New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-04-02


STATE Rights heresy, the maintenance OF the uniou
by force OF arms the abolition of slavery, the en-
reimbursement of the negro race. 1t would DC iohS
70 expect that they would take kindly to measures
they in every stage ceasoossly opposed
have nothing to say of the causes that leu 10
this state of affairs. II is of little consequence w
was responsible for it. What we have to do WIN
is the present condition of the country ana events
are shaping themselves and there are IrreslStloie
laws in tbe Government of God that mock all human
contrivoncos. Confederate brgadiers who claim
to sneak for the negroes of Mississippi Oh
Louisiana and Carolina tell us that the negroes arc
satisfied. The carpet-bagger has hed' corrup'l""
in the South has ended, all charges about lrauuu-
lent elections are lies. All looks tar To the Deo
cratic vision just rs they are utterhe these
hypocritical platitudes, there comes an uttelance
from the colored people of the South TO "h'ch II
behOoves the people OF these United states W
listen. The negroes are fleeing FROM the Southern
States. A strange. unexpected. unorgahlzeo' IL
logical exodus. WhyY
Let us examine this phenomenon considerately
and wisely There may come a time when we may
look back upon it with reproach and regret. have
said il was illogical it is more, for under ordinary
circumstances il is q most unnatural emlgratlon'
Their ancestors came from regions of equatorial
heat They are about the only labOrars whose WORK
has been permanently profitable in the Gui OF Cot-
TON States Cotton rice and tobacco are among our
most valuable productions, without winch the bal-
ance of exchange wOuld be against us, and we nave
no way of producing them without their LABOR.
No country can ever afford to cxpatrate Its prodnc-
ing classes The negroes are fleeing North as last az
they can get away. From the low, wet LANDS ana
tronicol heats of Mississippi and Alabama they seek
the bleak, cold praires of Kansas and Nebraska.
Every steamer going up the Mississippi or Missouri
carries crowds Of this strange emlgratoh'
Old and yOung-men, women and chldren-
poorly clad, dusty, travel-worn and sore
with their little bundles, huddled together,
rctlcent and suspicious they Us seek an st n,,
in Mississippi That is all. They have no lana, ana
are at the mercy OF landlords. They tell us that III
they have to pay 80 per acre ana al the p[co
of cotton they cannot pay il. They were gwen the
right of suffrage, hut il has become mockeTy.
They were told they were to have every right the
whites had. and they cannot exercise them without
ncnrrIng bodily peril. Between their poverty. the
landlord the stoTekeeper who supplies them at eX-
orbtant rates the necessary things Oralse crop,
ere the crop is gathered it Is all swept away these
are the outside causes, hut there are other causes
Those who think the American negro has not been
improving mistaken. Inc facilities l3r euuca-
ton are not good IN the Gulf states now hat Is or
negroes but they are learning As far and as last rs
they can they dress like other Americans, ana thus
their demands increase the necessities OF earning
something more and better increase. The family
has become something more with them ~ Is
creditable fact which is patent that with slavery
persisted miSce genatIOn 1t Is hard to cure deep
rooted habits. but the change is wonderful. Inc
constant influx Of vile class Ot white women INTO
the Southern States for some years past leads 10
fear that the other party to those offences mas NOT
become equally vlrtuOus The truth Is, the AlhcIl-
oan negro IS developing into condition when rem
dcrs bis present situation IN Mississippi lntoler-
some Of the white people have been specializing
as to whether we ought to have gwen them the
franchise. A few even doubt the eXpedIency "I
emancipation, Let these d0ubteIs wall ana see.
RrpubIc9n France governed by general principles,
emancipatcd the slaves IN St. Domingo. Complaint
was made that the productions OF the island ut
least rs exports had fallen off. The negroes en-
plOyed themselves III making homes ana gardens
Napoleon attempted TO Teenslaye them We 90
half century could not atone for that mistake.
Emigration may and we nope VIII teach the
Southern planters lesson, but emigration VIII hoI
settle this question, All the emigIaton ihat Is
Moreover, rs the men get richer and stronger as
their know ledge OF Their power Increases they VIII
20 back again. 1t behOoves the States where these
wayfaIors 20 to treat them very kindly. Prejudice
drove them out. Prejudice should not stand with a
flaming sword at the gate or every state lhey
have suffered much, aud the American people owe
them little consideration. We have announced
to the world with "A flourish of trnmpets that we
made them American citizens III everything. Let
MS not dwarf our gTandest act by grUyolllng III our
pr,judccs. These modern children OF Israel were
required to make bricks without straw They have
gone out toward the wilderness. We see no
Moses but their cause just and the lar of fire and
the eleltering cloud of rhe Lord iii be with them.
They did not carry with them the spoil OF me
Egyptian. The old Egyptians had some OF the milk
OF human kindness, Tor they LOANED them what
they required" Instead OF that they stripped these
emigrants of the little they had on the plea OF col
leciIng petty debts from them they went away.
These things are all remembered. 1t Is better "
SOW the seeds of gratitude than vengeance
The tilers of the soil ought to be the owners OF
the soil on which they place their feet. That Is
great, vcxed problem, but il will come home to us.
In time by industry and thrift, they may get pos
session of the land, for they are the only workers.
The lesson of this negro exodus Is that II the cOun-
try is to have peace rest and security, there must
be perfect Justice and security TO all It's people
This movement is a peaceful One-lt IS TO get away
from their insfOrtunes; but if this violence and
fraud are persisted IN, there may come time when
resistance will be u less evil than endurance.
WILLIAM A. PHILLIPS.
Washington, March %, 1879.