Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1862-04-18
Negro Exodus at the west.


excited as Governor Harris has been re-
ported to be in Memphis Two thou
sand day are sending petitions to the
Legislature to prevent their iugress into
the State. And an Ohio farmer, in plain
but solid style, thus writes to the !" Cri-
sis, why farmers object to negro immi-
grafton:
thought while writing to you or 9th
err business, would tell you some of the
reasons why we think the negro should
be prohibited from settling in Ohio. And
first ye believe it is duty we owe to
The white men who are now in the ranks
of the army, fighting to maintain the
Constitution and Laws, to keep their
places for them until they return, and
not permit their places to be filled by
niggers while they are fighting our bat
ties.
Let me illustrate: Jim Reynolds, his
wife and four children, were living in a
house which he rented of Mr.. John Ea-
ton, when the war broke out. The Pre-
sident called for soldiers-Mr. Eaton is a
Union man and has large farm and
much property to see to, and cannot en-
list, Jim is full of patriotism, and re-
lying on Mr.. Eaton that his family shall
be taken care of, rushes into tho ranks
of the army, for what? To save the
Government and the property of Mr.
Eat0n--Jim has none to save. But after
Jim is gone, his wife cannot procure
wood, clothing. or provisions; she has
to leave Mr.. Eaton's house and move
home to her poor old parents, where by
constant labor and anxiety, her health
fails her-children become destitute. 49,
The war goes on-in the vicinity of the
two contending armies society became
disorganized-the slave runs away from
bis master, and having been made to be-
lieve that Ohio is a paradise for niger,
of course they came here. Yes, old
black Tom takes the advantage of the
presence oftbe army in which Jim Roy
nolds is fighting, and runs away from
his master in Kentucky and comes to Mr..
John Eaton and others, as James used
to 90.
The war finally closes and Jim receives
an honorable discharge and returns to
his native place lie finds his wife ema-
ciated and her constitution broken-his
children ragged and beggars. He thinks,
to better their condition, he will go to
Mr.. Eaton and rent the house he left.
Mr.. Eaton tells him that he has rented
the house to black Tom, who got his
liberty when he (Jim) was in the army
in Kentucky. This is hard stroke on
jim still he hopes and asks Mr.. Eaton
if those rails are made yet that they
talked about before he went to the war;
Jim says he has nothing to do, and would
like some flour for his family. Mr. Ea-
ton tells him that Tom has offered to
make them cheaper than the usual price
and take corn, and he let him have the
job. Jim asks if he has no corn to husk,
wood to chop, or something Of the kind
for him to do; but Mr. Eaton tells him
that the times are hard, and himself and
Tom will have to do all his work. jim
returns tired and hungry to his family;
the sight Of his hungry children starts
him out to make an effort for work the
noighbors all tell him the same story
times are hard-they had to hire niggers,
because the niger would do more work
for the same money than the white man
could Jim tells them that this is the
reason that Shareholders have niggers in
the South, because they think it is cheap
er than white labor. Jim starts to see
the overseer Of the poor without any very
exalted admiration of the results of the
war, so far as it has affected free white
labor in Ohio. The case here delineatcd
will be the case of thousands in Ohio, if
the prohibition of niggers is not attend
ed to-