The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1875-04-07
Civil Rights
BEN BUTLER's LETTER TO- n 'cof.oRLD
nIAN--No PRIviLEGEs IN BAR
ROOMS AND BARBER SHoPS-RUT.
LERs ADVICE. 'ph i!f9

WASHINGTON, March re, ,yil875.-
Sir: bave the pleasure tol aoknowl.
edge receipt Of yours Of the l4tb,
containing expressions Of \ appreoia
tion Of my Efforts in behalf iof the
Civil Rights bill, for which aece pt
my thunks. You fu cher usk,
"Will you be kind enough to inform
me IL colored ,hen are entitled to the
privilege Of saloons and barber shops
under its provisions ?'' niM &. :.
l." Il AN UNENvIED pRlyILEGg!' e..
TO this I answer ~ understand By
"sa loous," you NEAR drinking sa-
looms, and l am happy to soy that
the Civil Rights bill" docs not give
any right to a colored Ytnan to 70
into drinking saloon without the
teave Of tho proprietor ); and am yery
glad that it does not. am willing
to concede, rs afriend.to the oolored
man, that the white race may have
ut least this one superior privilege
TO the colored man, that they can
drink in bar room, and saloons, and
| shall never do anything to interfere
with the exercise Of that high and
distinctive privilege. T would not
advocate bill wbioh should give
that right to the oolored man. fl
we're to vote for any bill on this sub
Ject at all. it would BE- one to keep
tue colored man out of tho drinking
saloons; and I hopo that no barkeep-
or will ever let oolored man have
glass of liquor at any bar open for
drinking. Indeed, 1 should be glad
whenever colored man. s.ould ge'
into drinking saloon for the spur-
pose of drinking at the bar if somo.
body would at once take him and 1t
him out, doing him us little injury as
possible. He could do the oolo:ed
man no greater Kindness.
pRlvIc Y or a BARBER snor.
AS to the other branoh Of your
question, ia reference to barber
shops, let mo say that tho trade of a
barber is like any other trade, to be
carried on by the man who is engag.
ed in at his own viii aud pleasure,
and the Civil Rights bill has nothing
to do, and was Intended to have
nothing to do, with its exercise. A
barber has a riyht-to shave whom he
pleases as much as a .jeweller has a
right TO repair witch for whom he
pleascs. or a blacksmith to shoe such
colored horses as ho pleascs. In
other words, these ar. not public
employmeuts, but private business,
in which the law does not intelfere.
THE coIoRED MANS RIsHTd AT cJM.
MON LAW.
From time immemorial all men
have had equal right at the common
law in places Of public amu,emeuts,
in public conveyanoes and in inns or
licensed taverns, because all such
business was for the public undef
special privileges granted by the
Government. The theatre aud like
public amusements were licensed By
the public authorities and protected
by the police. The public convey
ances used the Kings highway. Tie
public inn had the special privilege
Of lien or cl,im upon the baggage
or other property of any traveller
using it for his keep; aad if any
man wss refa~ed, while bshayiug
himself ~e2l aad paying his face,
seat in any place Of amusement, or
carriage by public conveyance, or
shelter in public inu, he had ut
common law Il right of action agaicst
the party so refusing. The Civil
Rights bril- only confirms these rights
of all citizens to the colorcd man in
consideration Of the prejudice against
him and an attempt 10 certain parts
Of the country to interfere with the
exercise of those common law rights
and has enacted penalty as means
Of enforcing the right in his behalf
in consideration Of his helpless and
dependent condition. Tho Civil
Rights bill has not altered the color.
ed man's rights at all from what they
werc before uader tho common law
applicable to nearly evory State in
the Union, 1t has only given him
greater power to onforce that right
to meet the cxigency Of combined
effort to deprive oolorod citisens Of
t; and ell idea that the Civil Rights
bill allows the colored nan 10 f, rcs
himself into any maa's private house
or into any eating house, boarding
house or establishment other than
thoae | have named, is simply an ex.
hibition Q ignorance as we'll as, in
some cases, of tnsatferable prejudice
and malignity. And while / woul1
sustain any oolored man in firmly and
properly Insisting upon his rights
wuder tire Civii Rig hts bill, which
were bis at common law, as they
were the right of every citizen, yet
should oppose to the utmost Of my
power any attempt Oh the part Of
the oolored men to use the Civil
Rights bill as protense to interfere
with private business Of private par
tres. 1t is beneath the dignity of
any colored man 40 to do and ali acts
Buoh as shutting him out from drink.
| inn oe1oona n,ov ba ,poll loft 80 A. .