St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-12-07
The War Against the Blacks.
CONVERSATIONS ON THE NEGRO CUES
TON.

Wnstarn Massachusetts, man who
the Springfield Republican tI.--' ends
fide talks" which he had with peopIe
whom he met in various places. He
thinks they correctly represent the
state of public opinion on the negro
question =
We are.sitting upon the porch OF a
southern hotel at night. My compan-
on was young man from North Car
oIina. "My father fell fighting for the
confederacy in 81" he said, ''leavlng
me, boy of Is, to assist my mother IN
the care of plantation and slaves. We
had trouble enough while the war last
ed. but the greatest blow of all was
the LEGISLATION which followed the war.
One year | was road surveyor, and had
called out the whites and negroes in
the district to work. A negro came
late. and told him he would be dock
ed. He grinned and offered me dol
lar saving, in an impudent way, that
he had a legal right to pay instead OF
working. 1t won't do to let these ne
groes talk about their rights to you.
| The ONLY way is to keep them down.
| told him to go to work. He refused,
and | undertook to knock him down.
He knocked me down three times, and
evidently would have killed me if had
not given up. A few nights after |
took n few of my friends along, all
armed with shOtguns, and we called
upon him ut his cabin. and told hlm
| had come to settle that business with
him. We tied him to tree, and after
had whipped him till was tired the
others took their turn at him. Since
that he touches his hat whenever he
meets me, and there is no further
trouble about niggers refusing to work
on the roads in our district. The Ontl
,vay is to keep them dOaCn IN their place.
"Yes," replied |, 81 suppose it won
, do to let them get the upper hand
where they are in the majority, a
, least. until they are better educated
: as class" "That is it," replied he
az 90 in for negro education. A negr'
, who can read, and write, and cIphe
! correctly, knows what his days worI
r is worth, and is satisfied when he Ira
A received his pay for it; while an igno
$ rant negro thinks himself cheated, an
= is forever Sinking and stealing to ge
4 the balance he feels must be due hin
e 1t will pay the South well to educat
!. the negroes, for the improvement
r their labor"
: A few nights later the landlOr
= formed one of the group gathered upo
# the porch. A negro swell, with plu
l., hat and cane and waxed mOustach
n had Just walked the length of Il
lie porch, rather than take the stree
Il there being no sidewalks except u
y connecting line of pOrches. ''Gentl
ID men, said the landlord, 81 sometime
w wish that | were back upon my plal
in tation, where | could have the right
4, kick such niggers as that off my pren
n. ises." Then turning to me he conti
f. ued: ''If it were only men of my az
e. ex-slavehOlders, who felt thus,
at would be better for us all. But %
he young men, who are not so well ali
VS. to control themselves, hate neg
n equality if anything, worse than the
of fathers do, and there is going to
ne trouble before long, trouble enough"
IN "Oh hope not" replied |. "T
et negroes are so much i'll the minority
n your state, it seems as if you ought
ut be able to get along with them witho
20. much friction"
on Still, in the South, / entered a smO
to ing-car One-night, and chatted an ho
es, with as intelligent a man as one oft
DIV meets,-a negro. In high position In
to- self, he does not personally feel
nat weight of the bann which rests up
to his race. A very high degree of
nr- ent, ability and intellect, is always
to empt. Would my state go demOer
lce ic this fall Yes | told him. Wo