Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1885-10-15
THE WASHINGTN NEGRO
a PEN PICTURE OF HIS present L
CONDITION AND HIS FUTURE.

CONDITION AND HIS FUTURE.
Where he Lives and Hosy-The Negro
! HotelsWor nies --Somes Congress-
ioual Conjectures-R preventative
Warner. se--4
Special Correspondence of the Sentinel.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12.-The Capt.
tai is crowded with the Negro. He
constitutes one-third of the population.
| Lii proportion, he abounds here as in
North Carolina. Yet the Capital has
a thousand Negroes to the square
mile; North Carolina, barely dozen,
/ The area of neither will never be in
creased; the Negroes of both will in
crease for ages to come. The percent
of increase at the Capital is greater,
though not larger than one percent
War brought the. Negro here. The
charms of the Capital overpowered
him. Peace stirred no tender memo
| ries of home in his breast. He refused
to be home-sick. The Capital, where
the highest standards of freedom and
protection were reached, proved
Paradise. He staid. Nothing under
the sun could tempt him away to-day.
HE LIVES EVERYWHERE.
He may go anywhere. :. So near as
Baltimore the home of the Negro is
the Alley. At the Capital, the Negro
may. have whom he pleases for his
neighbor. Success in business, or em-
ployment in the Departments, enables
many to move next door to some of
the proudest, if not richest, white fam
lilies here. The successful Negro is
fond of the best, and especially, the
best streets. Here and there are lit
tie settlements. The Irish have
"Swampoodle;" the Negrs has. "HelX
Bottom, "Buzzard's Point" Niger
HILL and several nameless colonies.
A section of 18th street and "a street,
together with DouglassviN, are the
more respectable quartsfs of the Ne
gro. But the successful, high toned
Negro is almost lost in these humble
settlements. He prefers white folks.
THE NEGRO HOTELS
are permanent institutions. Several
flourish on one block of Penn. Ave
nue.. Wormley has been immortaliz-
ed, but his hotel was open to white
guests only. The Negro is at liberty
He is excluded, not because he lacks
the right, but because every pretext
known to man is used to curb his de-
sire. And in event of his being over
desirous, the proprietor would, in all
probability, run the risk of fat re-
| illaai. The right existe nevertheless,
because the District Of Columbia is
not State The Negro hotel is, there
fore, blessing. Visiting Negroes are
numerous Yet the hotels are far
from being models. A bar-room is
the chief feature 1t is the best and
brightest room. Guests enjoy hospi-
tality there. Negro citizens, the work
ing Negro, are allured by the good
cheer and bright lights. The devil
captures the Negro as artfully as the
white man.
HOW He LIVES
may be a mystery in number of
GASES. Every Negro at the Capital
does not work. Too many, indeed,
will not raise their hands in honest
labor. They prefer to be fast. Women
support them while they dissipate.
This delicate Negro is represented ev-
erywhere. He laughs at those who
toll. But the toiling Negro is more
numerous of course. He is found in
the trades and professions. The do
mestic may out-number a Others, but
he is represented in almost NXery pur-
suit. The Capital even has a>Negro
bsecond-hand book-dealer and Negro
secondhand clothier.. He has eveR
intruded on the territory of the Jew.
Negro carpenters, brick-layers, plum
bers, and other mechanics, are easily
found. Clerks, journalists, doctors,
lawyers, bankers and brokers are nu
merous. The Negro barber is posi-
lively ubiquitous. Many earning a
| livelihood are selt-made The major
ity are, however, unskilled lahorers.
HIS FUTURE,
if we may accept the present as ba-
sis, is bright. The Negro at-large, to-
day, is not success. We here speak
of the Washington Negro, distinctive
| ly. He has golden opportunities he
has Jared better, perhaps, than he will
fare again. His future is absolutely
in his own hands. He must make it.
Promise is given of well-directed ener-
gy. The Negro preacher, though one
| or two have gone wrong, Is power,
but the expansion of his power de-
pends partly on the success of the
teacher. The untutored Negrey must
be taught how to earn livelihood be-
fore he is accused of idlenes-. The
little black baby who is surrounded
with the ignorance of its mother and
father, if not worse, can not be ex-
peeted to teach itself. Yet some have.
The children of the well-to-do Negro
crowd the public schools. They are
in the minority. The great majority
are excluded. These poor little black
devils stare at the word morality as
they would stare at a question in ge-
ography. They are going to be self
made men, but some one ought to
watch and see that they don't spoil
In the making.