Dr. Jose.
I will read for your consideration this evening Joshua, tenth chapter,
eighth and tenth verses, which are as follows:
"And the Lord said unto Joshua, fear them not, for I have delivered them
into thine hand. There shall not a man of them stand before thee.
"And the Lord discomfited them before Israel and slew them with great
slaughter at Gibeon and chased them along the way that goeth up to
Beth-horon and smote them to Azekah and unto Makkedah."
Thus read the pastor of one of Wilmington's Presbyterian churches at the
beginning of one of the weekly prayer meetings. "Brethren," said he, "I
have chosen these two verses of Scripture this evening because my mind
is as, I believe, yours are--weighted down by the situation that
confronts the white people of this city. No doubt all of you would like
to see white man's government permanently restored, although you are
most of you averse to resorting to physical force to accomplish that
end. While most all Biblical students believe and teach that God told
Joshua to destroy these Amorites, Canaanites and Jebusites because of
their wickedness, I go further and say that they were to be destroyed
because they were the black descendants of Ham, the accursed son of
Noah. Joshua was commanded to utterly destroy them or put them under
subjection according to God's word--'Cursed be Canaan, servant of
servants shall he be.' The Jew in this instance represented Shem, the
blessed son, who was to triumph over Ham and keep him forever in
subjection. God has blackened with his curse the descendants of this
cursed son of Noah that Shem and Japheth may ever know who the cursed of
God is. You who are hesitating in doubt as whether it is right to use
force to put this descendant of Ham in his rightful place--the place
which God ordained that he should be--I counsel you to ponder over the
passages of Scripture just read. The education of the Negro is giving
him an advantage that justifies our apprehension. This, combined with
accumulated wealth, make him a subject for grave and careful
consideration. We are in a condition of subjection under Negro rule and
domination that justifies the taking of the sword. We are God's chosen
people, the banner carriers of civilization. We civilized the Negro and
set him free, and it's our right to return him, if necessary, to his
former condition of servitude.
"The meeting is now open for prayer, praise and exhortation." Saying
this, Dr. Jose took his seat.
When the country was wrought up over the question of slavery it was the
Presbyterian Church South that drafted resolutions declaring that
"Slavery is a divine institution." If a divine institution, then the
destruction of that institution was wrong, and the champions of freedom
and the brotherhood of man open violators of divine law. If it is the
will of God that the dusky children of Ham are to ever serve their
brethren and ever to be reminded of their inferiority, then why not the
professing Christian, the minister of the Gospel, join in the work of
carrying out God's decree?
The victory of Union guns at Fort Fisher brought many carpet-baggers to
Wilmington, many of them thrifty men of enterprise, who willingly
assisted their brethren to restore life to that devastated town. Quite a
goodly number of these good people worshipped God in Wilmington's
Presbyterian Church. Therefore, among these cool and thoughtful
Northerners the ministers' exhortation to retort to the shotgun was not
very favorably commented upon at that meeting. But this did not in the
least dampen the ardor of this hot-blooded Virginian. He went home, and
instead of kneeling, as usual, by his bedside to pray, he knelt in his
study. "Lord, we are sorely tried; the enemies of thy chosen people are
waxing stronger and stronger. Thou art a God of battle. Thou didst in
days of old lead thy children to victory over the enemies. Shall we this
day rise in our might? Shall we smite with the sword?" There are many
instances recorded where men strong in faith have heard the voice of God
assuring them of His divine approval, that He was ready to lead them to
victory. But Dr. Jose heard no voice, felt no divine presence near him.
He arose, took his Bible and turned again to the wars of Joshua and the
terrible triumphs of Jehovah. Mrs. Jose, seeing that her husband
lingered longer than usual in his study that night, glided softly in to
see what so absorbed his attention. "Why do you sit up so late to-night,
my dear?" she asked, softly, laying a hand gently upon her husband's
shoulders. "I am exceedingly troubled to-night, Mary, darling," returned
the minister. "This question of Negro Domination is troubling us. We are
about to the point of desperation. Negroes are becoming so bold that our
white angels are no longer safe on our streets. We have made up our
minds to arm ourselves and shake off the yoke." Mrs. Jose gently closed
the book and laid her hand caressingly upon her husband's head. "Cease
to ponder over and keep before you the old Scripture, with its martial
spirit. Remember Christ and the doctrine He came to teach. He came to
teach the new commandment, to heal the broken hearted, to release the
captives. 'Verily, brethren, avenge not yourselves, for it is written
Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.' What would Jesus do
under such circumstances? His was the spirit of love. He would not break
the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax. Come away, darling, and
leave the regulation of everything to God." "But Mary," persisted the
minister, "you don't understand the situation. We, the men of
Wilmington, see utter ruin in store for us unless something is done to
check the Negro. Our women can scarcely venture out alone after dark, so
ugly and bold has he become under our lenient treatment." "This is all
imaginary, my dear," interrupted Mrs. Jose. "I am afraid that you have
allowed yourself to be influenced by these designing politicians, whose
desire to gain power has stifled their love for truth. Rev. Dr. Jose is
a Christian. Dr. Jose is a minister of the Gospel, who should not be
enticed by sinners into evil. It matters not how justifiable the deed
may seem, you, my darling, cannot afford to lend either hand or voice in
this contemplated work. He that taketh the sword shall perish by the
sword.' Our homes, our firesides, our women are perfectly safe. The only
uneasy ones among us are those who want offices. Come away, my darling;
leave wickedness for the wicked to do; you cannot afford to take a hand
in it." Mrs. Jose took her husband by the hand and gently led him to his
bedchamber. How much happier man would be if in such trying periods of
life he'd heed the counsel of the angel of his bosom. But those who read
the account of the massacre of November, 1898, learned that among that
body of men, who, armed to the teeth, marched to Dry Pond on that fatal
morning was a minister of the Gospel. Some papers published the text
which that minister of the Gospel took to preach from the Sunday
following, "We have taken a city," etc.
But those hands which turned the leaves of the sacred word were crimson
with the blood of the defenseless. "And Pilate took a basin of water and
washed his hands before the multitude." But would we suppose that Pilate
washed his hands only once? Doubtless far into the night, when the faint
shouts of triumph from the enemies of God resounded through that ancient
city, Pilate arose from his bed and washed his hands again, but the
blood stains were still there. The court scene appears. The cry of the
Pharisees rings in his ears, the humble Nazarene stands bound before
him, then Calvary, with the three ghastly instruments of death upon its
brow, looms up. "Out, damned spot! will these hands never be clean?" The
blood stains upon his hands have doubtless worried Dr. Jose somewhat,
and all the others who joined with him in the work of carnage. But the
blood stains are on their hands still, and the groans and wails of
innocents must ever ring in their ears. "It was a knavish piece of
work." "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the
uncircumcised triumph."--II Samuel, i, 20.