Can it
practice injustice upon the Negro and survive? Sin recoils upon the
sinner. Injustice to the Negro will destroy the Nation. For that
reason good white men and women are striving to bring the Nation up to
that high plane of righteousness where justice is meted out to all
alike. These good white men and women ought to conquer. I believe they
will. Not to-day, but to-morrow. Thus the Negro, striving to be the
best in the community, the white men, striving to reduce to practice
the Golden Rule, may it not come to pass that "They shall beat their
swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks," and that
the country of Lincoln shall thus become the "land of the free and the
home of the brave," where all men of all races shall be treated in all
departments of life according to their worth?