Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-05-08
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.

PLAYING UPON THEM-During the remarkable
sectional excitement growing out of the John
Brown raid, various lists Of Hsound' and .sun-
sound'' Northern business houses were published,
to the ostensible end Of enabling the South to
know their friends from their enemies. We then
took occasion to protest against placing any con-
hdence whatever in any such publications, every
one Of which was dictate by desire TO black
mail the parties named in either list, or by
desire to injure those named in one list for the
benefit Of those named in the other Our remedy
for northern sectional war on the South was, a
resort to earnest efforts to make the South wholly
independent Of the North in all her business rela
tons; and thus to compel the location of North
ern manufacturing and commercial capital aim.
Ing TO make money off Southern trade, in the
South feasible plan which we yet hope to see
duly carried out
How atrociously unjust and deceptive such lists
as we refer to above really are, may be gathered
from an affair that has. just been made public
here. Thus, we have to say that for more than
month past the passengers passing through Wash
ington from the South and Southwest have been
Piled by two or three individuals with a neatly
printed card, Of which the following is a copy:
IMPORTANT TO TRAVELLERS FROM THE South AND
SOUTHWEST.
above 8
tricts Of country travelling North, who anticipate
stopping In Philadelphia, and who wish 10 pa.
ronize only those hotels whose proprietors are
known not TO be tainted with abolitionism, and
VINO 90 not wish TO come In contact with the free
negroes OF the North servants have the facility
from this circulsr 10 make such a selection.
Inc Oirard lloT e, La Pierre Housr, Merchants
Hotel, Jones Hoo :, and the American Hotel are
presided over by gentlemen widely known as
Conservative, and hey employ none but white
help IS servants. Ihe Continental Hotel is pre-
sldeG over Nv es,iatH StsreHs, of Boston, Mass ,
that land Of aboltionism; he employs none hui
the Tree negroes 81 the North as servants Choose
ye which you will patrOniLe. Virginia
The consequence Of placing thousands of these
cards In the hands Of travellers has been consider
able decrease of the southern patronage of the hotel
the business Of which 1t was designed to DESTROY
AT length Mr.. Stevens copy OF the card having
fallen into his hands-has caused its history to be
ferretted out and IL turns out that il was printed
In Philadelphia and brought To Alexandria and
Washington by person named w T. Cropper. A
weil-known runner for rival PHILADELPHIA hotels
who employed the runners here and in AIexard. a
to hand them to the passengers on the STEAMBOATS,
and st the dspots as the following letter from one
Of them so employed, will show
ALEXANDRIA, May !, 1s6O.
ny cIeeeHS, PTopTtetOT Of the Continental Hotel.
fhStadefPhta, Pc Dear Sir: Several weeks ago
MI w r CroppeI friend of mine was I'm our
cry, ana handed me some handbills to d istribute
wnicn olIls, from what can learn, false in
tnelr statement as regards your hotel | have
therefore destroyed all Of them in NV possession
ana am truly sorry that had anything to do with
men, Tor assure you that ii is not INV wish To
lnJure any person. ] am at loss IchV inv friend
Mr- =" T. CrOPPer should wish to get me in such
d ScTGPs Yours respectfully,
SAML. P. BOWEN
Mr.. Stevens, il will be remembered by the
travelling public, is the most extensive hotel keeper
IN America, being now the proprietor of the
largest motel In Mobile, Alabama, and of large
watering place hotel on the lake between Mobile
ana New Orleans, Of the largest (ContinentaD
hotel in Philadelphia, and the celebrated Fifth
avenue hotel in New York, and also Of the TIE
mont and Revere hotels In Boston He stands at
the very head Of his profession in this country,
mis- houses, one and all, being unsurpassed, and
kept In manner to give entire satisfaction to all
his guests, Numbering hundreds OF thousands
annually,) whether from North, South, East or
West. Of course he is a hotel keeper, and not a
Politfciani managing his business wholly with
reference to the comfort, rather than the politics
Of the patrons Of his houses, whether in Mobile
or in Boston.
The fact that so atrocious an effort to injure his
business for the benefit Of rival hotels in Phi a
delPhia has been essayed, explains far more
forcibly than we can otherwise explain, the gross
wrongs and Palpable injustice involved in the
publication Of pretended lists of '.soundu and
." unsound" northern business houses and. we
tfast,wil have due weight in inducin no the south
TO set It's face against all who for gain are PLAYING
at that game; and all making such publications
are so engaged.