The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1870-03-17

CHICAGO. March Eth. 1870.


plOyment and acquire the means of sub
sistence. They were seantily clad, and
their wan and familiar looks indicated that
they were pinched with hunger as well Al
cold. Evidently they had not enjoyed
the hesh-pots which abound here. Sur
prised by their application, and supposina
them to be true disciples of Revels,
Lynch, Stringer, & Co., told them that
all the places were pre-occupied in ou1
State. That the Senatorial vacancies
were filled for half dozen years to come
that the Governor had been elected for
four years-that the offices of Secretary
OF State, &c, Dc, were oceupied-that
members of Congress had been chosen
that the Governor elect had avowed his
purpose to appoint no person to a Judge
ship who did not vote for him-and that
doubtless all the offices in the State, great
and small, had been parcelled out among
the ravenous crew that composed the mon
grel party and who expected to be quar-
tered on the public crib. Hence l could
hold out no inducement for them to i'm
migrate into the State, much less could
the class of people who were advancing
transportation for laborers and whose sub
stance was being devoured by the cormo-
rants, afford to extend to them the facili-
ties usually extended to emigrants
The unfortunate applicants promptly
replied that their object was altogether
Inexperienced; they did not want office,
they wanted work in order that they
might get bread. Here, said they, ''the
''colored people know nothing about hold
ing Office. We are not permitted to
''vote. A few years ago a proposition
''was made to amend the constitution of
''this State so as to confer suffrage on the
''blacks, and it was rejected by nearly
Gone hundred thousand votes. Nor are
''we permitted to sit on juries, much less
care we allowed to sit in the Legislature,
cor to 20 to Congress and assist in ma
''king laws for the government of the
country. This" (they continued eve
edo not regard as a hardship; but as so
'ciety and labor are organized here, we
care crowded out of the employments by
(which subsistence is derived. The far
''mers give the German and the Scandi-
''navian, the Scotch and the English pref
terence over us in the engagement of
''hands. The mechanics invariably Sc
elect white employees. The barber-shops
care occupied by white people The
Railroad builders select Irish and Ger
''mans to do their work. When families
''want help they give the blacks the go
'by. In the multitude of Hotels in this
''city, but three give employment to col
"ored people. If we go out on the streets
Gas boot-blacks, to give the offer of
's'shine' to the way-farer, the same i'll
'1uck attends us. Some pass around us,
"others look coldly on US, and all give
''the preference to whites. Thus in hun
eyer and cold we are ekeing out a miser-
cable existence. We want no ofice-we
'have not clamored for the privilege of
"voting-we only want work and bread"
was sorry to tell the poor fellows that
not expecting applications from persons
of their description for transportation
with view to farm work in the South, L
had no authority to engage them
They had received fattering reports of
the prosperity which attends thrift and in
dustry in the South-of the demand for
labor-and of the employment at profita-
bic wages of every person, white or black
willing to work and contrasting the adj
vantages of the people of their race in
earning living in Mississippi oyer the
African element here, they were eager to
take employment and lavish of promises
faithfully to perform whatever they I'M
dertook
A short time since a citizen of our State
not unknown to fame, addressed, to an
Emigrant Society, not thousand miles
from jackson, letter, in which he dis
couraged the introduction of white labor,
but earnestly favored the introduction of
negroes, as farm hands, from the border
States The reason assigned for the pref
erence was absurd enough. He appre-
hended tlIat the climate was not adapted
to the white laborer. The idea is contra
dicted by the experience of the tens of
thousands of white men who constitute a
large part of the productive force of our
section, and are accumulating fortunes by
the cultivation of the soil, The objection
was the more surprising from the fact that
the corporation with which the aforesaid
writer is understood to be associated has
recently made large importations of Scan
dinavians from Europe who have thus far
been eminently successful in fulfilling the
anticipations of their employees.
But it is not our object to combat the
opinion of the writer. 1t is contradlcted
by every mans observation who has eyes
to see and mind to think. 1t has not
strength enough to stand up and be
knocked down. / only mean to say that
III IL Is Inc pul1cgs hl6 P0UPAC "ho az
spending their time and money for immi-
grafton purposes TO enlarge the African
population in our State they should first
seek it in the North instead of the border
States. Here they viii get from that ele-
ment class of laborers whose lessons in
adversely will vastly profit them, and who
are not the spoiled and corrupted agents
&c o1.,a,,+,,,ov ,,,5 ,cola xva nc m, the nrae-