The daily gazette., 1879-03-21
The Emigrant Negro.
From the Philadelphia Times.

L IOth thC hiAhdCiPhto AAnCos
The desire of the Southern colored
person to improve his condition by leav-
ing his home ls not to be wondered at.
II the home had been more of a success
his affections might have been more
deeply rooted in it. But it matters little
whence an inducement comes, the ears
of the dusky-skinned seeker after better
times are wide open to listen to all it Of
fers. When liberia invites, he spends
his last cent i'll arranging to embark, ut
terly unmindful of what luck may await
him on reaching that distant shore. If
farms in the moon were offered at mod
crate cost, especially if free transporta-
tion were thrown in, there would bs
thousands of colored applicants for them.
The latest exodus is from the villages
along the Mississippi river toward the
fertile plains of Kansas. Landholders in
that State have told the negroes that
fortunes await all who will settle there.
The unwilling negroes thereupon confer
together on the pro poets held out to
them In this Ell Dorado and soon make
up their minds to go. Having done this
they turn their available articles into
cash. The possessions being small, their
burden of cash is light, generally just
enough to take them to st. Louis, where
they expect good angels or somebody to
meet them and give them tree passage to
the lands from which they would fam
reap substantial harvest. But on reach
ing the metropolis of the Mississippi val
ley they find no warmer welcome than a
proclamation from the Mayor to the ef-
feet that they had better not come, and
that no provisions have been made either
for their entertainment OF. their transpor-
tation.
Already many hundreds of these mis-
guided persons have settled down upon
the Mound City like flock OF crows.
The city has no appropriation with which
to feed themselves. There is not suffi-
cient poorhouse accommodation in which
10 lock them all up. To shoot, drown or
hang them would be both illegal and
cruel To them back to the places whence
they came would be inconvenient. To
get rid of them by shipping them at three
dollars head to Wyandotte, Kansas, Is
contemplated, but the Wyandotters
threaten if this is done to ship them di-
rectly back again. Thus to be made
municipal football of is an exceedingly
unpleasant thought to the poor pilgrims.
Although they may be said to be IN their
way fond OF travel, they have no longing
for such jaunt. Worse than all, there
are FIVE Thousand more colored people at
various places along the shore of the
NJ mississippi, as Tar south as Nicksourg'
who may be expected in St Louis as soon
as the boats can bring them. 1t may be
that the word which has been sent down
the river during the last few days may
discourage some of these, but even it 1t
does, most of them have sold out all they
had and have no homes to which they
may return. They will probably join the
flock already settled down on st. Louis
and will find themselves no more we.
come than if they were so many inva-
ding gasshoppers.
Meantime St. Louis is greatly embar-
rassed by the presence of its unwelcome
guests. The Board of Health finds the
matter most unhealthy one to deal with.
Benevolent people are bothered to know
what to do about 1t, believing that the
gift of even days feed may be consid-
cred by the guests Is an invitation to a
more permanent stay. There occurs to
us only one way of relief from the EN- bar
rassment. Il is well known that for years