The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1883-11-03
NEGRO CIVIL RIGHTS.

! What DO we find? The highest tribuna
OF the land coming to the sage and solemn
conclusion that the color of the skin make
difference as TO the rights of men! Oul
Supreme Court, that needs be fearful of NJ
capuous higher authority reversing thel
opinion" and thus casting fanCied clOuC
on their technical ability, clubbing away
a question of law-makIng, "a question o
right and wrong, and RELOCATING the ques
ton of civil rights, in every instance where
the question will be raised, to the very state
powers which have shown their inability
to properly handle the matter! They have,
IN effect, nulllfied one Of the very prinCl-
| pies which was one of the grandeSt pro
ducts OF the war, and to day our Supreme
Court stands in the silly attitude of deny
ing to colored man admission TO a thea
ter, unless the laws of the state specially
provide that he may go inl If that is not
a ridiculous position tor the iOunt of JUS
tice to find itself IN, the Frank Is no Judge
of the weak, silly and humlliatnE
And having thus eased his diaphragm
the editor adds:
We never felt above darkey. We have
played with them and worked with them,
and eaten with them, amt slept with them,
and never felt the distinction between a
white gentleman and colorcd one; those
that attempt to make the distinction, cyl
IDENTITY feel the necessity of dong so from
a knowledge of their own deplorable low
ness; and when the white "niggcr' will
affect sneer at the black niger 1t is
only to keep up appearances.
Well, that Is a matter Of taste. Most PEG.
pie would hesitate long while before they
would freely eat or sleep with Il niger"
white or black, and would certainly regard
1t as great hardship to be obliged to do
so; yet if the editor Of the frdHk takes par
ticular delight in such dusky or question
able panlonshlp, there Is nothing in the
Supreme Court declslon in question to pre-
vent his doing SO. The common law the
world over gives people the right TO choose
their own associates; the Supreme Court
simply says it is no part of the duty of
congress to compe! people to accept as as.
sociates persons they don't choose.
But the truth is, that the decision of the
court in no way at all affects the civil
rights OF the negro All the 'civil rights"
ever enjoyed under our constitution and
laws by any citizen were as fully secured
to the negroes as they ever were to the
whites by the civil rights" bill which
passed as early as 1867. The bill
which the Supreme Court has just multi
fed was passed ten years later, and was
named at the time the force
bill" because 1t proposed to enforce the
not OF the civil rights of the
negro, but of certain social rights. These
the court say are mere matters of local DO.
lice regulation, and if proper to be legis-
lated about at all, come clearly and entire
ly within the scope of state legislation.
But, says the Frank, the states have in
every instance where the question will be
raised shown their inability to handle the
matter" Have they? We believe there
is not state in this union That does not,
either by direct legislation or common
recognize the old common law
rule, tina, inn-keepers, the owners of pupllc
places OF amusement, ana the
like. are public servants, and have no
right 10 discriminate arbitrarily between
persons applying to become their guests
or customers. admitting some and refusing
others, and decisions can be shown by the
hundred where they were held bound to
provide accommodation to all who may
apply, Taking this view OF the case, the
Chicago Legal .Idgiser says:
The local laws in the different slave
states, previous 10 the late war, in
upon the status of the negro
had abolished tins common law rule in so
far as II applied TO the negro, in those
states, but no farther, and the rule existed
elsewhere the same as before. The recon-
struction acts following the war, ana the
To the constitution above re-
TERED to, had the effect of repeating all
statutes IN the several states where they
existed, winch were In contravcntlon of
hlo aihSuuuHSHt, uuu tne common law
rule again came into force in those states
where local Legislation had before abol-
ished It, and 1t would seem that without
the legislation embodied IN thecivil rights
bill, the negro had the same rights of &C
IN pablo places that he had
under that act.
SO 1t seems there is not even state lecis.
lation needed 10 secure the negro even The
rights the force bill was intended to give
him
The meeting was not only attended by
the congressman indicated, but by many
prominent citizens, among whom were the
Hon. VIM. Reddick and T. ID. Brewster, of
this county, Williamson Durley of Henne-
pin, Senator Cullom and congressman
Springer of Springfield, and a number of
prominent citizens and business men of
Chicago and elsewhere. Speeches were
made by Carter Harrison, Gov. Bross, Sen.
ator Cullom, Nr. Springer and many 9TH