Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1883-11-23
PUT YOURSELF IN HIS
PTAGE,'

PUT YOURSELF IN HIS
PLACE."
Our contemporary. the Valley VirQiniaa,
asks the white people of the community.
| if they would appreciate the situation OF
the negro in the Dapville matter, to try the
| { fleet of Charles Reate's title page motto.
Put yourself in his place." Nothing
! could be m ore fair, and we propose to try
| it. First, however, let us correct our CO.
| tenn porary. who says of the two races in
| Virginia, that Theoretically they enjoy
| the same rights and are entitled 10 the same
privileges - No man of any race or color
| has any title to any privilege" in this
| State. His privileges, social and legal, are
the result Ct the common consent of the
community, and cannot be awarded to him
by any law. His rights are another mat
| ter, aid all the power of the community
is obligated to give him these. 1t is the
confoundipg of privileges with rights in
the minds of the negroes, that went far to
produce the causes which brought on the
Danville riot
| Suppose the Negro race was the race
that had made this country great by their
intelligence, energy and courage; that a
war had freed among them a race of ignor-
| ant, discontinued, thiiftIess whites, so low
| in the scale of civilization and their appe-
tte for petty larceny so great that a
whipping post law and dlsfranchisement
for that offence was denounced as directly
| khoN hot 10 yu
had been passed suddenly making these
vicious and ignorant " hites, full of hatred
to the negro race, the full and complete
equal to the intelligent Negro in citizen
slip and the Negro had found precipitated
in his midst population that could
neither read nor write, with no idea Of
government, and no idea of the RESPONSE
hiiity of citizenship?
Suppose that some smart Negro political
| advens urer had separated from the large
| body of intelligence and for ambition s
sake had commenced a tour of the State,
urging upon this dangerous and ignorant
class of whites their equality with the Ne
| gro, while his emissalies were secretly
telling these whites that the Negroes were
preparing to put them back into slavery,
and were ma ddening the whites up to the
very point of war.
| Suppose that in one town in the State
these vicious and ignorant whites were in
majority and led by so.ne of these rene
gade Negroes. That, though in majority
they paid little of the taxes, educated
| ~; ,k ko of hx,
| Negro. bore little share in supporting the
city government, furnished nlne-tenths
of the criminal class Of the TOM, and in
suited the wives of respectable Negroes on
the streets.
Suppose the whites assembled weekly in
churches built mainly by contributions
| from wealthy Negroes and were harangu-d
| by white ministers as ignorant as them
selves In melting their hatred to the
Negro. Suppose the renegade Negro leader
of these whites opened especial corresptn-
dence with these ignorant white ministers
! for the perfection of political orgauiza-
ton. the object of which was to solidly
bind their race against the Negro race.
Suppose that in this Virginia town the
government of these low down whites
headed by the Negro political adventurers
had become so lntolerable that some of the
leading and most respectable Negroes Of
the place had been driven to publishing an
appeal to the Negro race of the State to
vote down these vicious and thriftless
| whites and so alter the character of their
town government that it would at least
be tolerab'e. Suppose these respectable
| Negroes whose word would pass in any
court or community, had added the solem-
nifty of an oath to what they published !;
and on that oath showed beyond contra
| diction that their situation was pitiable.
| Suppose that this sworn to appeal to the
Negroes of the State was met by two
abusive contradictions from two renegade
/ Negro allies of these vicious whites and by
no weigbtier evidence.
Suppose that these vicious whites had
assembled to hear renegade Negro de-
nounce the signers of that appeal in a
| speech at night, as liars and scoundrels,
I denunciations received by the ignorant
| whites with yells and cheers.
Suppose the next dav. while the Negroes
were peacefully holding public meeting
Inside building and not on the streets, a
| fight had occurred on the street where the
vicious whites we're already assembled and
on the negroes coming out Of the hall a
general fight had ensLed ID which three
whites were killed and several wounded
AID three negroes shot.
| suppose that to confirm the popular
| opinion of their real character these vic
| ious whites had after wards stoned political
PROFESSIONS of the Negro race, and when
| caught had had razors and paving stones
on their persons.
Suppose these ignorant white ministers
had overlooked the deliberate murder of
one of their own color in Southampton by
a renegade Negro, but attempted for po-
ltical effect to stir up strife in a whole
State by holding public funeral services in
honor of tie three whites killed at Danville
in a fight with the Negro citizens.
Suppose all these things bad happened,
with whom do you suppose the sympathy
of the intelligent and order loving citizens
of the United States would bel Witt the
worthless, vicious whites led by renegade
Negroes, or with the respectable mass Of