The New York herald., 1875-01-19
THE CIVIL RIGHTS BILL.
PROTEST FROM MR.. WENDELL PHHLpA
Wendell Philips addresses the following letteI

VIII you allow me space IN your columns 70 re-
my protest against the Civil Rights oil which
has passed the Senate an1 awaits the action of the
House OF Representatives NY chief objection is
that II sanctions separate scEoolsgior WHITES and
blacks.
such sanction given by national law 70 caste is
q surrender OF the principles for which the war
was waged. and which men supposed were guaran-
teed beyond dispute or peril oy the national VIC
tory.
1t Is idle to enact that both races shall IN sepa
r, rate schools enjoy .egna. educational privileges
LOOK at this plan In the light OF common sense
and practical life.
!, Win you build ana maintain a school IN each
school district ana thus almost double the cost OF
the SYSTEM Unless YOU do so the result Will be
gross inequality. The colored people 90 no, al
right to com pei them TO DO so. II. therefore, YOU
furnish schools for negroes only In one or two dts
inequality, Each white child attends the school
nearest his house. Tho child thus saves weary
waking, exposure TO dan ser ID traversing me
during inclement weather, Is hardly ever pre-
vented reaching school, II you open schools for
young children must have the toll ana risk Of
travelling long distances and be often by storms
wholly prevented from reaching scnool Experl-
encs In many cities shows this.
But suppose you have double schools In each
district. Is that equality ~ Many OF the white
the school II any exist; they have influence, and
their objections VIII be Needed fhey are popular;
their children will be carefully attended to- The
schools their chlldrea use Will be kept at the high.
est point OF Improvement.
r..
ter whether cOlured poor those OF any other
race, whose parents nave not the education 10 see
their complaints. and how long viii the Schools CHI is
continue equal? All experience has shown tnst
separate co!ored schools soon deteriorate and Ia
time become useless.
But, waving all this. what is the Jewel and nnest
element Of our common school system 1t mikes
classes, and thus not only secures the vgant
watch OF the most enlightened and influential
class over the character OF public schools. but it
increases threefold the value or the school itself
A DOy Is not educated Dy his ScnOOlmnStpr
lie owes halT h ) education to his classmates.
Many of the boys come from homes OF rellnemens
aud culture wnere intelligent conversation
wakens the child's mind; where educated parenta
books, pictures, society. The STIR OF busy ana
wealthy lie, rouse and develnp his powers. Such
boys give tone to the class. inspire and lift its
average scholarship. The poor boy, stinted In a
cheerless and empty home catches something OF
this excitement and spur from his comrades. The
child OF culture and on educated home shares with
his less favored fellow all the AIDS and ncltemepts
to intellectual lie. Break these schools into class
or race schools. put the negro here and the
IRISH there: the Catholic in one place and tho
Jew IN another; the rich under one roof the
poor elsewhere-and YOU take away tne most
valuable element Of our commou-school system.
Now 10 all! this advantage and aid the negro
child Is just as much entitled as the poor waite
chlidis. And just this the negro child loses If YOU
smut him up in separate schools, no matter how
accomplished his teacher or haw perfect the ap.
paratuI furnished the scnool. The poor white boy
him. and lust this deprivation and Inequality the
fourteenth amendment was intended to prevent
when 1t secured TO all United States citizens mo
protection OF the laws"
Further. VINO sgal, decide, amid the infinitely
mixed races OF the South. whether the child be-
longs to the white race or TO the black The rich
and educated creole VIII often, under this law. be
OF the white school. Is this influential class
likely to submit In silence? Are we not planting
most unnecessary root OF quarrels 'A-
We need not lear that by insisting on mixed
public schools We shal provoke the Southern
whites 10 destroy the school system itself. Ia the
first pace they have not the power. Six or seven
hundred thousand black voters are not easily
thwartee. Scconuv. that bullying blustar was
tried In Massachusetts, when we abolished separate
schools. Nothing has been heard or ,t since. The
same hreat vanished into thtn air IN Indians and,
as senator Sherman testdes Onio has ionnd no
dificultv In mixed schools. Mr. Con way, State su
pcrtptendenr OF schools In Louisiana, testfies tha,
the same phantom was conIured mp there aud van.
ished as soon rs mixed schools were established.
