Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1877-07-11
Alefan0rla 6ax&tte
WEDNESDAY EVENING. JULYli.
The Southern Negro.

| Northern people, who judge OF the negro b.
the few specimens Of intelligent colOreI BARRIERS
and walters they sec al h0me always have their
| theories as to the condition and capabilities of
the race suddenly unsettled when they study
| the pure African types Of the r!autatIons-g-
| norant, ragged, dirty blacks with c)untenanc3s
SO brutal as to be rcpu'siye, and persons and
clothing so disgustngy and odorousy unc,,caa
that their presence is insupportablc. However
enthusiastically one may favor the principle OF
equal civil rights, he does not want to ride 10
railway car With such creatures rs these. For
tunatcly hc is not obliged to, Tor they 90 intn
the car provided for them Of their own accord,
aud seem to have no desire for the company OF
the whites. Occasionally 4 respectfully dressed
colorcd man or woman rides on the same car
with tho white passengers, no one objcclng.
Color prejudice appears to be slowly giving way,
but the prejudice against close association with
such dirty, bad smelling people as arc the ma
jority Of the plantation negroes may be expect
cd to continue for all time.
The best and the worst OF the colored pOpu
laton flock to the cities and townsville more
intelligent and ambitious, who seek better or
portunitics of improving their condition thau
plantation life affords, and the idle vagabouds
who want to be where there is more fun and
more to steal than 10 the country. Every
Southern town is bcltcd around with
zone Of negro dwcllipgs-somc comtOrta
bic little cottages with gardcns, belonging
to the former class and others Wretchcd novels
where the latter class hudde together like
swine. The industrious negro Of the town is \
mechanic, coachman, porter, q dray-drivcr,
At oil Un "a
we'll dressed On Sundays, pillar OF his church,
sends his children to school, has little money
laid by, and is in all ways good citizen, re-
spected by the whites as well as by his OWE
people. The idle negro is the pest OF the
place. lie is thicvish, dissolutc and gen
orally worthless, ard lives by preylng upon the
community. Ills food he gets from The kltch-
ems Of white families where his wives are em
ploycd-lor he generally has two or three wives,
80 as 10 make sure o! something to eat Whor
one Of them QuaIrels with him; his clothes arc
old garments stolen or begged by the women
from their employers. and his spending: money
for tobacco and whlskey ho gets by pltcfIng
whatever he can lay his hands on OF dark nights
that ii salablc TO the Junk dealers.
The whites at the South say that all negroes
will steal. but this is an cxtravagaut goneral'-
cation, for every white man or woman who re-
peats this common saying WILL it questioned
admit to having known colorcI people who
we're scrupulously honest. Nevertheless, ii can-
not be denied that tho blacks IS a class aro
much more given TO stealing than the poor Is
norant whites. Southern prisons and ponlten
tiarcs arc full Of negroes and in more than
one Southern State there is Z serious agitation
in favor Of rcvlTlng the whipplng-post as Il
punishment for theft, to relieve the communl
Is from tho heavy burden OF supporting ~
many prisoners have found convincing cyl
,lcEcn that the heavy prepOnderance OF blacks
over whites in county Iails and State PRISONS /,
not the result OF any uniairnesi on the part OF
Judges and Iures in the trial OF the tnrmer'
In addition 10 proofs Of this, gwen IN iormeT
letters, / may cite tho Mississippi State prson,
which undur republican administration, had ON
lis rolls about ono thousand convlcts, only one
tenth Of whom were whites, ami now has nDcut
two thousand effect Ci lmproyoI administrator"
of Justice )but sh0W3 no change IN the rr"liortJA
Of blacks To whites, ten to- ono beng still lhe
ratio. In most Of the old slave States Il large
number, not all, ol the conyicts sro hlroi ont
TO contractors for work on raliroads levco5 at!d
DlantAtions The system is not good one luI
correction and discipline, bn. tho States arn too
poor 10 build prisons largo enough u hold aiI
the negroes guilty of grand larceny.
II may wol be doubted, as said before, II on
tho whole tho negroes are making any substan-
tial progrega. They arc in the best condition IN
sections where the whites prclominsto. while in
regions whero tho black population il proper
tionally heaviest they are barely ono remove
from African barbarian. They spcak the En'
glish language. and profess a religion that IL
nominslly Christian, but in their ways Of living
lhoy arc essentially barbsrians still. 10 give
them political ssccndcncy over tho whites was
tho most horribly grotesque expelmen! ever
tried in tho science of government. rho only
hope of their getting forward in the path OF ciy'.
li,atlon, with any thing like rapidly lies III the
prospect that the tide Of emigration will soon DO
detected from tho West TO tho South, and tho
whites, thus ro.cnforccd by largo numbers OF
settlers from the Northorn States and Europo'
will become as dominant in numbers Hs they ar"
now in intelligence. The negro appears capHc:
bic Of originating and developing, no irulls OF
civilization from his own nsturo-tho white man
must SOW the socd.-E y S"latley, IN the Nf'|
Yu-.E YrtLL.ue