The semi-weekly miner., 1883-11-10
THE COLOR LINE.

How the Negro is Debarred From
the Philadelphia Bar ana
Restaurants.
The color line is pretty nearly Al
well defined to-day as it was twenty
i've years ago, although the effect o
the constitutional amendment ha!
been to give admiitance tOthe colOrtt
people to street and railroad cars .anC
to places of amusement more freely
than ever before. Still the disincli
nation of the whites to anything like
social intercourse with the blacks II
as marked as ever it was, and 1t il
doubtful if any legislation, however
strict, will be able to wipe it out. Il
is q singular fact, too, that the dis
tate for association with blacks has
it's greatest strength among the low.
or classes of whites.
There can be no doubt. though,
that negro rights have been conceded
more literally in Philadelphia than
In New York. Here colors d men
who drink ara barred out of cOmpar-
atively few saloons. and il many
they are welcomed az cheerfully a.
the whites. There Is growing con-
victiOn among the liquor dealers that
q dime or nickel is equally as good
whether passed over the bar by a
white or black hand, and, acting o."
this conviction. most saloon keepers
serve the blacks cheerfully for a cash
consideration. The day was when
the sight of a negro as paying GUS
toner at a bar would have robbed 1t
| of its white patronage, but now there
is no such fastidiousness. Still while
whites and blacks may drink from
the same bottle, it IS noticeable that
there is no feeling of comraderie
! among them, and that each does his
drinking with comrades Of his own
color.
"Who is Tom Green. that he should
sit himsely up against the cobstitu-
tion of the United States:" asked the
handsome Chestnut street restaurant
proprietor when questioned as to
colOred customers. II don't care for
their trade, my dear sir, but if they
offer it l see no way in Which l can
refuse it. They come to my restau-
rant nearly every day, and I know
their presence offends many Of my
white customers, but what can do:
There is the law, that says the negro
is lust as good as the white man and
I can't get around it. All I can do
is to put nay dusky customers as much
out Of sight of others as possible, and
this always do, unless they insist, as
many of them do, III taking the most
conspicuous place in the dining
room. My white customers seldom
complain. for they know what the
law is and that l must abide by it,
and I can easily see that they are
greatly annoyed. Well, we'll, there
is one consolation, there are few of
the colored people who can afford to
pay my prices and that guards me
from any overwhelming irruption of
black guests. Still. 1 get them every
few days, and while I fill their orders
the same as do those of white peo-
pie. am free to Confess that | ain
not overwhelmingly polite in my az
tentions and do not express any de-
sire to have them call again. But
what's the use of talking: The law
says must feed the public without
consideration of color or previous
condition of servitude,' and if the
dark people choose to come to me
without a welcome. I can only do
my duty under the law. That it in
lures my business more or less I
know, but then my white Gust mers
are reasoning creatures and must
make all due allowances.
At the Continental restaurant the
MANAGER says that he entertains from
seven to ten colored guests per an
Dum. Some OF them take seats mod
estly in the rear, but others, seem
ingly anxious to attract public atten-
tention (Which, 1t is needless to say
they do), choose PLACES as much in
sight of passers-by on the street as
possible. "What can I do?" he con-
tinued, "as long a. they behave
themselves decently and pay for
what they get? The law protects
them; but all the same, my business
is suffering. My prices are on the
bill of fares and I would not scare
them away with big bills. l can't
discriminate against them under the
law. / think the plan pursued in
Richmond just after the war was the
best ! have heard of. At that period,
when freedom was a novelty, the ne
groes aspired to all social privileges
and became a general nuisance, es.
pecial y in the bar rooms.
1.-THE Richmond whites would not
countenance the presence Of negroes
in the resorts where they did their
drinking, and yet the poor liquor
dealers were in moral dread of the
law If they refused to serve them.
To get over this difficulty they de-
vised a very clever plan. In a day
or two a placard appeared in all the
saloons: Drinks SIS. Is eacn. If drinks
we're purchased by whites there was
a rebate of SIS, but If any unfortunate
black sought to quench his thirst the
announcement Of the price was before
him, and If he drank he paid. This
soon rid these places of their offend
ing patrons, and I never heard that
courts were applied to to abolish this
system. The last young buck that
honored us had two ct lored girls with
him and dined at an expense of $2.5n.
When he had gone there was vast
deal OF run among our walters, VINO
1t seems, all knew him, and one OF
them told me, why, boss, dat dare
man he Arms no more'n Ss1S monf !
How's he goin' to stan sich din
ners?''
At the Lafayette hotel the chief
clerk said they had: never re-
ceived any colored guests. The
prices were too high, they supposed,
and barred out the majority of them
The clerk had served in New York |
hotel where Senator Bruce was a con
slant guest, but neither he nor any
of his family attracted any unusual !
attention. A hotel clerk, he said,
nearly always had it in his power IT,
make the house disagreeable to any !
unwelcome guest. He could give him !
q parret room for a double nricn and |