Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-03-05
THINGS ARE WORKING.
Particulars OF the Civil Rights Row
at AemPhis-AII Quiet so far Along
Iha Errrrn E.nrInnH

at AemPhts-Ail Quiet 50 far Along
the Cumberland.
There is not q negro in Nashville who is
| ignorant Of the tact hat the Civil Rights
| bill mas been passed BY Congress and is
now the law Of the land. So far, however.
| no demonstration has been made by the
! benefciaries Of the law to test its efficacy
az the hotels, places Of amusement or other
! public resorts. The whites do not mani
fest any great anxiety on the subject, and
an DISCRIMINATING war Of races does not ap-
pear to be imminent.
From Memphis, however. we haa- bvtel-
egraph that the c0i0Ied folks carried tEeir
point last night, and occupied sesf- =, ,ta
d,ess circle at the theal-e na d-1i1 b. ~
OF yesterday give ,ne following accoUnt Of
III III .--Ssantuess the night previous.
IAN incident which amounted almost TO
a test Of civil rights under the law Just
passed by Congress, took place at the Mem
pAis Theatre last night. Among the cal
leTs for tickets At the box Office were two
colored men, who asked for tickets 10 the
parqUette. Mr.. Brooks, Treasurer of the
establishment, was selling tickets at the
time, and upon the application, which was
accompanied with the sum of two dollars |
in lawful currency Of The United States.
handed forth the desired "pasteboards.r !
with which the two cOlOred men assembled
to the entrance TO the dress circle and mar
quette. Here, before rendering their |
tickets to the dOOr-keepeT, they were met BY |
Manager DaTy, who, with a quiekness of /
wit Characteristic Of the man, called them |
TO one side and said:
".BOys, you don't want to 90 in there
"'DO you refuse US admissions asked /
one Of the cOlOled men.
"'NO. don't refuse ANYTHING replied
MIR. Da7y, "but I simply suggest that if YOU
enter the dress circle or parquette there may
be consequences unpleasant to you and dam
aging to my business interests. Ny advice
is not to try it.
The conversation was quiet but earnest. |
Finally one Of the cOlOred men asked:
"'Can We get back the money we paid
for these tickets?'
"'Certainly,' replied Mr.. Davy, and
-hereupOn the wOuld-be interlOpers return
ed to the box Office, surrendered their
tickets, and received the money which they
had paid. They then walkedquietly away.
No tender Of tickets had been made to the
Suppose they had demanded admit
.ance, Mr.. Dayy,' asked an AUdldnche re-
porter OF that gentleman, what would you
nave done?
Under the law just passed, replied Mr.. |
Davy, q don't see any way Of refusing them !
and yet 1 am satisfied from the
empeT of the public on this question that
f those cOlOred men had entered the par- ]
luette tonight they would have Jared ]
)adly. The question has to be met, how
,veT, and just how to meet it is what puz-
les me. 1t seems hard for one man stu
tied as ] am to be made the scape-gOat Of
very colored person who may see fit, under c
he Civil Rights law, to claim privileges in
he theatre such as do not accord to white
,eOple who might be offensive to an :
audience. If l do refuse a cOlOred man adj
mission become amenable to the law; i'll
Omit him | array myself against public
piniOn and offend those whose patronage
valuable to me. You see L am between
wO fires. In this case tonight / acted
pom the impulse Of the moment, for was
Ot fOrewaIned, and so far the result is not Z
ariOus, but l don't know what NAV occur | 1
rithin a week
'''Did the colored men make any de- {
lands, Mr.. Davy?'
" NO; they acted very reasonably after 1 | a,
liked with them, aud went away quietly
nd apparently well satisfied. l trust the -
,lored people, as a class, will see the pro- u
-iety Of not attempting to intrude them
Ives where they are not wanted, and
here their presence might occasion great ~
unpleasantness to themselves than to ne
hers 50
a SECOND ATTEMPT. so
"Later in the evening, a negro named J. 1G
Bascon, considerably under the in Il
lenee of liquor, with an exaggerated Opin- sa
n Of the privileges conferred on his race ~ ~
the Civil Rights bill, attempted to walk ce
to the dress circle without having first ro'
released a ticket. He was met at the top OF
the stairway by Mr.. T. p. Holland, tie -
Orkeeper, who pushed him back. He an
ain attempted to pass in, when the door yss'
eper took hold Of him and pitched him Gu
wn stairs. He was picked up by a police
IN, and jim a badly bruised condition
.rched off 10 the statiOn-hOUse.
The appeal has the following editorial 7
nments on the affair: Fo
The conduct Of Mr.. Davey, the man. Cla
sr Of our only respectable theater, in n n
.eting 'civil rights last night, viii have No
, hearty approval Of all classes of our pro
lple. We applaud and mdorse his de-
either to conduct his theater in
Own way or close it." f