American citizen., 1879-03-29
The Ne gro Exodus.

New Orleans ptcdyeue.
st. Louis, it appears, is overrun
by crowds of negroes who have come
there on their way to Kansas. These
negroes, it is represented, arc snI-
grants from Mississippi and Leuisi-
ana. 1t is probable that large
majority Of them are from the neigh
borhood' of Nicksburg in Mississip>
pi, and from the parishes of Concor-
dia, Tensas and Madison in Loulsi
ana. We are told by the St. Louis
papers that they arrived in St.LouIS
with the idea that they would there
be subsisted and forwarded to Kan
Sas at the expense of the Govern.
ment, and that on arriving in Kans
sas they would receive donations Of
land, money, mules, and agricln-
tural implements. How this notion
got into their heads it is hard to
conjecture, nevertheless, it is a be-
lief which has in some way or ano.
ther propagared itself among the
negroes of Mississippi and LOuisf-
ana. With so much faith is it
cherished that hundreds, perhaps
thousands Of field laborers in tire
alluvial cotton districts lying along
the liver have declined to enter into
contracts for the coming season, on
the ground that they woald thereby
lose the chance of sharing in the
munificent endOwments which the
Government has provided for them
in the promised land Of Kansas.
AS II cUnse quence. there are fears
that the industry of the riparian le-
gions of the cotton districts OF
Louisiana may suffer seriously for a
time. The Republican leaders in
the upper river parishes, who de-
pend ON negro votes for success at
the elections, are naturally disturb
ed by the prospect of loss OF their
power and influence. They have
! tried to d,ssuade their constituents
from their contemplated exodus
but So far their efforts have failed.
In some way or another hundreds ol
the ignorant and deluded creatures
managed to get as far as st. Louis
spending, perhaps, all their accum'
ulations OH this part of their jour
ney. Here they were, of course
brought to IA halt. Their visions O1
wea' til and ease We're rudely dis
PEELED. There were no railway
trains in waiting to take them tt
the promised land. There were nc
Government commissalies to ISSUE
to them the IatioDs which they
needed to keep them from starving
There was nothing for them but
starvation, misery and ahjecl
wretchedness unless the charitable
people or authorities of St. Louis dc
something for their relief.
This incident is distressing
enough. No one can contemplate
the sufferings and the wretchedness
of these deluded but innocent be
ings, without feeling compassion
for them. But there is something
more in it than the sufferiUgs of !;
few hundred people. There are
suggestions and illustrations of the
inpressible character OF the negro
of the facility with which he may
be duped by designing persons, OF
the ease with which he may delude
himself with the most preposterOus
hopes. 1t appears to be thought III
ST. Louis, that this Kansas exodus
is due to the In tchiuatiOns of de
signing persons, having some selfish
purpose to promote. This is scarce
liy probable. 1t would not appear
that any one. could nave an interest
iD contriving Il scheme i'll which
there is no promise of profit. 1t is
more likely that the delusion which
has taken possession OF the negroes
in some parts of this State and Mis-
sissippi is the utgrOwth of Senator
Windom's stupid aud idiotic LrO-
ject to remove the negro population
from the Southern States TO the
Northern States. The negroes are
not to blame for it. They are Great
ures of fancy and impulse, They
do not reason any better, as a
general thing, than Senator VIM
dom himself. They regard the
Government of the United States as
IL sort of omnIpotent fetish, which
can and will do every thing tor them
III this world and, possibly, i'll the
next. And these are the people Oh
whom the Republican party has
conferred the dignity of American
citizenship. These are the people
20 elevate whom TO the position and
responsibilities of governing class
they spent ten years in contliving
constitutional amendments and in
framing laws subversive of the
Fundamental doctrines of American
liberty. 1t is fortunate, perhaps,
that this st. Louis incident has oc
CURED, inasmuch as it may serve to
enlighten those ingenious theofizers
who try to persuade themselves that
in ten years an ignorant and servlle
race has been converted into co n
munity of philosophers and states
men and citizens to whom the du>
Ties aud responsibilities OF citizen
snip are as familiar as to the Anglo
Saxon aud other European races.
s'Every day meet in the streets
of Boston, young ladies' who would
otherwise look intelligent, reduced
to the appearance of Idioe.v by a PEI
cuIiar method of cnmbing the hair
down over The forehead Thfs hid-