Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1883-02-16
What to do with the Negro.

What to do with the Negro. -
The darkey is curious problem with us
down South. We know him and under
stand him, but the conundrum that pug
zes US is, what is going to become of him ?
His state of slavery didn't solve it, and
sixteen years Of freedom has thrown no
light upon it. The experiment of educat-
ing him has been fairly tried and is fail
ure. Before the war there were 40 whites
n the Georgia peniteutisry and and ONLY
40 negroes now there are $50 whites and
400 negroes, and the records show that
over 200 of them are under 80 years of
age ana more than one-half of them can
read and write. Nearly all the old negroes
who wtrv trained to industry aud gond
morals are still law abiding citizens and
we us no trOnhle. but the next genera :
ton, to whom freedom came in heir early
youth, have Irlapsed INTO AL the vices of
their tu,efathers 10 Africa, and are f. st
coming a curse upon our land.
Negroes have their traits instincts
well defined as he Indians. or E>qni-
nanx, or the heather Chinee. The Inulsn
ives the woods and has gra i'ude and re-
venge largely developed. hut the negro has
but he never will be grateful to ,ou, nor
will he seek revenge for any maltreatment
He is leZv aud indal mt by nature, and
iOes not concern himself about Tomorrow
f he has enough to tat to-day He spends
all he gets for the verest trifes, and al
WAYS enj 'vs what he gets for his money.
He lays up nothing for rainy day, or for
old age. or for his children.
II he is too law to work. or can C get
employment. he has no hesitation aboul
stealing enough to crafty his wants. 1t
is his nature to steal and he can't help It,
They will goto meeting and sing and shout
and pray aud sweat until II clock Satur-
day night. and steal enough before day to
do them all day Sunday. Stealing neither
violates their conscience northeir relie ion
But The negro will not steal any big thing.
He would not rob a bank. If he found a
pOckeb ,Ok, full of money, he would take
it to some white man aud give it up, but
he will take half a dollar from the drawer,
or melon from the patch. Or IA chicken
from the roOst with perfect inpunity. He
will buy all you will sell him on a credit.
He has more wholesome f. ar of whip
ping than Of the chain gang. Or the Jail. or
even the galioWs, aud there are numerous
instances of his committing theft within
| IA week after serving out his time in the
| coal mines for a similar offense.
These are some uf the traits of the ne
! gro, but they are more strongly marked in
| the black, thck-lipped. fat-n0sed negro
| than i'll the Congo, or copper cololed type
| of the race. The latter are more intelligent
| ard more reliable.
! One thing we have long observed at the
| South; the nearer in contact the negro is
brought to the white man the better citi-
Zeu he is. The immediate II fiuence of the
| ,xki 70 iS hot Snp Few 10
! laws or the terrors of them In fact. it is
J his best protection, and is all that will
save him from utter destruction as race
He naturally leans upon the white man for
| protection and advice, and is never SO hap.
ny as when IN his employ al under bis
dominion. And the richer his emplo. er
the more respectable he feels, for he has a
supreme disgust for what he always terms
the poor white trash" Of the country -
| By ''close contact" we mean that relation
to the white man which is partially conf
den ial and brings them together almost
continually, such as exists b tween ouI
household and domestic servants, the sta
BILE boy ard carriage-driver the draymen
of the cities and towns. aud the walters at
the hotels. TIE tenants and laborels or
our farms are on this line but when
the negroes live remote from the landlord
and seldom se. him, and when they wan
about and work awhile at one place anC
awhile at another, and only mix with theil
own color. they soon find their Way into
the chain gang.
They show the same Indifference TO The
| consequences OF crime, as they do to tht
waste IF their wages TOR | have sect
scores of them tried in the courts anC
heard sentences pronounced upon them
but have never seen the 10 exhibit any
emotion Or regret. and they will go off t.
the chain gang with greasy deck Of cards
IN their packet and play together on The
seats ot'the car, with The mauaces on thei
| wrists
have been wiring of the negroes as
race. not as individuals for there are ex
ceptlons in every locality, and it is no
| uncommon for us to say He is Il goU(
negro" There are also SOME thrifty ne
| grGeS who accumulate money and proper
ty, but they no more mark the race thar
the miser marks tht Anglo-Saxon. Ou
best philanthr0plsts have sought to reform
hem by educating them. bat the expert
ment has proved that the more education
the more Incidence and insolence, and thu
more ready to indulge in all the vices O
the white race and TO disregard their vir
tues. The best educated negroes are al
ways politicians, not laborers nor mechan
les. and they make precarious living b,
playing between the parties at elections
and buying and selling the colored lvOte.-
| Now what is to become of the negro? Cal
any of your readers answer the ccnun
drum We like him as laborer and
domestic servant, but as a politician, o.
an office-holder. Or a juryman. OF vaga
bond, he is humbug and "A cuTse.-Bal
Arp (of Ca IN oar Our Dag.