"Your irritation," said Earl, "paves the way for me to say what I came to say. We Northerners are tired of being estranged from you Southerners. We are becoming a world power and should have a thoroughly united country. Why don't you Southern people begin a campaign of education and let the North know your real mind, so that we won't tread on your corns so often, to use a homely phrase." "Ha, ha! the North knows my views. They were heralded abroad everywhere and gave me the governorship. I had five planks in my platform and, to match your homely phrase with another one, they took like hot cakes," said the governor. "Would you object to outlining your platform to me," asked Earl. "Object? Why I am the boldest man in the South. I don't bite my tongue. Surely you have heard of me," said the governor. "Yes, I have heard of you," said Earl, "but I did not know but what you had been misrepresented by political enemies." "Well, you can judge for yourself as to whether I have been misrepresented or not. The five planks of my 'nigger' platform are these," said he. "First, this is a white man's country. "Second, one drop of Negro blood in a man's veins makes him a 'nigger.' [Illustration: "'We machine men in the South don't want this "nigger" bugaboo put down. It's our war whoop.'" (258-259.)] "Third, public office, neither federal nor state, was gotten up for a 'nigger' to hold. "Fourth, all money spent on educating a 'nigger,' except to teach him to work, is a squandering of the public funds. "Fifth, the outside world be d----d. We will deal with the 'nigger' to suit ourselves. "I will also tell you confidentially that I am one that don't want the 'nigger' question out of politics. We are living side by side with these 'niggers,' and public agitation helps our people to keep in mind that there is an impassable gulf between the races. Such men as I am would be perfect fools for trying to solve this 'nigger' problem. A crazy man can see that the solving of this problem puts my kind out of business. Thousands of Southern men can whip me out of my boots on any issue outside of abusing the 'nigger.' That's where I can go them one better. Haven't you observed the universal lament that we are not up to the standard in point of statesmanship. The trouble is we ride into our kingdoms so easily. It don't take a genius to persuade a people that you can beat a more tender-hearted man keeping a 'nigger' in his place. We machine men in the South don't want this 'nigger' bugaboo put down. It's our war whoop." "Aside from the political use to which you put your announced views on the race question, you really believe them, don't you?" asked Earl. "O yes. I think the good of the world demands that the 'nigger' be kept in his place," replied the governor.