All of this sentiment for preparation may be for future military emergencies, or it may be to meet the growing responsibility of the nation. In either case, if the best results are to be realized, it is necessary that in every section of the country the fundamental principles upon which our democracy is based shall be properly administered. If we are to be really prepared for any emergency, then the vital principles of this government must be understood by every man. Every section of our great country and every man in it must know that this country stands for justice and equal opportunities to all, and that each man is to be permitted to work out and develop himself to his highest powers. Yet there is a section of our country where every day the basic principles on which our government is founded are being violated. Every day sees men subjected to injustice and arbitrary discrimination. Every day sees men deprived of that opportunity and equal protection of the laws which have been so cherished by the American people. If preparedness means the development of manhood and womanhood in order that we shall be able to repel the injustice of a foreign invader, then we must begin by granting justice to those here at home. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to speak to you on one phase of the great American problem—the relation of the Negro to the South, and the South to the Nation. Allow me to present briefly, if you please, an analysis of the most prevalent forms of injustice that are practiced in the South today. In the matter of suffrage, six states in the South have in practice laws which virtually take away the right of the colored man to vote. Politicians are elected to office not on the basis of their ability, but simply willingness to design and support legal technicalities which are prolific of this sort of injustice. These suffrage laws are based upon property ownership, or ability to read and interpret the Constitution, or payment of taxes; but the power of decision as to who is qualified under these laws is in the hand of a few unscrupulous politicians, who decide eligibility purely on the basis of race. An illustration will serve to show how these laws operate and the evils resulting from them. Before the disfranchisement act went into operation in Alabama there were 232,000 white and 181,000 colored male citizens of voting age, making a total of 413,000. The total number of qualified voters in the state today will not aggregate more than 200,000. There are 181,000 colored male citizens of voting age in Alabama today, at least 8,000 of whom are college graduates, and yet there are only 3,000 of them permitted to register and vote. Nevertheless, ladies and gentlemen, these people are counted as a basis of representation, and since they are denied the ballot they are even misrepresented, and the power of those who do the injustice is doubled. There are tonight almost 5,000,000 colored citizens