The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-02-02
M1x1ye THE RAoEs.-The New York sun-

MIXING THE RAoEs.-The New York Sum
dan Times makes the following sensible COM
ments on the subject: - ,..,s,
erred. Douglass, the colored politician,
and Federal ofIice-holder under GeneFal
Grant, was refused accommod ation, last Iues-
day, at the Planters Hotel, st. LOUIS: III DIS
indignation he made bitter speech and re-
tired. amid the laughter Of the crowd we
regret his submission TO such treatment. II
certainly would be wiser in Mr.. Doughss
not. to attempt to force his company upon
those who deem it Objectionable, but 10 ascer-
tain in advance what hotel is prepared to ae-
cept people of his color as guests. He could
do this without difficulty, and thereby spare
himself much humiliation. II he VIII MOI
do it, but will insist upon throwing himself
upon his legal rights, surely he can nave no
reason to lament Notifications ne so stu1l-
ollsIy invites. As q student OF humanity, ne
ought to know that mere act OF Congress
cannot change peoples nature. Inc anta-
gonism of race which exists between the
Whites and blacks cannot be extinguished by
Federal statute. Time will remove 1t, and
nothing else. 1t will fade out by and by, il
let alone and left to workup own annihi!a-
ton : but every attempt to hurry up its eX-
tinction by coercive measures naturally re-
acts, and so prolongs the existence OF the
prejudice it would remove.
ssWe do not think the colored race the So
cial equal of the white race. we never ShdtI
think so. But it pains our humanity as MUCH
to see i'll treatment bestowed on one us on
the other, Hence we should not like to wit
ness such scene rs occurred at the Planters
| Hotel, st. Louis. But here let us ask one or
two not impertinent qucst!ons-yiz., Would
not Mr.. Douglass have been accommodated
with room if he had consented not to ap-
pear at the public table and in the public
parlors? Would not the white guests of the
hotel have abandoned it and gone elsewhere
if Dir. Douglass had so appeared on footing
of equality at the table and in the parlors i'll
question? Were the proprictors Of that ho-
tel called upon, by common sense, to sacrifice
their business in order to crafty Mr. Doug
lass's desire to mingle with white people, to
whom his presence was obnoxious? The
act of Congress takes none of these things
into consideration. 1t was party measure.
and was passed for partisan purpose. But
even the Republicans who voted for it prac-
tically repudiate it upon almost every occa-
sion. For aught that we know to the con-
trary, the proprictors of the Planters Hotel
are Republicans of that kind. In time even
hey may get sufficiently over the prejudice
of caste but they certainly viii not be much
led thereto, nor would anybody else, by such
aggressive movements as Fred. Douglass ap-
pears to delight in.
GA little modesty will go great way some
times towards conciIiating those who are
governed by reasonable or unreasonable an
tipathics. We advise Fred. Douglass, there
fore, to study 1Isop's fable of the sun and
wind. 1t may do him good in his dealings
with the white race hereafter; for surely nc
ought to know that President Grant and his
political advocates will not attempta crusade
on his account, in view of the proximity OF
the presidential election. lie could not per-
suade them to do anything SO satisfactory to
their political antagonists"