Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-04-02
SOCIAL STEW.

It appear that social Washington
has been in a perfect stew as to what it
would do with Pinchback's wife in case
he should succeed IN obtainingthe seat
he claims in the United States Senate;
and one Washington correspondent
does not hesitate to assert that the
Senators wives who regard themselves
as leaders Of the ton are responsible
for the trouble which Pinchback finds
in obtaining recognition. This CORE
spondent states that these good ladies
were appalled, at the prospect of be-
ing compelled to exchange calls
with a colored woman, and that
they implored and warned their
or-husbands not to subject them to
the possibility of such a humiliating
thing, and they appear to have carried
their point, for even Morton has gone
back on the dusky aspirant for senate
rial honors. Pinchback's spouse is de-
scribed as an Octaroon, the Caucasian
blood being part French and part Span
ish. Twenty-eight years of age, she IS
under the medium size, Is well rounded
as to figure and possesses the daintiest
extremities. The mother of four
children, domestic duties COM
bined with the natural Creole ten
dency to early decay as to p~recocious
maturity, have impaired her beauty
somewhat, but she is still handsome.
She is well educated, uncommOnly VI
vacious, and quite ambitious. The
letter-writer who thus describes her,
| says also that she is fully up to the
average Of Senator'S wives in all the ex-
ternals of gentility and good breeding;
but she is a niger" and although
her husband will do very well as a vot-
ing machine, they will have non other
in the social circle. The correspondent
gives Sunset Cox's opinion in the stu
alton as follows:
He delivered an able discourse upon
Senatorial social etiquette and upon the
| logic of the Republican land all other
platforms, which was that the colored
man was a brother, not only, but the
colored lady a sister as well, and show
ING conclusively that whenever a Re-
publican Senator conspired with his
wife to debar Mr.. Pinchback from a
seat in the Senate ON account Of the
race, color or previous condition Of
servitude of his wife Mrs. Pinchback,
then the aforefaid Republican Senator
and his wife were liable TO prosecu-
ton under the enforcement laws
And Mr.. Cox then proceeded to
show that if there was reasonable
ground to suppose that this conspiracy
was entered into during the night, or
while the heads of the Senator and his
wife were encased IN night-caps, they
would be liable to the penalties of the
Ku-Klux act; as, under precedents set
in the Ku-Klux trials N South Caro-
lima and elsewhere, 1t could easily be
established that a night-cap was a
mask. and whenever whltepeOple, under
cover of masks, assailed the rights of
life. liberty or pursuit of happiness
guaranteed to the colored race, they
became in the eyes of the law, both as
to its letter and intent, members Of the
Ku-Klux Khan"
Cox drives the thing home quite for
chilly. and if it were the wives Of Dem
ocratic Senators who were thus keep
ing Pinchback out of his rights" the
enforcement law would soon be in
voked, and they left to settle the social
question as best they could.