The Indianapolis journal., 1884-05-16
BISHOP TURNER'S PROPHECY.
Wrongs of the Negroes in the SOuth-A Con
ing Great Nation in Africa.

| ing Great Nation in Africa.
! Interview in Baltimore American.
''In some parts of the South the colored people
| are treated very fairly. In Arkansas colored
man is treated as well as a white man, while in
| other States we are taught to recognize color
as soon as feet touch the soil. But withal
our condition is better than it was ten years
! ago.
Are you treated the same in your section
since the civil rights bill was declared unconsti
| tutionalW
There is no material difference in our treat
ment, except on the railroads and steamboats,
believe in some places colored men are being
| dropped from the jury lists, but of this cannot
| speak authoritatively. Nothing has hurt us so
much since the day we were emancipated as the
action of the Supreme Court. Since that cruel
| decision have heard nearly every cOlOred man
| met while travelling abusing the Supreme Court
| judges. | never heard so many damns hurled
at one set of men in my life nor have l ever
! heard so many prayers offered to Heaven against
any body of men. The railroad companies
compel US ito buy frstelass - tickets, ;s,
smoking-cars. 1t matters not how well dressed
we are or how intelligent and refined know
colored ladies who have been treated in the most
| cruel manner by brakemen for refusing to ride
in smoking cars, while white female passengers,
who in some instances are not all they might be :
| are treated as queens ! will go further and say
that In several instances pistols have been drawn
on colored passengers to force them to submit to
excuse themselves by saying they are only pro
| tecting their interests. Such is the order OF
things in the South and it is all due to Justice
Bradley, who kept T1lden out of the Presidency
after he was legally elected.
will you name one of the roads that i'll treat
their colored passengerSl"
"A fewweeks ago met my wife. at Cleveland,
Tenn, who was returning from Washington to
my home in Atlanta, Ga. She had ridden IN
| frst-class car to that city, where she had to
oba I cd hap4 10 Hpct-c
where the only other passengers were two white
men. Very soon a brakeman reached IN and
sald to u.s. Here, you folks will have to go
into the front car / asked him If he meant
the smoking-ea and he said he did not
care what kind of car it was, would
have to ride in it. told him my wife
had the heart disease and it would be danger
Gus for her to inhale tobacco smoke. He
| interrupted me by saying, Don't stop to
argue with me; get out or | will put you both
out and he moved toward my wife. l inter
cepted him and said: Please let me say word
to you kindly. l want no trouble, and pray
God you will save me from any, but you
touch my wife there will be funeral tomorrow
in either your family or my own He gave me
a terrible look, and then passed on. My wife re
manned in the car and went into the smoking
car, in order not to give too much offense"
Another case,' continued the Bishop, "oc-
cured the Louisville & Nashville railroad,
on the Sd of the month. Mrs. Sarah Lewis
boarded the train at Gainesville, Tenn. As she
was refused admission into any of the hrstclass
cars she remained on the platform. While the
train was in motion, because the conductor
could not pull her into the smoking he struck
her in the face She has entered suit against
the company. There are several ministers from
the South, now attending the General Confer
ence ut Philadelphia, who we inveigled into buy
ing frstelass tickets upon the promise of agents
of the Southern roads that they would be per-
mitted to occupy frst-class cars, but upon leav
| ing New Orleans they were obliged to go int
/ Il. l. IL tod -
fcials told them they would either have to go
into the smoking-car or to --- ! could give
names and dates of several other indignities
upon our people if necessary, but what have
told you Will serve to enlighten the public"
''Do you think the condition of affairs viii
ALLEVIATE the affections of your race in the South
| from this eountlyW
mo, because we have great hope that Con
gress will enact another bill for our protection.
| We also expect that plank will be put In the
| Republican platform III June next that will bring
| the matter squarely before the people"
What do you think win be the future of
your race
We are not dying out as predicted The ne
gro is the junior race of the world, with the pos
| sible exception Of the Australian. We have a
! great and grand future. Our race will be wax
| ing for centuries after the white race will nave
| commenced to wane, The negro is boy; the
white a man. When the man shall have
reached old age and the same kind of dotage
! that characterized the American Indian, the ne
| gro win be III his prime and glory and ruling the
world | think in a few years the better class of
colored men of this country will go to Africa
and build up a mighty nation, while the riff
raft of our race will remain here The ad-
vantages of migration to Africa are many, Re
Gently vast discoveries of untold wealth have
been made in nearly every part of that CONT
nent. God has put His hand upon our race and
will give lis means and marvellous agencies. 1t
may be that the Supreme Court decision was de-
signed by Providence to arouse the negro TO
sense of his responsibility
Has your race not sufficient advantages in
this couutryn
mo, for no people can advance who are treat
ed as we are. In some places in America black
is supposed to symbolic the devil and white to
represent God. But this is partially wrong, for
the devil is white and never was black. There
are as many blacks as whites in the universe
There are black worlds, and, [ believe, millions
of black angels in heaven-in fact, there are an
gels of all coiors there. l know l do not repre-
sent my race in taking the position do, as a
great mass of them are anti-Africans in the emf
grational sense, but it is only question of time
when they will awake from their slumber and see
| all things in a different light"