New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-08-20
Education and Civil Rights.

the Washington National Republican of the
fourteenth instant. It is from the pen of
Hon. Thomas w. Conway, who was present
at the Educational Convention at Detroit,
Michigan, early this month:
It is q matter Of interest to the educators
of the country who are now assembled here
in national convention that 80 few of their
coworkers are present from the States of
the South. The North and West are very
fully represented. State Superintendent
Fleming, of Tennessee, and Superintendent
Jilson, of South Carolina, are the only
white superintendeBts present from that
section. State Superintendent Cardoza, of
Mississippi, is the only one of the cOlOred
superintendent who is here. He came &C.
companied by United States Senator telect)
Bruce and Secretary of State Hill, of the
the Biddle House, the second hotel Of the
city. As might well be expected, the old
cry Of ''nigger" was raised. There were
enough of the BourbOns present to rise and
say, .'Mr. Proprietor, we object How
could it be otherwise when there were in
the same hotel two Democratic Jersey
women, one Democrat from Virginia, and
one OF the same ancient faith from the old
State of Kentucky /! The three colored gen.
tlemen from Mississippi, after entering
their names, were provided with rooms. So
far SO good, but the tug OF war was certain.
1t mattered not as to the gentlemanly
bearing Of the parties. and l may say, in
passing. that none ware more gentlemanly,
both in manner and appearance.
Supper was very soon announced by
colored waiter through the wide halls of
the various floors Of the hotel, and. of
course the three colOred guests, having
arranged their toilets, proceeded to the
diuing.room, where they took their seats.
At the table were seated two ladies and a
child from New Jersey. At another table
sat two men, who, on seeing the colored
gentlemen in the room, dropped their
knives and forks as suddenly as IT they
were struck by lightning. There were
probably q hundred ladies' and as many
gentlemen in the dining-rOOm at the time,
but only two of the former and two of the
latter seemed in the least inclined to drop
their tenderloins as sacrifice to the pre-.
iudice against colored persons. The two
ladies, after few moments reflection, con-
cluded to withdraw. One Of them-the
| mother-attempted to remove the child;
but the child, having no prejudice against
objected to being taken from his berries
and cream, till finally the mother seized
| him and forced him to go with her. 1t was
| q sight to witness the little creature look
ing backward at his splendid plate Of
| berries.
Now it was time for old Virginia to move,
and for proud Kentucky to follow after,
last but not least. And so these two made
| for the proprietor. Said "Old Kentuck:"
"Sir, you have niggers in your house. How
much do l owe you" And the Virginian
| following. said: IAN insult, landlord; an
| insult. MY bill, also, please" The land
| lord, not then knowing the official dignity
| of the Objectionable guests, nor the fact that
| they came to the educational convention,
| grew pale, and trembled at the prospect Of
ruined business if he entertained the col.
ored men any longer This ended the first
| act Now for the second.
| As said, the balance of the guests cared
not whit for the presence of colored men
| among them, but acted toward them as they
| did toward each other. In fact, there was
| but one United States Senator in the hotel,
and he was colored man. There was an
other,in the city, but here he had his own
home mean Hon. Mr.. Chandler, who, at
! the splendid reception given to the dele
| gates, made no distinction on account OF
color. The night passed. The colored
gentlemen remained in the hotel. Morning
came, and with it came the hotel clerk
| knocking at the Senator's door. Rap, rap,
rap. Come in" responded Superintendent
Cardoza. Seeing the clerk, Senator Bruce
inquired, "Well, sir, what is your errand|'
| Trem blingly the clerk responded, "Well,
1 w
say to you that you must not appear in the
dining-room again, and that you can have
your meals served in your rooms" "Well,
| WE'LL said the Senator, land we are in the
State of Michigan. Now, if we were in
| Kentucky we might expect this kind OF
usage, but here in Michigan, who would!
Tell the landlord" he continued, ''tell the
| landlord I'll see him in few moments"
| The clerk departed, and Bruce, Cardoza
and Hill consulted together as the proper
course to be pursued.
| They concluded to pay their bills and 60
from the city, but on reaching the office
| they found an unexpected turn in the tide.
There were in the hotel at least $50 guests
| who were members of the convention, and
| who seriously objected to the i'll treatment
of their friends. These, through a spokes-
man, said to the proprietor: "Well, SIT,
| these gentlemen are members Of our con-
vention, and if they leave this hotel we
| leave with them; and, what ia more, it they
| can not find courteous treatment in Detroit,
we will ask the convention to adjourn to a
| town in this State Of Michigan where they
and we will be treated cOurteOusly." The
| effect Of this eloquence was magical.
Breakfast is ready tor you gentlemen
| said the landlord. and the colOred men,
accompanied by W. P. Rogers, Eco, of New
| Orleans, went to breakfast in the dining
room, where their presence caused no fur
| Their sacrifice OF tenderlOin or of berries
and cream. In the course of the day Bruce
| and Hill went to Niagara, but MIR. Cardoza,
| feeling that his treatment was the result OF
| a concession, changed to the Russell House,
which is the first class hotel of the city,
where he is treated with all the courtesy
enjoyed by others. Before Cardoza's de-
| parture the proprietor of the Biddle House
made an apology for his conduct, which did
| him credit, and name the fact as an act OF
| justice to that gentleman, and at the special
r quest of Mr.. CardOza.
| This ends the second act. Now comes
another picture of the "civil rights" expe-
rience of these colored gentleman during
tier attendance on the educational conven-
ton. This will show how varied may be
the experience of a colored man if he
chances to have tolerably light COM
| plexion.
On the arrival of the Mississippi delega-
ton, one of their number, Mr.. CardOza,
went into barber shop kept by an Irish
man. "Shave, SURF asked Pat eyes sir"
answered Cardoza. The barber proceeded
| in the usual way till he came to dress Car
| dozs's hair. you've been travelin', Mis-
Their" said Pat. Yes said Cardoza. 81
thou ht so by the stiffness of your hair"
said Pat, winding up with the suggestion,
"a good shampoo will take all that stiffness
| OUT Shampoo, then," said CardOza. The
Irish barber worked very hard for twenty
minutes, but gave it up, saying, II guess,
sur, it won't all come out"
The Mistake of Southern Democrats.