Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-04-23
The oIOrsd Migration.

! Mr.. EDITOR: AS there is great agi'
tstion on the migration of the coiored
neonre to the West, having been fol-
| saveraI wears a member OF the Immt'
grafton Committee for East Tennessee e,
| beg 2 little space in your paper.
There are g combination Of causes hat
tend to increase this migration Of the
colored people 10 the We5', aud when
properly and truthfuily stated, all fair
minded people are compelled to adj
NIT that there is no other people that
would have endured half the hard
ships that the colored people have
been forced to endure in the South for
many years, and the strongest reason
that can be given why, before now,
they have not done as they are doing
now, is that they are naturally inclined
TO remain where they were bred.
Who that is old enough fails to re-
member, even in the terrible days of
slavery, when it was announced Dy
the master that some of tue servants
were to be sold, what a dread fel! upon
The whole of his servants, wondering
which the purchaser would select.
This natural inclination is now being
overcome by a more Intelligent under
standing of what is fer the best inter
est for the future of the race. We
have boys aud girls who must not &C
cupy the status that we occupy but II
we remain in that portion Of the cOuu-
try, where every avenue 10 elevation
Is closed on account of prejudice. what
g., . I. 81, m ~ nETF
coming generations?
There are no places where We can
learn our boys mechanical trades.
There is a prejudice against c0lOred
men, who have succeeded 10 obtaining
knowledge of any of the higher pro.
fesslons. There are hardly any colored
men who have trades, who can pro-
cure patronage sufficient to appren-
tice cOloTed boys and give them a
chance to learn. There are no mer-
chants, who can affJrd TO encounter
the popular prejudices, and employ
c0lOred clerk, be he ever so competent.
In many portions of the Southern
States, il is equivalent to an order to
leave the eighbOThOOd to dare dispute
the land owners account against the
renter, 7 ask are these things calcula~
ted to inspire any people thus treated,
Win uGSlI6 ~ 16nlalLi III VIZ NcAAA
manity where such things are toieT-
ated &? Is it not far better for us
to migrate TO new country
where lands can be procured
cheap? Where our children
can become owners Of lands, raise
their own stock, be their own land
lords? II we can not have an opp0r-
tunity to learn the boys trades, we can
at least teach them to be good farmers.
Hence it will be seen that it is not the
forty acres and q mule" as some
newspaper writers would make 1t ap-
pear, that is causing the cOlored peo-
pie to seek new countries where there
is a prospect of lettering their condi-
ton. There will be two classes who
will oppose this migration. First, the
politicians, who have grown fat by
holding offices bestowed upon them by
the colOred vote, in many instances
caring very little what hardship5 the
votes incurred between elections.
The second class is the land owners
who fixed their own terms as to rents,
&C, whether it suited the renter or
not. What inducement is there for
the cOlored people to remain in the
South? It is far better TO go where
land is cheap. Many of our people are
paying as much per acre rent as they
can buy land for in the West. The
cry of suffering will not deter them
from going. All people who ever
went to new country had 10 endure
hardships.