Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1878-04-04

1.-THE IRREpREsS1BLE CONFLICT. -
The great problem Of the future is the
negro; not the grown up colored man,
once slave, or if always free, an honest
and industrious laborer, but the negro
now growing up, who will be the cotem-
porary of the boy of to-day when they
both become men. He is poperlarly sup
posed to be at school, preparing himself
for that "civil and political equality be-
fore the law" which all our public officers
must swear that they ''recognizc and &C
cept;' but is the supposition correct?
The Superintendent of Public Schools
for this city declared in his report for
1876, that :there are five hundred and
fifty eight colorcd boys between six and
sixteen in the city, and of these only
ninety are in public schools and probably
not hundred and fifty receive any edu,
cation whatever and we are inclined
to think that the statement would an
swer for the other cities of the South
about as we'll as for Alexandria. In his
report for 1877, he again alludcs to the
matter, and says: ''ln my last report
pointed out the evils likely to result from
the very small attendance of colorcd boys
at either public or private schools, and,
regret to say that such attendance IN
stead of increasing seems to be diminish
ing. Unless some means be found to
remedy this evil, tits likely to neutralizc
all We are doing for the education of the
colorcd race What are they doing!
Working Not a bit of it. All day long
they dawdle round the wharves and de-
pots, or about vacant lots, dirty and
ragged, doing absolutely nothing. Let
any one pass our drill ground at any hour
of the day and if he does not see from
half dozen to score of negro idlers,
many of them large enough to de a good
days work in q corn field, We will ac-
knowledge negro equality. The big ones
bask in the sun all day, whilst the little
ones 90 round with bags and baskets,
begging from door to door for the support
of the family.
1t is about time for these boys to un-
derstand that they must learn to work or
make ready to leave these parts. The
white boy of to-day is qualifying himself
to do his part in the society of the future,
and it is not to be expected that, when
he comes to manhood, he will suffer 4
herd of lazzaroni to hang like IN incubus
upon him and paralyzc his energies. The
whites of the present generation have the
old feeling of affectionatc regard for their
colored contemporaries which slavery in
spired; they feel that they having ell
joycd superior advantages which were de-
MED to the colorcd man, they unjust not scan
his failings too critically. But the blacks
Of the coming generation will have no
such title to the sympathy Of their white
contemporaries ; they have equal adrant-
ages offered them, both as to education
and labor, and if they will not avail
themselves of those advantages, the con-
sequences be upon their own heads
What those consequences will be it IS
impossible to predict, but no man who
thinks for moment can fail to see that
the present relations between the races
cannot survive the existing generation;
eight millions of landed proprietors and
working men cannot and will not support
four millions ofbeggars and petty thieves,
and such very large proportion of the
growing colored race seem likely to be-
oone.-Acadeny Journal
4 II lz L.