Morning journal and courier., 1881-09-07
No Place for sFNiggers."

An Atlanta Police Commissioner Ex- cludes them From City Hall Park. Correspondence of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat) ATLANTA, Ga., Aug 23.-Your correspond ent to day places before the readers of the Globe Democrat case which ere long will at-
 tract the attention of the whole country Some weeks since. on or about the 7th day of this month, a young negro man of this
 city, named Wesley Bedding, was arrested in
 the City Hall Park under peculiar circumstan-
 ces. It seems that one of Atlanta's police
 commissioners, MT. Amos Fox, who, as the
 world goes, is remarkably clever good
 fellow, became suddenly inflated with the
 idea that he was monarch of all he
 surveyed and ordered Capt
 Bagby of the police force
 to send 8 detachment of policemen to the City
 Hall Park, with instructions to see to it tkat
 no colored man passed within the gates. It
 so happened that Wesley Bedding, a well-sd
 ucated, polite and industrious mulatto boy,
 was seated upon one of the numerous iron
 seats placed at intervals through the park gazing 1eisurely upon the green grass and tranquilly inhaling the refreshing breeze, be-
 having himself as well as could the gal1antest
 gentleman in the land His musinQ was sud- denly interrupted by a gentleman of the
 baton, one Strand, who, dressed in suit of spotted blue, and that little brief authority which Shakespeare says sometimes plays such fantistic tricks before high heaven" that the very angels are moved to tears-this Strand moved grandly upon Wesley and or dered him to quit the park. The boy, who is far more intelligent than a couple of aver age Atlanta policemen, replied that he had as much right there as any other citizen, and declined to take his leave. This was pre- eminently correct, but the policeman didn't think so. He told the boy that he had been ordered to keep colored people out of that park, and that if he didn't go out at once he r.,
 Wesley, however, knew his rights under the law. and, knowing, dared maintain them. He firmly refused to go out, when Strand collared him and took him to the station house. Wesley has good position as porter of the Merchants bank, so that when w. D. Luckie, an officer of that bank, heard of the boys trouble, he repaired to the station house in a frame of mind not altogether calm and heavenly, and gave bond for the prisoners B appearance. The news of this high-handed conduct of Commissioner Fox and his subal- tern spread like wildfire through the city, creating much righteous indignation in the breasts of both white and co1ored citizens, and the next morning when the case was sounded in the recorders court room the snorting citizens were packed in that famil- jar temple of justice after the manner of sardines Commissioner Fox was conspicu- ously absent, but the city attorney, William Newman, appeared as prosecutor, and Judge
 
 lawyer of this city, for the prisoner. Strand, the man who arrested the boy, first took the stand. The gist of his evidence was that he had been ordered to keep colored people out
 of the.park. Fox ordered Bagby to order him to keep the ''niggers'' out. Re- corder Glenn stated to counsel that
 he had heard enough-that he was satisfied the boy had violated no law, and would,
 therefore, dismiss the case. Bedding was ad- vised by some of the best citizens here to
 prosecute Fox and Company for false impris- onment, but upon reflection he declined to do so, saying that he was satisfied with the
 prompt manner in which the law had sus- tained him. Fox, however, was not satisfied with the Recorders decision. He Undetermined to keep the ''niggers' out of that park at all hazards. The law was against him. He would resort to might. So he reissusd his pronunciamento to his willing minions: But he modified his ipse dirst He ordered the police to guard the park, and if co1ored peo- pie entered not to arrest them, but to eject l them by main force.
 The Sunday following his trial and dismiss | sal, Wesley Bedding and friend went up to 1 the park and entered. Before they had got | 10 feet beyond the gate three policemen ap- preached them and forcibly ejected them through the gate These policemen were
 armed with clubs and pistols, and their &C., l tions told the colored men more plainly than
 words that if they offered any resist
 ance or attempted to re-enter the
 inclosure, somebody would get hurt | Your correspondent has heard hun.
 dreds speak of this self-constituted lords oppression of the colored people of this city l and has yet to hear single man, white ol