Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1866-04-20
FRIDAY MORNING, APRIL 20, 1865.

FRIDAY MORNING, APRIL 20, 1865.
Personal. our issue of the 9th inst,
we took occasion to notice what seemed to us
an extraordinary exhibition Of gallantry on
the part of teacher iii the Freedmen's
School, " in cscorting colored woman down
one of our principal streets. The teacher,
Directing to our article, handed us what he
stated to be an explanation, which being of
character to provoke further. controversy
We declined to publish, but deeming it but
right to give him the benefit Of explaining
tile occurrence thro' the same channel III
which it had been noticed, and notifying him
of our views, he wrote an explanation which
we published, giving him the full benefit
thereof, without one word of comment on
our part. We thought that we had done all
that Justice and fairness required at our hands,
but it seems that the Asst Supt of the
Freedmcn's Bureau docs not agree with us,
and has handed us another communication
on this subject.
We do not deem it incumbent on us to
publish this communication, but, since Mr..
Turkey has shown disposition to act with
fairness to our people and feels called upon
to notice this affair, we give it an insertion.
But in inserting Mr.. Tukeys article we also
feel called upon to prevent any erroneous i'm
pressions it might make. Our article was
not headed d" Miscegenation in Staunton. !"
That our article was personal we do not de-
ny, for the occurrence in our view justified
it and we intended it so to be- We knew of
what we wrote, and the fact of the gallantry
exhibited, as we described it, viz. that the
teacher came down on one side of the street
side by side with the negro woman, pointed
the way, when she hesitated, and walked
across the street with her, and having reached
the other side, in very gallant manner gave
her the inside of the pavement, has not been
controverted, nor even sought to be palliated,
and surely the want of hymn book on the
part of the woman is no excuse for the scene
witnessed by us. Mr.. Turkey seems to think
that under the circumstances the teacher did
nothing improper, and that he would have
acted precisely as the teacher did. Of this
we need not speak, but we will say, that if
the two intelligent and influential citizens,
spoken of, had witnessed the specimen of
gallantry, as we did, they would be far from
saying that they would have acted as did the
teacher, and should they ever act thus we
promise them that they shall be handled with
gloves off.
AS to Mr., Tukey's belief of what the Ed
itor would have done, placed in the same
circumstances, we can only say, that it would
require all the circumstances attendant on
this case, an entire uprooting Of our senti
ments and feelings, an utter abnegatlon OF
self and self-respect and total disregard of
The feelings and sentiments of the communi-
at large, ere we could be quite so gallant.
Before this occurrence, we had been led
to regard the teacher very favorably, from
the fact that, in one instance which came to
our knowledge, he would not permit his pu-
pills to- do an act calculated to wound the
feelings of our people, and from his remarks
since are charitable enough to give him the
benefit of the assertion that he did not think
that he WAS doing any thing wrong, Though
at the time, after signs of disapprobation were
shown, he acted in manner which we char
acterized as with "brazen cffrontery,'') yet
that he did act in such manner as to dis
gust every witness of the affair, and would
not be sanctioned as proper by the two intel
ligent gentlemen, or even Mr.. Turkey HIM
self, had he witnessed it, we do not hesitate
TO assert. With this brief statement, we
publish the communication in another col
umn, not that justice requires us to publish
it, after giving publicity to Mr.. SCOTS ex-
PLANTATION without comment, but from the
fact that Mr.. Turkey has been actuated by a
spirit Of fairness to our people and desires its
insertion.
Since the passage Of the Civil Rights bill
over the Presidents veto, we have expected
daily to hear of some more monstrous prop
osition about to be acted upon With the
spirit and letter of the Constitution violated
by this bill and the rights of all the States
invaded, it seems but natural to expect other
violations Of that instrument and more rights
to be wrested from the States. We are now
threatened with two things, the Negro Suf-
frage bill of the District of Columbia, which