Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-11-27


Of destitution and degradation, living Sod
only knows how. A few ct the women
pretend 20 take in washing, but large
norton, of Them aepesf 20 Do doing abso-
sutSIv nothing. ,confsnded 10 breathe the
Presidential ar Of the purlieE5in ignorance,
vice and idleness. Many Of the male por-
ton of them are scarcely ever eeen doing
anything, and when they do, e b an odd
lob which affords but temporary species
Of from hand to mouth sort of life. Be
y0nd Broad street, in the vElley On Cherry.
during the late hours of night, they may
be occasionally heard dancing and carous-
ing, msking night hidsousi with their
debaucheRies, or perambalating in groups
the vicinity, filing the air with blasphem-
Gus and clustering curses. Only q few
nights since, We saw three negro men, with
guns on their shoulders, on the plank walk
in that locality, and a number of women
standing around, indulging In all sorts of
obscenity and jibes and jeers.
1t la amazing to contemplate these things.
There is scarcity Of labor in the country,
and the laborer gets good wages for his
hire. This is especially the case during the
spring, summer and autumn months-
These same negroes, who have frittered
away the months of seed-time and harvest,
could have earned from eight to fifteen dol
lars a month, and every girl and boy could
have gotten situations as house servants or
farm laborers Unsuccessful efforts were
made last season to procure them as labor
ers 1T fair wages. But no; they preferred
their hnts in town and suffering in the win
ter 70 honest industry on farms in the
| spring and summer. The average wages
of female colered servants may be set down
at from six TO ten dollars month, and
male servants at from ten to sixteen,d dollars
a month, the year around, and no industri-
| GUS one of either sex need be without some
thing to do at these figures. But they can
not be induced to work as hired, and fell,
and shop hands Vitialed with freedom,
and corrupted with politics and false teach
ing, they huddle together as described in
the purlieus of the city, and in the misers-
BILE shanties Of the suburbs The startling
inteTrogatory that suggests itself is, how
do these hundreds of idling negroes live
They do breathe and live somehow. The
fact is, and il is undeniable, with them it Is
beg, steal or Staroe
The aggregation Of the same number
of white persons, without anything
to live on and nothing to do,
| would be susceptible OF the same infer
ence. The safe inference is that the
amount of pilfering carried on by these
people, especially in the suburbs, is fright
fuI. The condition of our negro p1pula-
ton, or large proportion Of it, superin-
duced by false teaching, false promises,
and also political notions, is a serious one,
and demands full, complete and rigid in
vestigation.
We will close by saying that our remarks
have been induced by no prejudice or i'll
feeling toward the negroes. Their oondi-
ton, and the evils resulting from it, are
attributable more to those who deluded
them with false teachings and false prom
Uses, than to themselves, and what we have
said has been impelled by a spirit of truth
and candor to lay bare the facts, and not
the result Of prejudice against race OF
color. Let those among our colored pop
ulaiion who have shown disposition to
act the part of good citizens, use their il
fuenoe for reform in this particular.
Labor is honorable. and employment
should be accepted when it is offered.
With the proper good advice from those
who have it in their power to control, q
wholesome change in the condition of the
colored race can be accomplished. A