(See MS letter to the New York TribnneI AS Louis.
lana Is tne only STATE that has trei the experl.
ment and she anas no trouble, We NAV fairly con-
cludc that no state Will. "Biack men In street
cars!'' exclaimed haurhfy Washington and Phila.
use those city cars, but case Is yet recorded OF
white mani5 submitting TO n weary walk or the
ssSSsf ce fs1ss sin IT n
said would de bacnelor." sighed Benedict III
did not. think Ishould live iii were marr:ed.n
For seventy years the nation rrpsncd under q
compromiss which out slavery into the consrtn.
tion. How manv years OF angry agitation, now
much disturbance of business, how manv broken
churches ana parties, no = long and biovdy war,
1t took To dsiodse that fatal graft we ali know.
This bill Introduced into the Legislature similar
compromise, eutnroni1g cas as n legal etem mt
OF American lie. The south, watches eagerly Tor
TINS TINS In lsso outh aItea essmesn
ana h2ht. To the other path Alexander stephens
pointed.remasn IN the unlon, aud govern, BY
holding the balance OF power between parties.
The first course has been tried anu 1t failed. The
dogged aud unyielding South gris hersel now
To try tic serond uneer stephens Lead. What
they desire and need Is social system based on
caste, and rational law that sanctions it THIS
arms them Tor another effort. 10 Is q concession
that, IN pruclple. they were right and we were
wrong. 1t Is peculiarity SEPARATING them from
northetn. civllizirion and sufficient 70 furnish
that esprit de corps which VIII give them ur due
weight in the Union. IL ennobles the whie race
and doubles iis advantsges. Wnilc the negro
anh the day. OF republican equality isindelaiteiv
postponed. TINS recognition OF race is tue hrst
step in stephens csbal fake n. and thc na,i0n
has been shorn again by the Deliah thal lei her
captive Tor Two gsneratl2ns. wondergthe
effects OF the war. 1t VIII take i've or ten
years more TO clear TIE leld for indussrai pros.
perity. Meanwhile the whole arena and the whole
nariOna attention are needed or financa al ana IN.
dustria problems OF the lfst Iinportance. 1 wara
another sectional agitaton: the Nortn wfli not
quietly weld what u mas eonght with SO much
men VINO once shook the nation are yet dead.
and their disciples. born OF the war, are rc-yonugand
eager spirits. The spirit or summers deathbcd!s
Business men, instead OF saving the luture for
the great interests OF industry and progress, ere
supincy allowing step which win give us an.
other generation OF quarrelsotne debate,' oroken
churches. parties scattered ana bankrupt, aud the
gravcst questions OF labor and finance pushed
9siie and slleDcsd. or. worse sfiil, bartered and
traded ln-made the mere weapons with
wnich earnest men nInt a1other battle. Have
we burIed l,o90000 men and speat So 900, 900 uec
wthout learning that we cdnuot taulper with the
prl ncipies which unGer'ie oue sociuian ctvl sys.
tenn? II the war settled anything II settled this,
that neither law nor construction horc cnu recog.
nize race IN any way OF IN any. circumstances
protest against tie national disgrace and crime
OF putting caste again into tho statute BOOK. I
protest against the wicked folly that IS ABOUT to
use the time, means and blood or another genera
tou ia ngntins over again an ISSUE which has beeu
once fairly settled, ana which n needs only the
stern veto OF earncsS and deterniinet men IN put
forever out OF the reach oil Political treachery.
The American church loves 10 claim tnat In DAYS
past It did ITS duty on the slave queStion--was as
lar-sghtcd, ylglant ana active as became its
place. Let ic STIR now TO prevent step which
.dlsgraceS ana mars our ciyliizauon--whlch VIII
again renu churches with bitter dcoatc and sub.
Ject them TO the same terrible tess that twenty
years ago wrecked often their claim 10 be
Christian churches. .g
Better have no civil Rights law. Let the amend
ments stand alone. Wait, without special lcGtsme