Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-05-28

travels alone, at all events not in company
with ladies, when he takes his carpet bag and
goes down to the depot in this city to take
passage for New York. He cannot take "a
seat in some of the ears, for they are assign
ed to ladies and those with them; when he
enters the car where ladies are seated, a
young gentleman stationed there says to him,
" No sir; though you are very good looking,
you cannot come into this car you must pass
along and take seat in another car" There
is no more abridgment of the right of colored
people riding in the cars here than there is
an abridgment of the right of my honorable
friend from Massachusetts, every time he goes
over in New York There are certain cars
into which he cannot go unless under the
protection-and it is protection that is worth
something, | assure my honorable frlend-of
good lady. Laughter.
Mr.. President, there is another kindred
proposition to which should like to refer for
a moment The honorable Senator from
Maine, (Mr. Fessenden,) who has charge of
the affairs of the Committee on Finance, has
no business to propose, and the honorable
Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Wilson, has
nothing to propose from the Committee on
Military Affairs, and hence feel at liberty to
take up little more time than | should un-
der other circumstances. As | am on the
subject of personal explanations, L may as
well 90 through the whole budget at once,
and not trouble the Senate on any other occa-
sion. When the question of raising the pay
of the negro troops, and putting them on the
same footing with the white troops was un-
der consideration, short time since, did
not object to raise their pay But had the
honor of submitting proposition that three
dollars per month of the wages of those
Al
should be reserved for the purpose of enable
ing the Government to take care of and pro-
vide for negro women and children coming
within the lines of our armies. | did not pro-
pose to apply it to the colored soldiers of
Massachusetts or Pennsylvania or New Jer-
sey, or any of the States where theylive with
their families and have been accustomed to
provide for and take care of them, but to APP
ply il to the insurrectiOnary districts only, to
those portions of the country where the ne
gr0es have lived in state of slavery, where
they have never had the responsibility of
taking care of their wives and children, be-
cause they have been provided for by their
masters. Those colored soldiers in the main
have been altogether unaccustomed to the
use of money. In my judgment, the amount
of money you give them only determines how
much shall go into the hands of the suffers
that follow those regiments. The great mass
of them first set free, unaccustomed to the
use of money, have not much more of that
prudence necessary to take care of money
than Indians.
The proposition was denounced by some as
ungenerous, and by some newspapers | have
been held up and denounced as pro-slavery
in my sympathies, because would use part
of their wages to feed and clothe their starv-
ing women and children 1t was because
had sympathy for these poor people, the col
ored women and children coming within our
lines, who are dying by scores, by hundreds,
and by thousands, that wished to retain
some portion of theswages of the negro men
who come in with them to provide for their
necessities
1t Is no sufficient answer to me for gentle
men to say these women and children are not
the legal wives and legitimate children of
these soldiers They are their women and
their children. They are of their race, and
it would be ungenerous in them if they should
object to giving a portion of their wages to
save them from suffering, disease and death.