Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-06-04
ANOTHER CIVIL RIGHTS CARD
FROM SENATOR BROHNI,OV

time is an address delivered recently at
Maryville, by one p. NJ. Bartlett, who,
the Senator informs us, is Presby-
terrain clergyman conducting a mixed
school where the races are educated In
discriminatory. So the case Is Brown
low versus Bartlett-preacher against
preacher, Republican against Republi-
can, white against white. When Greek
meets Greek, then comes the tug.
Brownlow says Bartlett is "a represen-
tative of small class of white men in
Tennessee who may be properly termed
segro-tcorshipers," and adds:
SO far as my information extends,
the white people of East Tennessee, of
all parties. who endorse my position on
the Civil Rights bill, have never mani
tested disposition to throw any obsta-
Gle in the path of Mr.. Bartlett in his
mixed school undertaking.
Mr.. Bartlett's school is mixed, but it
is a private school, and those patronIz-
ing It are only exercising the rights
which the peopleof the South claim for
themselves, that is, local self-govern-
ment and freedom from Federal inter-
vention In the administration of purely
local and domestic concerns. The white
people who send their children to
Maryville College do it voluntarily and
because they have no objections to the
| co-education of the races. Now L
should be utterly opposed to any act of
Congress, which would prevent this.
People of all classes ought to be left
free to select their own associations.
What / object to In Mr.. Bartlettis that
he is unwilling to accord to others the
same privileges which they sseord to
him. and the patrons of his school. &.
Mr.. Bartlett, though a white man,
seems to regard the black race as en-
titled to superior privileges to his own.
l do not believe that the personal free
dom of all the white people of the
South, and all their rights of local self
government, should be sacrificed to
accommodate a few thousand insolent
negroes, or to crafty the caprices of
negro worshiping white men and
selfish politicians.
This last remark, coupled with a gen.
eral charge that "this civil rights bill
treats the black race as superior to the
white, and givesit superior privileges,
indicates that the East tennessee Sen
ator begins to perceive other serious
mischiefs In the measure, as well as
mixed schools. In this he can claim
no merit of originality, but deserves
credit none the less for courage and sin
cerity in breaking party lines for thu
sake of the right, even though tn
Democrats have been ahead of him
Concerning the Nashville negro con
vention, he says:
Mr.. Bartlett knows that it publicly
resolved that they the colOred people
would treat all white men as their pr
vate. personal enemies who were op
posed to mixed schools" This ant
much more Of even a more insolent de
scription characterized the proceeding
of that convention.
In replying to the attacks OF tn
convention upon myself l was but e1
ercising the right of self-defense. MI
| Bartlett saws IT was ''unchristian" i
ME to do this.
Here Mr.. Bartlett and myself dltfel
l never supposed that because the co
2 ored race were made free and enfrar
, | chised, 1t deprived white man of tn
! | right to defend himself, when pubIcl
denounced or knocked down on tn
street by a negro.
In the Sermon on the Mount tn
7 Christian is told: "Whosoever sha
: smite thee on thy right cheek, turn t
n him the other also" 1t is evident tn
: fighting parson does not propose
t give the negro the benefit of this tex
: Leaving the two gentlemen of the clot
: to settle this point among themselve
we continue to quote:
Again Mr.. Bartlett and myself diff,
). in our opinions of the rights of Il
"poor white trash" of East Tenness'
{ of whom he speaks. This Designate
embraces nearly all the white people
Il East Tennessee, because they are nea
" all poor. / believe these poor viii
= people have some rights which eUeR Il
u Congress of the United States is bour
{ to respect.
e I am the friend of the poor viii
l. people, as l have always been. Becau
/ want their children educated in t
public schools at the expense of tho
is more fortunate than they who are ab
N to send their children to private schoo
W that l oppose this oppressive al
= abominable usurpation. The passai
of this civil rights bill will destroy {
u free schools of the State, as 1t Dug
to do.
The .poor white trash of Massach
p. sets, whence Mr.. Bartlett emigrate
may cover and yield to the insOle
y demands of politicians, but the pc
t. people of East Tennessee will never
u driven like sheep to the slaugh5er-p
~ by any class of politicians or by a
political party.
II This last is q home thrust at t
% intelligence and independence dew
" oped by the much-lauded school systt
'e of Massachusetts,, such as we never c
u pected to hear from a man who b
III done his share toward riVeting on t
lie country the chains of New Engla,
~ despotism. According to this, it is
ne "poor white trash" of Massachuset
Ut driven like sheep by their millm aste
who affiict the country with Oak
ns Ames and Ben Buffers and Rlchal
III sons, while their fanatical HOars, Bo1
ldl wells and Summers are hardly less m
chievous. Senator Brownlow def
be the Rev. Bartlett to rally the misses
b6 nation brigade" of negro-worshipe
r. He praises the conduct of the South'
st people toward the blacks in unstint
n words, which should have great
= fuence on all NortheTnpeople who h
ret their minds open to conviction:
is In all the Southern States he !
us equal facilities for education at pub