Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-01-29
The Exodus Investigation.

mittee of the United States Senate, of
which Senator Voorhees,, of Indiana,
is chairman, has brought to the light
of day some interesting facts. Northern
newspapers Of the radical persuasion
have sought by every means to justify
the forced emigration of the blacks on
the ground of the hardship and oppres-
sions heaped upon them by the white
people of the South, but the evidence
taken before Mr.. Voorhees, committee
already proves how baseless and un-
warranted charges Of such character
are. The testimony of a colored man
of North Carolina, James T.. OHara,
now a contestant in Washington for n
seat in Congress, out of which he al
leges he was cheated by white Repub-
licans of his State, is conclusive as to
the condition and treatment of the
colored people of that State, and total
ly disproves all the outrage yarns that
have been so industriously circulated.
He testified that in one county of the
State alone they own at least 10000
acres of valuable land in farms Of 20
to 400 acres each, and that n similar
state of affairs existed in adjoining
counties. OF their condition in life he
said
They enjoyed equal prosperity with
white people of the same means, and
were treated by the wealthier classes
equally as well. Crops had been bad
for two years previous TO this season,
but they were now doing much better.
and farm wages were advancing. Their
troubles largely grew out OF the credit
system of obtaining advances from the
North on their crops, and the conse-
queut necessity OF paying for labor with
"store orders;" but this system and also
the operation of the landlord.and tenant
law bore equally upon all classes of farm
laborers, and the law would undoubted
ly be amended by the next Legislature.
At one time there was some "bulldoz-
ing in counties bordering on South
Carolina, but there never has been any
political persecution in the counties af-
fected by the present exodus. Nothing
was more common on election day than
to see q white landlord and a colored
tenant coming to town in the same bug
gy and voting different tickets. White
chanics, and no discrimination was
made in courts or juries.
OF course this plain statement was
met with sneer by Senator Window,
the great exodus agitator of the SEN
ate, but the facts told by O'Hara re-
main uncontradicted, and should put
to shame the heartless and designing
men who are at the bottom of this un-
holy scheme of deception.
Later comes the testimony of anoth-
er colored man, Charles III. Otuy.
He is a native of North Carolina, a
school teacher and the editor of the
Washington Argus, journal devoted
to the interests of the colored race.
His testimony is an excellent supple
ment to that of O'Hara. According
To the Washington Post he testified
before the committee "to the excep-
tionally kind treatment of his race by
the whites of North Carolina. Not
only in their private business transac-
tions, but in public affairs are their
rights respected and their interests
consulted. Under a Democratic Gov
ernor and Democratic legislature
the most liberal appropriations have
been made for colored schools, and a
colored Normal school established.
They have asylums for the deaf and
dumb and the insane. They enjoy the
products of their labor, and prosper if
they are industrious. Mr.. Otuy goes
further than this and shows that the
exodus was planned and executed as
political scheme-to get black voters
into Indiana. He was an officer of
the Emigration Aid Society and left
the concern because he would not
countenance the transportation Of his
race from one State to another, like
hogs or cattle, to be used for selfish
purposes. These are some of the
homely facts which have disgruntled
the Radicals, and which prove all the
allegations on which the investigation
was based. The case might be rested
4 4 a