One of the fundamental errors has been in considering the Negroes as a special class, to be regarded, discussed, legislated for, aided, and sustained as such, instead of as plain human beings who, judged according to certain universal standards, belong to various classes in which those standards would place other members of the human family. This was the fundamental error of the doctrinaire in the first instance, and, unfortunately, the Negroes themselves have gotten the idea so firmly fixed in their minds that they have long regarded their race as a special species, to be considered from quite a special standpoint, judged by different standards, and dealt with in a different manner from the rest of the world. Nothing could be more unwise, because nothing tends more to mislead the Negro as to the future and keep up the misunderstanding which blocks the way to a proper solution of the question. The Negroes must learn that before they can claim to be accorded the treatment that the Whites receive they must themselves act along lines which govern the conduct of the whites. If a white man is a brute or a blackguard, all whites do not feel it necessary to defend him. If a white man commits a crime, all whites do not conspire to shield him and aid him in escaping the penalties of the law. If a white man is arrested, all whites do not assail the arresting officers; he is left to his remedy at law. If a white man has committed rape and murder and a mob catches and lynches him, all white men, however they deplore and denounce lawlessness, do not feel it necessary to declare the miscreant innocent and a martyr. A great step will be taken toward the correct solution of the problem when the Negroes shall be considered and shall consider themselves not “in the lump,” but as individuals, just as any other members of the community are considered; not as a separate class, but as part of various classes to which their standing morally, mentally, and personally would assign them—when they shall be judged by the same standards and governed by the same rules; when the malefactor shall be dealt with as a malefactor; the reputable man shall be esteemed for his good character: in other words, when every man shall be judged on his own merits and shall stand or fall on his own showing. This must be the work of both races. It is what the more enlightened Negroes say they desire; but, unfortunately, not a great many of them appear to act upon this. Their acts, their addresses delivered at Afro-American meetings, their newspapers, their writings, all tend to show that those who claim and would appear to be the leaders among them regard all matters wholly from a racial standpoint. They clamor for recognition and for assistance as Negroes; make inflammatory speeches; call on Congress to intervene in their behalf as such, and at times even suggest, in case Congress does not interpose, that an appeal be made to foreign nations.